Zoos Argumentative Essay

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

Zoos want people to think they are seeing animals in their natural habitats, but they also need the visitors to be able to easily see the animals up close. Lars Lunding Andersen, a curator at the Copenhagen Zoo and president of the International Association of Zoo Educators, describes zoo exhibits like this: zoo visits are like watching a play where the animals are the actors and their enclosure is their set (Andersen). When the emphasis is put on the experience of the visitor, it becomes extremely difficult to properly care for the animal. On the same note, if the emphasis was put on the animal's health, the larger enclosures would make it hard to see the animals, meaning less visitors and scarce funding. Looking from an environmental perspective, society must therefore consider a zoo’s effect on an animal and the benefits of conservation efforts, while still keeping in mind the needs of the

The standard for elephant enclosures set by the AZA is 1800 square feet for one elephant. This is less than one acre, and Leslie Schobert, a retired general curator at the Los Angeles Zoo, states they need at least 100 acres to live a healthy life (“Do Elephants Belong”). Most zoos, however, are less than 100 acres total, making it impossible to meet these needs (“Captive Breeding”). Keep in mind this is just one animal, so zoos would require significantly more space to ensure every animal in its collection has a healthy environment. Zoos could start fixing this problem by having fewer animals. The animals that require the most space could be excluded from the park, creating more room to expand the other enclosures. This solution might solve the issue of space, but animals still may not be as healthy as in the wild. Elephants in the wild will walk up to 50 miles a day in search for food, water, and other necessities, but when everything they need is conveniently provided by the zoo, elephants simply do not walk as much as they should. There are zoos like the Reid Park Zoo that hide treats around the enclosure and have daily walks for exercise, but it is still extremely difficult to replicate an animal’s natural environment (“Do Elephants”). Since the same reasoning can be applied to every animal, zoos have a serious problem on their hands. Additionally,