Zoos: Pitiful Dirty Prisons

Zoos: Pitiful Dirty Prisons

If you have ever stepped into a zoo, you have stepped into a prison in which the inmates are defenseless and innocent, the sentence is long, and the penalty is cruel and severe. Zoos are not made for educational purposes but for entertainment, they do not benefit animals but push them toward extinction. "Zoos range in size and quality from cage-less parks to small roadside menageries with concrete slabs and iron bars." (Zoos: Pitiful Prisons.) The larger the zoo and the greater the number and variety of the animals it contains, the more it costs to provide quality care for the animals. Although more than 112 million people visit zoos in the U.S. and Canada every year, most zoos operate at a loss and must find ways to cut costs (which sometimes means selling animals) or add gimmicks that will attract visitors. (Zoos: Pitiful Prisons.) Zoo officials often consider profits over the animals' well- being.(Zoos: Pitiful Prisons.) A former director of the Atlanta Zoo once remarked that he was "too far removed from the animals; they're the last thing I worry about with all the other problems." (Zoos: Pitiful Prisons.)

Zoos are nothing more than animal prisons maintained for human amusement, not for education. ("Zoocheck".) Most zoo enclosures are quite small, and labels provide little more information than the species name, diet, and natural range. (Zoos: Pitiful Prisons.) The animals' normal behavior is seldom discussed, much less observed, because their natural needs are seldom met. Birds' wings may be clipped so they cannot fly, aquatic animals often have little water, and the many animals who naturally live in large herds or family groups are often kept alone or, at most, in pairs. (Zoos: Pitiful Prisons.) Natural hunting and mating behaviors are virtually eliminated by regulated feeding and breeding regimens. (Zoos: Pitiful Prisons.) The animals are closely confined, lack privacy, and have little opportunity for mental stimulation or physical exercise. Animals forced to endure such confinement often display abnormal and self-destructive behavior called "Zoochosis".(Zoos: Pitiful Prisons.) Zoochosis is a mental illness; symptoms include pacing, neck twisting, and other repetitive behaviors.("Zoocheck".)

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...oadside zoos at all costs. If no one visits these substandard operations, they will be forced to close down. Contact PETA and start your own "Zoocheck" program in your local zoo.

Zoos claim that they are good for research, but the purpose of most zoos' research is to find ways to breed and maintain more animals in captivity. If zoos ceased to exist, so would the need for most of their research. The key to saving exotic animals lies in saving their habitat, not removing them from it only to be placed in an unnatural and abusive environment.("Zoocheck".)

Works Cited

Zoo Target of "Bloody" Protest Over African Elephants

PETA News Release

http://www.peta-online.org/news/basel199.htm

Zoocheck

PETA's Action for Activists

http://www.peta-online.org/library/actionideas/zoo.htm

21, Nov. 1999

Zoos:Pitiful Prisons

Campaigns

http://www.peta-online.org/cmp/ccircfs3.-html

21, Nov. 1999