Safety In Captivity Essay

Safety in Captivity The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word safe as protected from danger or risk, free from harm. By this definition, are animals in the entertainment industry safe? For centuries, animals have been intertwined in the lives of humans, serving as a man’s best friend, a man’s best fear, and a man’s favorite pastime. They have been mistreated in the past; however, the present is proving to be a new leaf concerning animals in the entertainment industry. Animals in the entertainment industry provide an education and elevated awareness to conservation, which is desperately needed, and animals are better off in captivity due to the rapid degradation of habitats and loss of primal instincts while in captivity. Animals living

For example, in an article out of the Washington Post, the author states that “the biggest problems are deforestation and competition from growing human populations on a poor and crowded continent” (Henderson 1). Because of the havoc that reigns the habitats that captive animals used to call home, animals are better off remaining in captivity in order to survive. If zoo and circus animals were to be released, they would be once again subjected to the same threats that they or their ancestors had been before such as poaching, war, drought and loss of habitat. Additionally, during an interview Jack Hanna comments that “98 percent of animals kept at more than 200 zoos across the United States were born in captivity and would find it impossible to live on their own.” (Milian 1). Animals in the entertainment industry have been led away from their old ways and instincts making it so that if the animals were ever to return to the wild, they would have a significantly lower chance of survival, especially with the recent decrease in quality of habitat. Lastly, Susan Bass, a Big Cat Rescue spokeswoman stated that caring for a single tiger “costs the sanctuary $10,000 a year” (Brulliard 8). The tigers that the sanctuary