a) According to the website, “Captive Animals Protection Society” which is an organization that conducts investigations to expose animal suffering and educates people on the well being of animals. “Big cats, have 18,000 times less space in zoo’s then they do in the wild. For polar bears they have 1 million times less space in zoo’s then they do in the wild.
b) Sharks often get repeated injuries to their snouts from knocking into the tank walls of aquariums.
(CONNECTIVE: While it is very evident that the animal’s physical needs are not being met, the animals display their frustration and feelings about their life in captivity.
II. One of the biggest signs of the impact on animals that small enclosures and a low quality of care is that animals suffer from zoochosis.
A. Zoochosis is defined by the
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Often following the same path over and over again due to relentless boredom. Cheetah’s can run at speed’s up to 61 mph but in zoo’s this is not possible due to their small enclosure, because of this they suffer with a great amount of stress not being able to run like they do in the wild. They suffer from dietary problems and do not breed well in captivity.
b) Another example is the behavior of Elephants. Elephants are very social animals and are used to travelling in herds of at least 10 other elephants. In zoos they are isolated and as a result shake their head back in forth in order to cope with the stress they are feeling.
(CONNECTIVE: So far I have made it pretty clear that animals are not given the proper attention and care they need in zoo’s that they can get in the wild, and the animals have let us know this. Knowing all this, why should animals even be kept in captivity?)
Some of you believe that animals should be in captivity because then they can be preserved and that zoos are important for our own research. Zoo’s focus on the
Have you ever seen an animal sitting in a cage all alone with nothing to do. Well, zoos are trying to change that fact. They will allow the animals to live in an environment that is like their home. Many people don't realize this, but zoo are keeping and breeding these animals because they would not survive in the wild alone. In the three passages, ¨The Stripes Will Survive,¨ ¨The Zood Go Wild from No More Dodos,¨ ¨Our Beautiful Macaws and Why They Need Enrichment.¨ All of these articles present one claim, that is that the role of zoos is no longer to keep animal, but to protect them.
Due to the recent events in the Cincinnati Zoo, arguments have been sparked about the ethics of zoos. Most articles try to argue against zoos and closed environments, but there are those that still support zoos and the programs that they provide for endangered species. The argument “Zoos Are Not Prisons. They Improve the Lives of Animals” focuses on the positives of animal enclosures and fights for support to keep zoos in business. The author, Dr. Robin Ganzert, ties examples about programs that zoos help create and what type of research is conducted in the zoos, to support his claims. To limit his position, he decides to refute opposing viewpoints to conclude that ethical institutions
Considering the many challenges animals face in the wild, it is understandable that people may be eager to support zoos and may feel that they are protective facilities necessary for animal life. In the article “ Zoos Are Not Prisons. They Improve the Lives of Animals”, Author Robin Ganzert argues that Zoos are ethical institutions that enrich the lives of animals and ultimately protect them. Statistics have shown that animals held in captivity have limited utilitarian function resulting in cramped quarters, poor diets, depression, and early death for the animals thus, proving that Zoos are not ethical institutions that support and better the lives of animals as author Robin Ganzert stated (Cokal 491). Ganzert exposes the false premise in stating
The practice of keeping wild animals in a zoo or aquarium is looked at favorably in most aspects but what we fail to realize is that we have placed animals which at one point lived freely in wide open spaces into captivity. Society is assuming these animals are happy to be taken from their natural habitat and placed in pens and cages because they have every need handed to them. David Suzuki asked “What gives us the right to exploit other living organisms as we see fit?” (681). Through selfishness, people have justified zoos and aquariums to be an educational benefit to children, to help them learn about animals, their individuality and where they come from. Zoos and Aquariums are for society’s personal entertainment not for the good of the animals and should be closed down.
...re not met. Animals are living beings that deserve rights and respect, and being kept in a zoo does not meet these standards. People need to realize that animals are worthy of some of the privileges we receive. Endangered species can ultimately be saved by us, if we support their natural habitats and fight the people who kill them. “Significantly, we object to human captivity for one reason only, that humans have a right to freedom, or just ought to be free. Why shouldn’t this be the case with non-humans too?” (Bostock). Zoos should not be supported because they are violating animal rights.
Animals, particularly the larger ones, are unable to live comfortably in small enclosures. Zoos tend to forget that larger animals have the hardest times getting used to the spaces that they are forced to live in. According to James Nolan’s article, “All the Reasons Why Zoos Should Be Banned”, “…the average lion or tiger has 18,000 times less [space] in captivity than it does in the wild; polar bears a million times less [space]” (7). Although zoos try to recreate their natural habitats, they cannot possibly succeed. The animals, if not born at the zoo, lived in large areas and had all of the freedom that they
Do you think animals should be put into zoos? Well they shouldn't, because they are put into misery and they also suffer in their cages.
