Animal Rights Violations

Drawing on animal rights claims, the questionable moral status of animals and the land ethic, this essay seeks to argue that zoos; a place in which wild animal’s are held in captivity, are inherently unethical, because they violate the ethical and moral standard in which animals have a claim to. Citing experts in the animal ethics field, this essay will be supported by firstly establishing that animals do in fact have “animal rights” and similarly, that they have a claim to a moral status relative to that of humans. Following this, this essay will show that the animal rights, which zoo animals are privy to, allows us to set an ethical standard on which humans have a duty to treat animals, especially when held in captivity. Analyzing this ethical standard with which me must treat zoo animals, we can deduce that zoos are in fact not ethical in nature and in practice.

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

By placing these animals in unsuitable environments, they are experiencing mental and physical abuse. Moreover, their behaviors are being reformed in order to even be able to survive in such terrible conditions, therefore, altering future generations of these animals. So, not only are zoos changing these animals to conform to their artificial surroundings, but they are also disturbing the natural instincts of the species in order to survive in captivity. As mentioned by the Humane Society of the United States, “Inhumane conditions teach children the wrong message, seeming to condone indifference. Zoos should educate about how animals live in the wild, and help preserve them there.” (The Humane Society of the United States 7). While zoos often try and replicate the natural habitats that these animals live in, they cannot be successfully duplicated, therefore wrongly educating children and leading them to

There have been many discussions about the welfare of animals since the first zoos were created. Some people agree that animals should be kept in zoo’s, they argue that it benefits the animals because their every need is catered to. However, in some zoo’s they are treated the exact opposite of being catered to. Sometimes the animals are also deprived of a natural environment that the zoo’s fail to recreate. However, zoo’s can be helpful educationally to kids. It gives them a close up on the beauty of the animals, but it comes at the animals expense.

Animals are deprived of their natural habitat when transferred from the wild open space of the wild only to be fenced inside a limited habitat. Peta.org explains “Elephants typically walk up to 30 miles in just one day, but Lucy, the lone elephant at the Edmonton Zoo, is locked inside a barn… spends most of her time indoors…”. This doesn’t only apply to elephants, but to many other animals. Preventing them from thriving, because of the limited space provided per animal. Additionally, this leads to health problems because of the restricted amount of movement, health problems like arthritis. However zoos are not only causing physical harm, but mentally making animals sick causing many cases of depression. Trapping animals in cages stressed them out and can make them unhappy taking matters into their own hands trying to kill themselves according to

As a child, many people would often go to the zoo or to the circus and see animals in real life. In circuses, animals would often perform tricks and stunts, dazzling the audience. In the zoo, people would often see animals in their native habitat, or what looks like it. Children were mainly amazed with the animals and were always exited to go see the animals. As the years go by, they start to realize that some of the animals are suffering and are being mistreated, especially in circuses. They see that the animals in zoos are depressed and lonely and the animals in the circuses are chained up. What is worse is that animals in laboratories are often treated very poorly; more poorly than what Americans treat prisoners and refugees. There have been many debates on whether animals should be held in captivity. Some groups believe that animals should not be held in captivity because they have the same capacities as humans. They believe that animals can feel emotion and have a sense of morality. Animals in captivity are deprived of their natural habitat and their instincts. Animals raised in captivity tend to rely more on humans compared to animals raised in the wild. They also believe zookeepers and trainers are putting themselves at risk when taking care of the animals. There have been many incidents including the death of trainers by animals, one highlighted by the movie “Blackfish” by director Gabriela Cowperthwaite. There are others who believe that putting animals in captivity is beneficial for not only the animal, but for humans as well. Humans get more jobs if more animals are put into captivity because there is an increase in the amount of people needed. Another benefit of keeping animals in captivity is that it could help save a species who is endangered and close to going extinct. Another benefit is that it helps increase the amount of food available because some animals are raised for food. Putting animals in captivity wrong unless they are being used for the animal’s benefits.

