Why Should Animals Be Kept In Zoos

Should animals be kept in zoos?

“I am personally not against keeping animals at zoos, as they serve a huge educational purpose, but treating them well and with respect seems the least we could do, and with 'we' I mean not just zoo staff, but most certainly also the public.” Frans de Waal. Almost everyone has been to a zoo at least once in their life. Zoo are a good combination of being both educational and fun. However, when people see an animal just lying in the middle of their big empty cage, they start to wonder is this right? Should animals be kept in zoos? A lot of people think, no animals should not be kept in zoos, because it is inhumane to keep an animal locked up its whole life. Animals are supposed to be free, they should be able to live their life without walls keeping them in one place. In some cases it is inhumane to keep animals in cages. When the cages are too small or unkempt, then

yes it is cruel. Nevertheless, there are a lot of zoos where that does not occur. Animals should be kept in zoos, because zoo animals live longer, zoos are educational, and most zoos take care of their animals.
One reason for keeping animals in zoos is animals in captivity usually live longer. There are many explanations for animals to live longer in captivity, one is that zoos keep animals safe from each other. Zoo animals do not have to worry about a predator attacking them, because they are safe in their habitat. Even large animals like elephants have to worry about predators, if a group of lions were to work together they can take down an elephant. Another explanation for animals in captivity living longer, is that they get plenty of food. Finding food in the wild can be rather difficult, especially in the winter when food is scares. When food is scares sometimes animals will have to fight over who gets the food. After fighting over food sometimes an animal will get injured and that can lead to an infection. In captivity if an animal gets injured, then a veterinarian will take care of them and make sure they do not get an infection (Sheridan).
Even though animals live longer, many animals get depressed in captivity. A reason for this is that not a lot of zoo stimulate animals, mentally or physically. Another reason for animals to get depressed is zoos are usually stressful for animals ("Last Chance for Animals - Zoos."). Some zoos also put prey enclosures next to predator enclosures. There is no way for that predator to get to the prey, but being right next to a predator will cause the prey to stress out. People that go to the zoo can also be the cause of a lot of animal’s stress. Some parents think that since it is a zoo, they can let their kids do whatever they want. Kids will scream or band on the glass, which would be very stressful for the animals behind the glass (Waal).
Many animals will try to escape if they get too stressed out, or if they are provoked. There are many cases of this, one case is when an eleven year old gorilla escaped in 2007. A female visitor would often go to that zoo to visit the gorilla. She would make gestures at the gorilla that zoo keepers told her would provoke him. Despite the warnings from the zoo keepers she would continue to do as she pleased and one day the gorilla had had enough of it. He jumped the water moat and attacked the female visitor that had been provoking him. The woman survived the attack and the gorilla was caught and put into a more secure enclosure. This is just one example of an animal escaping and attacking visitors, because people cannot behave in a zoo (Waal).
One of the major reasons for keeping animals in zoos, is that zoos are educational. Zoos teach people about animals and to take care of animals. A lot of zoos raise awareness to how not taking care of the environment affects animal’s homes ("A Zoo Is a Great Educational Tool."). Some people will argue that zoos are not education, because they are not showing animals in their true nature and kids will get the idea that animals are supposed to be in cages (Healy). It would be more educational to see animals in their own environment, but finding a place near you can me difficult and just because you are in their environment does not mean you will see any animals.
The last reason for keeping animals in captivity, is that most zoos take care of their animals. There are a lot of zoos that do not take care of their animals. A big reason for this is the laws do not make zoos take care of their animals. The United States laws for animal welfare do not have specific enough laws to protect animals, because of this many zoo have made loopholes that may save them money, but harm the animals. An example of this is the lack of requirements for animal enclosures. A lot of zoos will have concrete floors, which damage animals’ legs and paws, because the laws do not require it and concrete is cheaper than putting grass (Healy). Even though the law may not make zoos keep animals in good conditions, most zoos will keep their animals in good conditions. People do not want to go to a zoo where the cages are dirty, the animals are depressed, or animals have no room to move or play. Zoos know that, so they try their hardest to make their animals have a nice place to live.
Should animals be kept in captivity?

Animals should be kept in captivity because they live longer, the help educate people, and most zoo take care of them. Many zoo animals get depressed because they either get stressed out, or bored. However good zoos give animals breaks and they will sometimes play with the animals. Zoos take care of their animals, because people enjoy going to a zoo where animals are healthy and do not look miserable. Animals in captivity usually live longer because they always have enough food, there are no predators to eat them and vets will treat them if they get sick or hurt. Zoos are also education, they teach people more about animals, where they live and how taking care of the environment saves animals. The reason why most people believe that animals should not be in zoos, is because they went to a zoo that does not take care of their animals. Those zoos should have the animals taken out there. However not all zoos are like that, there are plenty of zoos that have large enclosures and will play with their

animals.