Animals not only experience cruelty from their caretakers, but from visitors as well. As a result of this, the abuse can cause psychological damage and varies from the animals being teased, yelled at and having objects thrown at them (OccupyTheory, 2015, List of Cons of Zoos, para. 4). Animals that are restricted to zoo living arrangements show a great deal of abnormal behaviors as well as mental health issues. For example, animals in captivity easily become lonely and bored when deprived of their natural necessities. Due to stressful living situations, many animals begin to show signs of a psychological condition known as zoochosis, a repetitive and multiple obsessive behavior (Netivist 2016, Cons of Zoos, para. 2). Some symptoms of repetitive and obsessive behaviors that have are common include, but not limited to self-mutilation, pacing up and down or rocking back and forth (Isacat, 2015, Chapter.8). According to the database on the animal advocacy organization, Born Free USA website (http://www.bornfreeusa.org/reports/exoincidents.php) there is over 1300 recorded incidents of "deadly and dangerous captive wild animal incidents" that have occurred since 1990 (ResearchBuzz, 2010). One of the most recent incidents involved Harambe, a western lowland gorilla that lived in the Cincinnati Zoo. Animal psychological and former head of Zoo Atlanta, Terry Maple stated, "Its difficult to say whether
Cohn, Jeffrey P. "Do Elephants Belong In Zoos?" Bioscience 56.9 (2006): 714-717. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
In the film, Madagascar, zoos are depicted as a sanctuary in which all the exotic animals are kept safe and are open for the public to view. But many would argue that zoos are inhumane, the charging of animals for our personal entertainment is unjustifiable. Those who believe that zoos are wrong and should be destroyed are animal rights activists; they believe that animals should be allowed to choose their own destiny. Those that believe that zoos are an important part of our lives are scientists and zoologists. This debate has gone on for generations and average folk are stuck in the middle, not knowing which side to stand on.
middle of paper ... ... Freedom is precious and animals are constantly suffering mentally and physically from the lack of freedom that captivity brings to them. Although many zoos are visited by millions of people annually, they still operate at a loss and have to make budget cuts. Funds that should be used to provide humane conditions for animals are often wasted on cosmetic improvements such as landscaping, refreshment stands, and gift shops in order to draw visitors, leaving the animals behind steel bars and glass trapped in a concrete jungle for no reason without hope of ever being free.
Some people may argue that zoos protect animals and species under this polluted world, however, do animals in zoos really need our “help”? Yes, but surely not that many. According to Captive Animals Protection Society (CAPS), 79% of animals in United Kingdom zoos and over 70% of elephants in European zoos are wild-caught. It seems that zoos need them rather than they need zoos.
Zoos display fascinating animals from all over the world for human entertainment, research, conservation, and education. Many scientists conduct studies on animals in captivity that they may not have been able to in the wild. Zoos educate all the visitors that come; they let people know everything that they know about the animals on display. We do learn a lot from these animals, but not all of the animals in the zoo are behaving like they normally would in the wild. Larger animals, such as elephants and orcas (commonly known as killer whales), have trouble with being confined in such a small area. However, many smaller animals benefit from zoos because they provide protection from predators, natural disasters, and poachers. They also benefit from conservation efforts; the babies being born get all the care they could ever need. Some animal rights activists are concerned that the conservation efforts are limiting the gene pool of the species. They argue that the small number of animals able to breed in captivity limits biodiversity and leads to weaknesses in the species overall. Zoos are wonderful places to study and learn about animals, but we need to improve the living standards for animals that struggle with captivity.
Supporters of zoos argue that they help to conserve endangered species, but in fact they are not very good at this. Even the world famous panda-breeding programme has been very costly and unsuccessful. Also, zoo life does not prepare animals for the challenges of life in the wild. For example, two rare lynxes released into the wild in Colorado died from starvation even though the area was full of hares, which are a lynx’s natural prey.
However, educational benefits zoos provide are minimal because animals are in their unnatural environment and behave differently. In his book Wild Animals in Captivity, Rob Laidlaw describes how animal behavior at zoos is completely different from behavior in natural environments. Small spaces and boredom leads to frustration and repetitive actions, such as a monkey rocking back and forth continuously. Laidlaw writes, “At many of the zoos I visit, I see animals doing things their species never do in the wild” (Laidlaw 9). Therefore, what an individual observes at the zoo is untrue to the animal’s natural behavior and the educational experience is false. Moreover, there would be more of an educational benefit from watching documentaries about animals in the wild or reading books on how certain species behave and interact. Even though zoos provide up close interaction with animals, they lack the ability to educate visitors on how animals truly behave. Additionally in a study that further undermines the educational value of zoos, Eric Jenson’s “Evaluating Children 's Conservation Biology Learning at the Zoo” examines the before and after effects surrounding children’s (ages 7-15) knowledge of animals and conservation. He found that the standard unguided zoo experience resulted in negative understanding of animals and their habitats. Only when children were lead by a guide where they more likely to