Why Should Animals Be Kept In Zoos

As the animal rights movement has developed and grown substantially in recent years, there has been an increased focused on the welfare of captive animals. A popular institution that has received much attention for keeping animals captive is the zoo. Because of this focus, zoos have responded by publicizing their positive benefits for existence in order to justify keeping these animals on display. Since the term “zoo” can have a wide variety of meaning and characteristics, it is important to define what constitutes a zoo in this essay. Zoos are defined as a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and

In the article “Zoos Are Cruel and Unnecessary,” Earth Times posed a question, “With the internet, as well as DVDs, 3D TV, etc., are zoos really necessary to teach people about animals in the 21st century?” In the response given by Liz Tyson, director of the Captive Animals’ Protection Society, she argues an animal and its environment in a zoo is “out of context” and there is no substitution for an animal’s natural habitat. Therefore, viewing animals in such environments distorts the message that a zoo’s primary purpose is to conserve these habitats in the wild. By focusing solely on the artificial habitats, Tyson fails to mention the educational opportunities that zoos and zoological parks can provide, such as interactive visitor programs, breeding and rehabilitation programs, and up-close animal encounters.

The first modern zoo founded was in Vienna, Madrid and Paris in the eighteenth century and later in London and Berlin in the nineteenth century. The first zoo to be established in America was in Philadelphia and Cincinnati in the 1870s. In today’s America there are thousands of zoos. Humans like to be entertained regardless of how they are being entertained, whether that is walking through the park, watching a show, listening to music or simply going to the zoo. There is truth behind zoos that many don’t see, for example, many zoos don’t show the death rates that many zoo animals have after being transported from their natural habitants or the experiences that the zoo keepers provide to the animals being kept in captivity. To what extent are we okay with animals being tortured or being aware that animals are being killed just so humans can be entertained? While there are benefits to keeping animals in captivity, scholars agree that there are more negative effects that are damaging to the animals. The purpose of zoos can be more than just keeping animals in captivity and creating significant health or mental problems, zoos also can have a positive outcome, zoos can help keep endangered animals safe from others who are trying to kill them for what they are worth. Jamieson explains and gives one example of when people started putting animals in captivity. The Romans is the example that Jamieson uses, the Romans “kept animals in order to have living fodder for

In the wild, elephants often walk up to 30 miles a day. Bears are very active animals, they roam around hundreds of miles exploring, and are normally active for 18 or more hours a day. Tigers and lions will roam for many miles just to hunt down their pray, and love to run and climb on things. But when these animals are imprisoned in cages and small enclosures at the zoo, they aren’t capable of living up to their natural instincts. “Living without these important things often causes “zoochosis” is a condition in which animals act strangely and even hurt themselves out of boredom and frustration”. Some don't realize all the cons of animals being kept in a zoo.

The first zoo was started in Vienna, Austria is 1748 and is still running today. So zoos have been entertaining people for many many years, but is that all they are good for? Zoos are beneficial for animals and make their lives better. A lot of people think that keeping animals locked up in a small habitat is a terrible thing. However, many species are starting to go extinct. Which is not good at all. “About 41 percent of all amphibian species and 26 percent of all mammals are now threatened with extinction, and fully half of the world’s primates — our closest relatives — teeter on the edge of existence.” (stlzoo.org) Zoos care for more than the amusement and education of people. They also offer the best nutrition, enrichment and environment for the animals they have in their care.

When people hear the word Zoo many different thoughts and opinions come to mind, but the levels of positivity and negativity vary from person to person. A common grievance is that zoos are jails to animals and their conditions are similar to circuses. Due to traveling and poor living conditions. Animals of the entertainment business are treated with much less respect than in a zoo. Others tend to think of the cute, fuzzy, and even funny animals living in well-designed habitats. No matter the opinion one approaches this article with, the knowledge of how a zoo actually works is often lacking. Few actually know that these animals are in the best place for them, and often feel just as at home. A great example is The Denver Zoo’s own Red Panda

Zoos are a dynamic educational source that enhances our community. Zoos raise awareness about jeopardized species and the significance of preservation. Zoos may help us to comprehend animals. They offer a good tool for our societies by lodging and dealing with creatures that may have been in peril at one point in their life. “100,000 kids come to London Zoo every year to learn about creatures.”[3] Usually when people come to zoos and they are taught about the conservation of some of the endangered species, a lot of these people get motivated and inspired to do something about it either by donating money or volunteering to help and so on.

Taking a family trip to the zoo with the kids generally entails a day of bright grins and exotic entertainment. Children feast their beady eyes on the foreign animals showcased, in awe at their fascinating performances. Despite the exhilaration generated at these locations, people fail to realize the gruesome reality that occurs behind the scenes of zoo. Although animal captivity provides amusement and is said to be educational, it remains to be a cruel practice that should require stricter regulation because of the inhumane circumstances that zoos subject the animals to.

Here for my essay i am using the articles from Saint Louis Zoo, Stephanie pillick,shirley mcmarlin. And joe gaspard. It starts with my claim. My claim is that i stand with the zoo. It's a good thing.

Zoo animals are also kept in small spaces. Animals such as elephants and tigers roam large areas which should never be held captive. The animals become agitated or depressed when they’re confined. Furthermore, statistics from 1990 show many attacks and deaths caused by zoo animals.

Animals need to be in their natural habitat, instead they are in an area too small and not the same. Animals are more likely to get diseases spread from other animals. By being in captivity it can cause animals physical and emotional distress. Animals should not be kept in zoos because animals deserve to be in their natural habitat away from physical and emotional stress of zoo life. Stress and lack of exercise affects the animals’ health.

There are zoos all over America. Some of these zoos are being targeted for holding the animals captive and many believe that zoos are a waste of resources. But zoos are actually very important for society. Zoos are important because they are educational, they treat the animals very humanly, and they have saved many species from going extinct.

All zoos do not offer adequate protection from the visitors. Zoos that don’t offer adequate protection are awful. Therefore, all zoos are awful. In 2005, two polar bears at the St. Louis Zoo died within weeks of each other. Churchill, one polar bear, died after ingesting objects spectators thrown into his exhibit. Approximately five weeks following this incident, Penny, another polar bear, died from an infection of having two dead fetuses in her uterus. Penny and Churchill are only one of many animals that suffered and died in a zoo. Careless people torment the animals to get a rise out of them because it’s boring for them to just watch an animal sit and sleep. Like Churchill, animals often get objects and food not fit for animals thrown

The section of Environmental Ethics about zoos discusses their histories while also showcasing the main arguments for and against them. In the chapter it is discussed that the reasons we need zoos are for amusement, education, research, and preservation of the species. While zoos do help with these things and many more the chapter goes on to argue that animals also need their freedom. It is stated that while zoos may not be awful, they are still taking something from these animals whether their captive or wild born. Thus, there is no clear answer to whether or not there should be zoos.

According to Statistic Brain, “A total of about 751,931 non endangered species and 1,041 endangered species of animals are kept in zoos around the world ”. Many of the non endangered animals are capable of living in the wild by themselves, but the more time they spend in zoos the more they will forget about how to survive in the wild and they will also gain many other negative effects. Zoos are more harmful than helpful because they restrict animals to enclosed habitats, they weaken the animals primal instincts, and they cause the animals stress which lead to mental and physical health issues.