Do Animals Make Zoos Not Ethical?

The lack of freedom is a major reason why animals should not be kept in zoos. This shows to be accurate because studies have shown that lack of freedom can affect animals negatively. In the article, "Reason to Rethink Zoos" by Katherine Glosser, she states,"Animals deserve the same quality of life that humans have. I can't imagine being trapped in a fake habitat, never being allowed to roam outside and watching people staring and pointing at me through a glass window. If I don't want that fate, I am sure animals don't want that either"(2).

Zoos have been around for 4,000 years, for many years people have gone to zoos to see wild animals up close. What people do not know is animals don't have the best interest in being in a zoo. The article, "Zoos: The Historical Debate" from Globalanimal.org discusses some pros (positive sides) and cons (negative sides) of zoos. As well as how millions of people visit zoos around the world and how some argue that zoos are either places of education and conversation or unnecessary prisons. After reading the article a logical conclusion is zoos are detrimental to animals.

“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen thought. That’s the problem.” - A.A. Milne. I feel that this means some people command the animals to work, while not understanding what the animal also wants or needs. In the debate, “Are Zoos Bad News?”, written anonymously, the author reports the ethical and unethical reasoning between zoos. This came after the attack on three victims. In my opinion, the existence of zoos should endure seeing that it educates people, zoos can alter the behaviour of people to animals and zoos promote wildlife conservation.

It’s human nature to have compassion towards animals and an instinct to react if they are abused or mistreated. This human nature is the foundation to the controversial topic of whether zoos are ethical to have. With this issue, there are various reasons that promote the importance of zoos along with reasons to why they can be considered immoral. Both sides are essentially equal and fighting for the same result, the well-being of the animal both physically and mentally. It’s difficult to determine which side is right, but I believe that zoos are beneficial to not only humans but the animals as well.

Zoos may seem fun to visit and exciting to see the animals; but what you don’t see is the suffering and depression that lies in these helpless creatures. There are many arguments whether or not zoos are good or bad, and if they should be removed or kept. Several think that zoos should be abolished or at least very much improved, due to animal cruelty. While, others want zoos to stay because it is beneficial for the animals and people. I strongly believe that zoos aren’t good for both the public and animals for numerous reasons.

Zoos across the world claim to be safe, suitable homes that replicate habitats of animals that are usually found in the wild. However, there is no possible way for wild habitats to be replicated well enough for animals in captivity to thrive, animals are often separated and withheld from living as they would in the wild. Despite their argument of being educational for visitors, the only thing they are teaching the public is that it is ok to take animals out of the wild and lock them up for their own enjoyment. Regardless of these claims, zoos are inhumane.

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.

A question that has been debated for a very long time is, are zoos good or bad for animals? People have there opinions, and they back up their opinions with facts, facts that are true, but there are always facts for each side of the argument. Zoos have been around for over a hundred years and they have been adored and despised by many people. In the United States alone they have about 180 million visitors a year. Something about see animals in real life draws the attention of society. These articles i'm going to talk about on the positives and negatives of zoos display the nature of zoos that value their animals, and those that don't, and also with the problem of HAC (human animal conflict).

Zoos do not really have an animal's best interest at heart. If they truly did, then those animals would not be caged in the first place. They would not take animals out of their natural habitat and deprive them of their instincts. No longer are the animals able to run, hunt, dig, forage, or even select a mate. Instincts are something that all types of species need. As babies, humans learn instincts from birth. Reading, writing, talking, and eating is just some of the instincts that are learned by humanity. Without those basic skills, humans are taught from birth, humanity would not make it far in this world. It is the same thing for animals. Animals need their instincts to live life the correct way. (Humphery, 27) (Laidlaw, 15)

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

Zoos were created to help animals not to harm them. Explained by Lewis “animals and their habitats were being harmed which made humans take action”(Petrinovickk 369). Zoos help animals have a home and those that do not find proper food for their survival. Baby animals that get left alone, if their mother dies, might get brought into zoos to get treated. People think that animals deserve to be in the wild and that is true but zoos offer their animals enrichment. Ledford stated in the article Why do Zoos Matter that “enrichment is anything that keeps the animal both mentally and physically stimulated,

There have been a lot of problems with animals in zoos. It has gotten to the point where zoos are hated and looked upon as a places of animal torture. Are zoos really that bad? Turns out, they are. They do not have enough space, they do not allow the animals to communicate with each other, and they sell the animals to cruel circuses.

Some people agree that animals should be kept in the zoo. They said it would be safer for the animals and they won’t be extinct. The amount of possibilities of them dying, shot by hunters or any other reason, still higher than the chances of their survival. Food and shelter are provided, medicine, and their breeding is being controlled. And many of the wild animals in zoos are ones that are on the endangered list as their amounts are rapidly diminishing. Letting them loose and returning them to the wild is not necessarily a safe option. (Mylot, 2007) In fact, zoo can be one of the educational studies for children and people who are interested with animals. Zoo is the only place that we can have an opportunity to see animal’s life really close and sometimes we can touch them. Zoos also provide lots of information about certain animals, children can have chance to get out of the classroom and learn so they can see natural beauty from different species of animals. Even children can see them from discovery channel but that’s really different if you see animal in real world, for an example, if you see crocodile, snake or shark in the movie, maybe you won’t afraid than you see the real one. According to Tudge, (1992, p.56) Zoos are the place where people can study animals and their habitat, even scientist don’t need to go

Imagine walking through the zoo as a child, thinking how awesome it is to see all of those big interesting animals you would never get to encounter in the wild. Now think of walking through the zoo when you are older seeing these same animals in a very different light. Instead of seeing animals happily living their lives you see animals wandering aimlessly around their small enclosures looking bored to tears and depressed. Is it fair that we keep these animals cooped up specifically for our own entertainment? What right do we have to capture, contain, and breed these precious animals as we please? Why should we get to control their lives when they could obviously be living a better life elsewhere? Often these questions are meet with responses of conservation and education, but in reality those defenses have little backing. No animal should be forced to live in captivity for its whole life, which is why zoos should be banned since they are truly unjust to the animals living in them.

Zoochosis is the psychological problem associated with animals that are kept in confined places. Animals that are kept in zoos show signs of extreme depression and never get the chance to live their way of life. For many people around the world, zoos represent an opportunity to experience animals that most have never seen before, but sadly the experience for animals is terrible because they suffer physically and emotionally which takes away their chance at a fair life.