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The benefits of animals in zoos
Is treatment of zoo animals a moral issue
Are zoos hurting the ecosystem
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Recommended: The benefits of animals in zoos
Animals are being forcefully taken from their natural habitats and their families, then put into unnatural and controlled environments. Most of the creatures are trapped in enclosures, unable to live real lives with socializing and exercise. Zoos are prisons for these animals. In the times when zoos were originally created, zoos were the only way to see the animals. Or to be read about in books written by explorers and scientists. Showing simply descriptions with drawings. Animals brought back from explorations where observed, killed, dissected and sometimes even eaten. Although, current conditions are not as severe as they were in the eighteen-hundreds. They still are not what they should be.
Most zoos do not or can not meet humane standards, even if they pass AZA (1Association of Zoos and Aquariums) inspections. Habitats need to be created that allow the animal to function normally, daily. They must be provided with appropriate diets and climate controlled environments. Like in Sweden has passed laws that all habitats must be large enough for each species and that no animal is to be only housed indoors. They have to have time outdoors as well.
But, no habitat will ever be as large as their natural home. For example, elephants in the wild can walk from twenty to fifty miles a day. 5The Knoxville Zoo's elephant exhibit is 0.6 acres. It takes a human 6 minutes to walk 4 acres. Maggie, an elephant, was kept at the Alaska Zoo in a small indoor enclosure for days because cold outside temperatures. Malnutrition kills hundreds of zoo animals all over the world. From the lack of food or being fed the wrong diet. In China eleven Siberian tigers died over the course of three months from malnurishment. Twenty animals died ,also wi...
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... fifteen percent of animals in captivity will die each year. At least seventy-five hundred up to two hundred-thousand die each year in Europe alone . Foundations and organizations, work to protect animals and keep them in the wild. Sanctuaries have cameras that make it possible to watch the animals all day long, at any time. You can also go to the sanctuaries to observe and view. They can be watched from afar and observed in nature. Not to be tampered with , abused, or manipulated or forced into conformity.
1http://www.aza.org/
2http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?id=8537
3http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gorilla-escapes-4-injured/
4http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/08/130805-costa-rica-animals-zoos-environment-world/
5http://www.zoochat.com/22/aza-elephant-exhibit-sizes-326779/
6http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2010/08/16/indonesian-zoo-kills-hundreds-of-animals
Animals life spans in Zoos are also drastically different from those in the wild. Studies have shown that animals kept in Zoos live only half of the lifespan animals do in the wild (Cokal 493). This goes to show that when animals are kept in Zoos they do not live statistically longer or healthier lives. They live shorter, problematic lives due to poor
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 can become depressed and lifeless when living in a zoo. They start showing unnatural behavior such as pacing and sleeping all the time.
...provide a habitat for animals that had there’s destroyed. Furthermore they need to improve their captive breeding programs and abandon the failed programs. Zoos need to address the concern that animals are not living up to there actual life span and either release them into there natural habitat or find an alternative. Animal stress is also of big concern because it is causing physiological harm.
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 caging of animals for our personal entertainment is unjustifiable. Those who believe that zoos are wrong and should be destroyed are animal rights activist; 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 scientist and zoologist. This debate has gone on for generations and average folk are stuck in the middle, not knowing which side to stand on. The animals being kept in captivity could not be interviewed; their side of the story will be based on interpretation on their movement and interaction with animals in the zoo and in the wild. Are animals better suited to live in the harsh conditions of the wild or are they better suited to live their lives safely in captivity?
It’s always fun to go with your friends and family to see cute and exotic animals when you go to the zoo, right? You may think that they have the best life having people to give them things that want and to protect them, but some of them are actually suffering just for our amusement from being in that small enclosure all day and all night. Animals should not be put in zoos because they can develop many mental and physical health problems due to the absence of some natural necessities and they are not always treated as nice as you think.
What about zoos in other regions of the world? This question is a good one; as it applies to regional views. Zoos all over the world have different rules; for visitors and their animals, depending on who and where they are located. China has a main focus on saving their giant pandas from extinction; note they are vulnerable, but can end up endangered once more. Some zoos run on donations; Cheyenne Mountain zoo and Dartmoor zoo, while others are federally paid; Denver zoo. Each zoo has a mascot to be the main view; Cheyenne mountain has a giraffe, Denver has a lion, Australia zoo has a crocodile, but under that mascot are other animals branched out. This means that no zoo is a like; they may have the same animals, but their rules and lifestyle are entirely different.
Since approximately 1250 B.C., ancient Egyptians had created and practiced the capture and display of animals in what are now known as zoos (Fravel). Records describe such exotic animals as birds, lions, giraffes, and tigers in captivity (Fravel). Since then, zoos have continued to entertain millions with the exciting chance to view exotic animals up close and personal. Even in ancient Greece, exotic animals were on display in fighting arenas, and in enclosed viewing areas. Originally in America, zoos were just created so that royalty and the wealthy could flaunt their exotic animals to the public (Leolupus). Today, with species threatened and habitats disappearing worldwide, zoos are serving a new purpose other than the mere exhibition of animals – conservation. (Fravel). When you think of a zoo, you either think of a fun, entertaining place that provides close-up and exciting exhibits of wild animals that you would otherwise never get the chance to see, or a place where people keep suffering, unhappy animals captive just for entertainment and display. However, despite whichever view you hold, and despite the stereotypes, some zoos have evolved to serve alternative and helpful purposes. Although some zoos face controversy due to allegations such as lack of space and quality care, neglect, and cruelty, some zoos have programs specifically designed to help and protect animal species. For example, these zoos have programs that help such conservation efforts as breeding.
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 ...
“It is estimated to be 50 times more expensive to keep an elephant in a zoo than to protect sufficient natural habitat to sustain that elephant and many other animals.” (CAPS, Sad Eyes & Empty Lives- The reality of zoos) Indeed, only if the billions of dollars that spent on building a zoo are optimized to preserve habitats and animal welfare, can our grandchildren still have a chance to see more rare animals by their own eyes.
Blindsided by the lies we hear in our daily lives can also relate to the inhumanity of zoos. Vegetarian times created the article called Nature Behind Bars to focus our attention towards the cruelty behind these cages. Critics say, “zoos are abnormal and self-destructive behavior.”(Mary Beckoff). The confinement and loss of enjoyment is minimal when a wild animal is imprisoned. This is important that we only help rescued animals that cannot survive alone in the wild, but not capture any just for pleasure or
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.
PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have an article on their website that speaks about zoos and pseudo-zoos. This article states, “deprivation….causes many captive animals to lose their minds. Animals with this condition, called ‘zoochosis,’ often rock, sway, or pace endlessly and some even resort to hurting themselves by chewing on their own fingers and limbs, or pulling out their fur or feathers.” PETA also states that some animals are prescribed antidepressants or antipsychotics to try to curb the abnormal behavior. Humane Conservation is a certification process that must be certifies health and working conditions for animals in zoos and aquariums.
Zoo animals are usually kept in very cramped enclosures and do not behave like their wild counterparts. Polar bears, for example, are given about 10 metres of walking space whereas in their Arctic home they roam for many hundreds of kilometres. Similarly, primates, big cats and birds are often confined in cages where they lack exercise and stimulation. Many animals develop unnatural habits such as pacing back and forth or swaying from side to side.