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Essays on protecting endangered species
The protection of endangered species
Essays on protecting endangered species
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Zoos are public parks that claim to display animals for the purpose of education and procreation of endangered species; but in reality Zoos area actually doing more harm than good. Animals that live in zoos are more likely to suffer from illness or injury as opposed to those who live in the wild, and they also have shorter lifespans. Even though some zoos have an endangered species exhibit with the intention of protecting and rehabilitating animals, many do not do an adequate job of protecting the animals. Zoos have been harmful to the very animals they have sworn to protect. Animals in captivity often suffer from anxiety, boredom and other severe issue related to prolonged confinement. Most animals are unable to thrive in small enclosure with unnatural weather and climates. For example elephants are known to walk as far as 30 miles per day, but the association of Zoos and aquariums only require a space the measures $0 feet by 45 feet, which is about the size of a three car garage, to house these large animals. (peta.org) the drastic difference in the amount of space their allowed ...
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.
Peoples Trust has provided me with an extreme amount of information on why zoos are beneficial through their “Zoos & Conservation article.” Peoples Trust has pointed out that not every zoo mistreats their animals, but never took into consideration how the animals themselves may undergo, and what is being taken away from them.
Zoos all over the world are keeping animals in environments that mimic their natural habitat. In the article “Should we have zoos?” by Shayna Orens, Zoos around the world are to help adults, animals, and kids. Zoos not only keep animals, but they also rescue animals.This means zoos are beneficial because Zoos take care and rescue animals for educational purposes Zoos also have many different programs like education for kids.
Zoo captivity is substandard and inadequate for animals. Zoo animals are deprived of their right as animals they are treated unjustly and unfairly. Animals should not be forced to kept in a cage away from their natural environment and be used as a form of entertainment to humans. The animals also suffer from stress and are driven insane by being trapped behind bars. The zoo is supposed to provide safety to these endangered animals but instead, these zoo animals are put at risk towards a variety of dangers such as vulnerability to diseases and starvation.
Even though zoos try to imitate the natural habitat of each animal, the area for the zoo might not be able to support the animals needed environment. When visiting a zoo many people fail to notice that the animals have living areas measuring an acre or smaller. “Their enclosures are often small, barren, and without shade or privacy” (Laws). “Animals also need to endure dirty living conditions, stagnant water, and hard floors to sleep on at night” (Laws). It’s obvious that in the wild any animal has almost unlimited space to live in. They catch and forage for food naturally and mate naturally.
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
Tigers, lions, giraffes, and other exotic animals are rarely seen in the wild. However the public, without humans and/or animals being harmed at the same time, can see exotic animals when a zoo opens. Zoos for many are a wonderful experience, but to others they see the animals as being treated poorly and not able to roam free. These people do not consider the beneficial sides of zoos. Zoos around the world help species that have been endangered by protecting and caring for them. Otherwise they would have became extinct and killed for their valuable fur or feathers. Zoos were created for a purpose that needed to be filled. If there were no purpose for them they would have not been created. Zoos are needed and if there is a need in this world, the spot will most likely be filled without hesitation. Some zoos were not trained properly and do not treat their animals very well. Some bad zoos do not feed their animals enough and keep them in a confined cage. Although some zoos are harmful for both animals and people, many of them are good zoos and take care of their animals better than most people take care of them selves. It is amazing to be able to see such care and love are associated with zoos. Not only do zoos help the endangered animals they also help people learn to respect such amazing creatures. Zoos are a good attribute to society because they promote education, research, protect, conserve, and outlook.
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.
To begin, zoos are unethical because animals inherit mental issues while in captivity. According to "Play time at the Zoo" by Elizabeth Carney, "Bored animals can be dangerous. They can exhibit self-mutilation, hyper aggressiveness and loss of appetite" (149). This is important because animals execute these behaviors regularly, so the animals can be harmed. If the animals did not live in zoos they would not be harmed. Also, according to a video produced by Discovery News, un-noticed stress can result in bad health for animals (==). This is significant since animals lives can be dramatically shortened from their poor health. The stress can be caused by the light levels and noise levels and because the light and noise is so high the animals would
Animals should not be held captive in zoos because it is inhumane and unfair to the animals. There are so many records of terrible things that have happened to animals in zoos over the past few centuries, the go under the radar too often. Too few people even know about these animal care atrocities, and therefore the New York Times decided to bring light upon this situation. The Times did a first-of-its-kind analysis of 390 elephant fatalities at accredited U.S. zoos over the past 50 years (Berens 3). It found that most of the elephants died from injury or disease linked to conditions of their captivity, from chronic foot problems caused by standing on hard surfaces to musculoskeletal disorders from inactivity caused by being penned or chained for days and weeks at a time.
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.
Some people believe that zoos are an essential part of our society and should continue to be open to the public. One reason people do not want zoos to be banned is because zoos provide protection for endangered species. For example, certain animals like the Arabian oryx, Corroboree frog, Bellinger river turtle, and Golden lion tamarin have been able to survive extinction because of zoo conservation (“10 Endangered Species Saved From Extinction By Zoos”). When well-known species are becoming endangered, it would make sense that people want to help protect these animals from disappearing forever by giving them an environment where they can interact with other animals and continue to increase the population of those endangered species. Another
Another not so obvious case against zoos is the physical risks involved for the animals. Animals can contract human diseases from visitors from the zoo. For example, apes are susceptible to influenza, measles, and tuberculosis from humans. Stephen St. C. Bostock wrote in Zoos and Animal Rights, “An animal can also be exposed in a zoo to infections that it wouldn’t face in the wild…Primates especially apes, can catch tuberculosis and measles from humans” (Bostock, 67).Taranjit Kahr reported more about respiratory diseases in, “Descriptive Epidemiology of Fatal Respiratory Outbreaks and Detection of a Human-Related Metapneumovirus in Wild Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) at Mahale Mountains National Park, Western Tanzania”: “Over the past several years, acute and fatal respiratory illnesses have occurred in the habituated group of wild chimpanzees at the Mahale National
Zoos are an unsuitable environment for wild animals and should, therefore, be abolished. Firstly, zoo animals are kept in a very confined area compared to their vast natural habitat. Secondly, breeding programmes are far less successful than zoos claim. Thirdly, zoo animals are exposed to many diseases and other dangers. Zoo animals are usually kept in very cramped enclosures and do not behave like their wild counterparts.