How To Keep Animals In Captivity

One of the most fun, visually amazing functions to visit are zoo's. Growing up as a kid going to the zoo was so much fun and basically guaranteed a great day out. People have been complaining and questioning the role of zoo's for a long time now. Some claim that it actually kills the animals off faster. Others claim that zoo's actually help protect and preserve the lives of these animals. Only one can make a reasonable argument by studying sources, and finding out statistics. Based off of the articles, "The Stripes Will Survive", "The Zoos Go Wild", and "Our Beautiful Macaws and Why They Need Enrichment", we can truly get in-depth analysis about the role zoo's play.

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.

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.

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.

At a young age, Tilikum was captured and made to perform for a park known as SeaLand; however, in the custody of the park Tilikum was kept with larger whales where they abused him along with park employees. Due to the abuse that Tilikum suffered, it caused him to claim the life of a female park employee in 1991. Even though SeaWorld was made aware of this incident, it still did not stop them from allowing their trainers to enter the water with him. In 1999 and 2010 SeaWorld’s Daniel P. Dukes and Dawn Brancheau became Tilikum’s second and third victim to be killed. One would think after the first incident that Tilikum would be set free, but it is more practical to have a whale that performs and makes

Although there are many problems, there are also many solutions to save the killer whales that are being held captive.The death of the female trainer at SeaWorld in 2010 caused by Tilikum dragging her into the pool by her ponytail and torturing her caused a lot of controversy. That is when SeaWorld announced that the trainers would no longer interact with the orcas in the water during live Shamu shows. Although the trainers would no longer interact they would still continue doing the live shows. SeaWorld decided to put a wall between the trainers and the massive whales so that they can feed them without being put at a risk to be in danger. This action was the start of making SeaWorld a better place and the start to many other solutions that

“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

On February 24, 2010, Dawn Brancheau, a veteran orca trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, was killed during the “Dine with Shamu” show by a whale named Tilikum. Horrified tourists watched helplessly as Brancheau was dragged into the tank and thrashed about in the water by Tilikum. William M. Welch of USA Today wrote in one article that “Brancheau was rubbing the 12,000-pound orca after a show when it grabbed her and pulled her in”(1). This incident, while shocking to many, was not the first time Tilikum had caused the death of a whale trainer. In 1991, before Tilikum arrived at SeaWorld, he occupied a tank at a

This article discuses the documentary film “Blackfish”, and exposes the dangers of having animals in captivity. The documentary unfolds the tragic story of Tilikum, a stress-induced whale who lived in captivity at SeaWorld since 1983. The 23-foot long bull orca drowned SeaWorld trainer, Dawn Brancheau, in 2010. The thesis in this article is “A comparison of their natural behavior patterns, as opposed to the lives they must endure in aquariums and amusement parks, reveal the answer” (Cronin. para. 4). The author Aisling Cronin, poses the question; Why do animals consistently demonstrate greater levels of aggression in captivity, than they do in the wild? The author makes comparisons of their natural behavioral patterns, as opposed to lives in

We tend to love our pets; we also love the zoos, aquariums and SeaWorld parks around the world. For many years the population has chosen to believe that the research and educational purposes of these outlets outweigh any of the negatives involved in keeping wild animals in captivity. Filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite shows us in her documentary Black Fish that we are overdue for an eye opening revelation that brings up the cruel and vicious tactics involved with the capture and training of wild animals for entertainment purposes. She uses facts, emotions, and ethics to inform the audience about the unknown secrets of SeaWorld’s biggest asset, Tilikum.

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.

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

David Kirby, author of Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity, explains how the investigation of animals in captivity began. According to Kirby, Dawn Brancheau was an orca trainer for sixteen years before Tilikum killed her in 2010. When the news of death spread trainer Brancheau was killed, “it opened the door to crushing media examination” (317). “Dawn’s death also,” said Kirby, “upended the dynamics of the captivity debate” (378). The death

The topic of zoos and whether or not they’re humane have quickly become one of the biggest controversial topics in the past twenty years. There is not much of a ‘middle’ perspective in this debate, rather people tend to lie on two completely opposite ends of the spectrum when displaying their beliefs pertaining to the zoo debate. I chose to research this topic because though I have strong beliefs, I think that, on this matter specifically, people often jump to a certain side without any prior research or actual education on the subject. I think that it’s important to understand both sides of the argument of zoos before sustaining a side. Another reason why I chose this topic was to moreso educate myself and to make sure that the knowledge I

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