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The roles of zoos in conservation
The roles of zoos in conservation
Essay on role of zoos in wildlife conservation
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Going to the zoo for the first time is very memorizing for many people, the weird animals , big animals that gather the most attention; all help create a premature interest in the animal kingdom for kids. Recently zoos have been put through more scrutiny for supposedly treating animals like prison mates. Despite the negative psychological effects on animals in zoos, zoos should still exist as they help bolster conservation efforts and educate the public, thus having a net benefit towards the animal kingdom. Zoos have helped restoration efforts of critically endangered species through their sophisticated breeding programs thus producing net good for animals.The Arabian oryx was a species that was
“hunted to extinction in the wild nearly four decades ago, when the last wild Arabian Oryx was shot and killed in 1972. The Phoenix Zoo helped lead the ensuing breeding and reintroduction programs, which ultimately birthed more than 200 calves from just nine individuals. Now between Oman and Jordan, there are about 1,000 Arabian Oryx living in the wild ”().
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Conservation is also a process that takes many generations; simply using a specialized area would most likely be inefficient and costly in the long run, thus zoos provide a decent avenue to enable conservation of species. Zoos also make it possible for scientists to conduct experiments on animals which can lead to medical improvements for treatment of both humans and animals. But these conservational efforts would not be possible if it weren't for the general public viewing
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.
Animal rights have become a very serious issue here in the United States over the last few decades. One issue that has been discussed is whether or not zoos serve a good purpose or are they just a torture chamber for the animals. Locked up in small cages so people can yell at them and stare. Or are zoos the key to save our species in an ever growing human population. Rachel Lu, a philosophy teacher and senior columnist, writes the article, “Let’s Keep Zoos: Learning stewardship is a good thing.”, published April 18, 2014, argues that zoos are worth keeping. Rachel Lu uses her personal experiences to appeal to her audience that zoos are valuable to people especially young children because it gives them a perspective on nature.
Some captive species even have problematic changes in reproduction such as not be able to reproduce anymore (Lynn 1817). These changes in behavior and high cost are a major factor in whether these programs are sophisticated and whether the animals can be reintroduced into the wild and if it would benefit their
Zoos have been with us throughout our history, and can provide a good barometer of public beliefs and values at any given time. Therefore it seems necessary to explore whether in today’s society contemporary zoos are a means of educating and conserving or still seek to control and exhibit animal others for human benefit. In order to make this assessment there are a number of contributing factors. Firstly it is important to establish context by considering the history of zoos and looking at the changes from the early menageries to contemporary zoos who strive to be institutions of refuge for animals facing twenty-first century global challenges. This links into how the physical space of zoos has changed over time and whether these advancements have made any crucial difference to the welfare of animals. Following this conservation, education and scientific research will be explored in detail in order to assess whether they provide good enough motives for keeping animals in captivity. I will seek to argue that although attempts have been made to point zoos in the direction of conservation and education, in my opinion the concepts of dominance and human superiority are still at the core of modern zoos.
When people go on a trip to the zoo, it can be assumed that they do not think about much more than what they can see. Signals that make zoos unfair and sometimes unbearable for the captive animals are not visible to most spectators. This essay will explain how zoos are unjust and should not be supported. Animals should not be held captive due their negative behavioral changes, lack of natural habitat and the zoos failure to effectively preserve endangered species.
From childhood, most of us have fond memories of going to the zoo. We were entertained by the variety of animals that we were not able to see on a regular basis. Visitors of a zoo get to see exotic, and local animals of that area. Going to a zoo gives children and adults a chance to learn about different animals. Certain zoos also promote the conservation of endangered species. To people of all ages, zoos are just plain fun. This essay will support the operation of zoos based on their entertainment and educational value, and their ability to save some species from extinction.
Because of breeding, such endangered species, two examples of which being the golden lion tamarin and the Przewalski’s wild horse, have improved in numbers significantly (Smithsonian). Although they are bred in captivity, it protects and preserves the animals from s...
In conclusion zoos in America are making attempts to accommodate elephants better, the local Sedgwick county zoo is planning to increase to size of the elephants enclosure. All zoos with elephants should either move them to large sanctuaries or release them back into the wild or even increase the enclosure, but no enclosure will be big enough. The cost to increase the size of orca pools would be too costly. Orcas need to be released back into the wild; the risks of keeping them captive outweigh everything else. Instead of using valuable resources on keeping elephants and orcas captive they should be focused on using the resources on protecting the wild ones and their environments.
Zoos bring human kind closer to wild life. Though, sometimes that means taking the animal out of its natural habitat. Some animals have lost most of their habitat and are on the verge of extinction. In this way, the zoo helps the animals rather than using them as a form of human entertainment. Zoos also allow humans to study different kinds of animals more closely. Some zoos on the other hand manipulate the animals to acquire as much revenue as possible rather than being concerned with the welfare of each animal.
One reason we should get rid zoos is in the wild there are way more animals than the zoos. In “Life span of elephants in zoos and in the wild,” African elephants live up to 15-20 years in zoos and in the wild they live up to 50-55. That is way different. There are some endangered species in the zoos and they are dying way earlier than in the wild. Also Asian elephants are living up to 15-20 years in zoos and 40-45 years in the wild.
Animals were kept in small display areas with as many species as space would allow. Today, however, zoos are meant to entertain and educate people and also have a strong emphasis on scientific research and species conservation. Zoos should be banned for
Animals born in captivity are hardly ever re-released to their natural Habitat. A species survival plan was used to bring the species back from the brink of extinction and its breeding program started with only 14 individuals. Reintroducing captive animals into the wild involves a number of challenges aside from simply having a large enough population and getting it back to its native habitat. It involves working with government agencies and in some cases international bodies like the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which is the international body that classifies species as threatened, endangered or critically endangered. The AZA oversees only zoos and aquariums in the United States.
The final reason is these zoos allow us to study animals. Firstly, breeding programs help endangered species live on. This is essential because it makes life more compelling; it benefits humankind as well. Endangered species have important health benefits for us.
Zoos have been used for a long time as a way for humans to view wildlife from a close distance. In earlier centuries zoos were used as a way to display one’s power and wealth. Transitioning from showcasing power to observing animals for scientific reasons, zoos have gone through changes that may not have justified their existence. Conservation and preservation would be the words used to describe the purpose of some zoos nowadays, but for most, it is the viewing pleasures of the public that keep them operating. Animals from all over the world are put in exhibits in the middle of San Diego, Chicago, and many other cities, just to be seen as an object that is stared and taunted at.
Science has shown that some mammals are far more intelligent than society initially thought; there is evidence that primates are making their way into their own stone age (Westergaard), and certain countries in Asia have started granting rights to species that are self-aware. Society, however, still keeps many of these mammals in zoos. Some believe zoos will never be able to give the proper care to the animals while others say zoos should not exist at all. Zoos have become progressively more humane over the years by moving away from the age of small, tile boxes, but no one is sure how much change is enough. Organizations like the AZA, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, have helped progress by setting standards for treatment, but many of