Monica DeVaney 05/05/2014

Zoos are establishments where captive animals are kept for the view of the public. They are placed in cages that are meant to mimic their natural habitat. Many zoos are viewed as centers for children to be entertained.

EntertainmentConservationResearchEducation

 The conservation of endangered animals is something zoos have been attempting.  Although this is a good, these animals being born and raised in captivity makes it near impossible to survive in the wild.  In a study at Exeter they reviewed 45 cases, involving 17 carnivore species, and found that only 30% of captive animals released survived.

 Research on animals in captivity does not tell us anything about the animal and how it behaves normally.  These animals are being used for research on the species when the actual species from the wild cannot be accurately compared to those in captivity.  The public and researches can be better educated through documentaries of these species in the wild.  Entertainment, education, research, and conservation can all be done in better ways then through the imprisonment of animals.  So are these reasons for keeping zoos so important that we should keep these poor animals caged and unhappy?

 Zoos are prisons. They are used to hold animals for human entertainment and use.  These animals have the natural instincts of wanting privacy, mental stimulation and physical exercise, which they lack in zoo environments.  Zoos are replacing the natural behaviors and drives of these wild animals.

Enclosure The animals who live in zoos are kept in areas that don’t allow them to live their lives in a natural way. These wild animals now live in the same enclosure when they are used to traveling miles to find food or to migrate. Stress Behavior Signs of stress or boredom that you can see in a zoo, animals pacing back and forth, head bobbing, rocking, retracing their steps, sitting motionless or biting themselves. Scientific term for repetitive behaviors in captive animals is “Abnormal Repetitive Behavior” also known as ARB.

Surplus Animals Animals that are unwanted, when there is no room, or another baby animal of the species is brought in. The animals are either killed-sometimes fed to their fellow zoo habitants- or sold to other zoos or dealers. Breeding Programs The babies that are being bred in zoos are taken from their mothers and sold to other zoos, sending the mother into a depression. Many baby are often rejected by their mothers, the animals knowing that they were inseminated and not the animals “real” babies.

Do We Need Zoos?  Keeping animals in zoos a great injustice.  Zoos keep animals mainly for the public viewing.  If truly animals were kept to avoid extinction, then we would have conservatories dedicated for that purpose.  If we viewed animals at the zoo you will see that animals are not happy in captivity.  Zoos are prisons for animals without a voice.