“Before the early twentieth century, zoos would separate humans from the animals by using a series of moats. In the early 1900s, however, zoos “began displaying animals in realistic exhibits that mimicked actual habitats” (Gioielli, 2016, p. 1). Coupled with the more natural habitat is advancing care for the animals in captivity. More hospitals are being built for animals and better medicine is being created constantly. As a result of healthier and happier animals in increased popularity of animals in captivity. According to Carey (2016), “More than 10,000 zoos are now in operation worldwide . . . the central missions of zoos [are] not only to serve as attractions for recreation and amusement, but also to educate people and promote conservation . . .” (p. 2). Most people do not go to see animals in captivity for the sole purpose of entertainment, they also go to learn about the animals themselves. Both children and adults can learn about how to help protect endangered animals and their habitats. As a result, zoos and aquariums are continually gaining popularity. According to Gazert (2017), “Zoos and aquariums draw 181 million visitors per year in the United States--that’s over half the country’s population, and more visitors than the annual attendance of the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB games combined” (p. 2). Unfortunately, some zoos and aquariums have been known to abuse their animals. While this is not true of all zoos, but the reports of abuse have increased leading to more controversy. Because of this the idea of keeping animals in captive is harder to accept. Still, the sad truth is that animals may have to be in captivity in order to save their species. “A recent report from the World Wildlife Fund warned that without swift and substantial human intervention, over two-thirds of the world’s wildlife could be gone by the end of the decade” (Ganzert, 2017, p. 1). Predictions

Some people may argue that zoos are good for sick or injured animals; however, while they can help nurture babies and bring sick creatures back to health, they are not safe for healthy animals. Dr. Lesley Dickey estimates that every year about 3,000 to 5,000 animals are ‘management euthanized’ in European zoos (Barnes). This means that zoos put down animals if there is not enough space for them. This is called zoo culling. Some zoos even dissect animals in front of guests that they killed. Zoos are for caring for animals, there is no place for cruelty. Although most zoos don’t kill surplus animals, that doesn’t make them innocent. Some animals don’t live as long in zoos as they do in the wild. The median life span in European zoos for African

The topic of the treatment of captive animals in both zoos and aquariums is one of high controversy. It is argued that the capturing and breeding of wildlife, holding them in captivity may present them with unnecessary risks. This however is dependent on the species of animal.

Zoos and aquariums neglect proper care and treatment for animals. In the article, Mauling, Escapes and Abuse: six small zoos, 80 sick or dead animals, Over the past decade, more than 80 animals have died, been injured or become ill because of neglect at the zoos, and more than 200 others were kept in inhumane conditions, according to hundreds of pages of federal inspection reports, interviews with keepers and court documents (Jouvenal 1). This clarifies that because six small zoos neglect proper care and treatment for animals, there are now dozens dead, injured, or kept in inhuman conditions.. The article also states, “ That keepers with no experience or little experience were asked to care for sick animals and even manage birth,”(Jovenal 2).

Animal rights is the belief that animals have value and are worthy of moral consideration. The idea of animal rights may seem unheard of to many people throughout the world given the fact that globally animals are often abused and killed for a wide variety of socially acceptable reasons. Animals of all types have a right to be free of oppression, confinement, use and abuse by humans.

The zoo is packed with children, running everywhere. They laugh and smile as they watch the animals at the zoo sleep. What these children do not realize is that these animals are dying on the inside. Animals that live at the zoo are extremely depressed. These animals can suffer severe psychological disorders from being out of their natural environment. But others argue that keeping these animals in captivity will help keep endangered species alive. However, the disadvantages of keeping animals in captivity are becoming more and more serious, and more people are beginning to believe that animals should not be held captive. Animals should not be kept in captivity because of the negative impact it can have

Now there are modern zoos in almost every city in the world that boasts different arrays of animals. With all these different zoos around the world, we see different approaches on how these animals are treated and what they are subjected to.

Animals play an important role of human life. Wild animal is a kind that normally lives in the wild, for example: elephants, tigers, rhinos and many others. They live in the wild with spacious and natural environment, however many humans kept them in the zoo, as an attraction for the sake of the money. They didn’t think of the wild animals habitat, and there are some problems arise from keeping them in cages. The shock of being in captivity would depress the animals; they would even act hysterically and might hurt people near them. And it is not the animal to be fault. There are three main reasons why wild animals should not be kept in the zoos:

There’s been a significant amount of legislation passed into law based on honoring crime victims in Tennessee. Some of these include the examples I listed above, which include Amelia’s Law, the Kelsey Smith Act, and Erin’s Law. There are many more to include the Channon Christian and Chris Newsom Acts, Victim’s Rights Photo Act, Mabry Kate Webb Act, and Dustin’s law, even though this particular legislation has been delayed being passed into law.