Onyx's Sacrifice

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.

The issue on whether or not to keep animals in captivity has been debated heavily for a long time. With species such as the panda on the verge of extinction to mistreatment of marine mammals in theme parks such as Sea World, keeping wild animals under the care of humans has been a struggle and a highly controversial topic. Even though many people believe that animals should not be kept in captivity because humans are incapable of fully understanding and providing specific needs for wild animals, certain animals can be kept happy and healthy in captivity, and these animals are an important educational tool for teaching people of all ages about biology, biodiversity, and the ecosystems of the world.

“The Lady, or The Tiger” by Mr. Frank R. Stockton has compelled readers for as long as time. This story ends with all wondering, so which is it, the delicate and fair young lady or the savage, fierce, wild-eyed tiger standing behind the door. This makes us ponder whether human heart chooses love or jealously. Within this essay, there will be proof that it is the stunning young woman behind the door. Although there is evidence proving that it is the tiger, in a sense there is more evidence stating that the elegant and barbaric princess allowed her real lover to continue living. To begin let us start with the small dwindling points that the tiger, lye behind the door.

Zoos, SeaWorld, and circuses are places for families to enjoy entertainment. However, most people do not realize how the animals in each of these establishments are handled. Yes, they all bring in revenue and present the tricks these animals can do, yet these places preform detrimental acts to the animals. For example, the killer whales at SeaWorld are sometimes starved if they do not perform the way the trainer wants them to. In comparison, circuses torture lions and tigers until they are submissive to how the show-people want them to act. Zoos do not necessarily torture their animals, but it is proven the animals live much shorter lives in captivity. “Lives of animals in the wild versus captivity are literally worlds apart, and even the best captive facilities can’t recreate the conditions of the wild — not exactly. Most don’t even try, leaving animals in tiny enclosures with no socialization, enrichment or joy. Captivity is unnatural and unhealthy” (Sentenac). People are starting to recognize the danger of continuing these practices, but there’s a long way to go.Furthermore, animals in all of these places have suffered many traumatizing and even deadly events. There was a recent report that two circus lions, whom had severe head injuries, were killed by poachers who snuck into the sanctuary. “Last year poachers bypassed an advanced security system at a lodge near the town of Tzaneen in the Limpopo province, killing two lions by feeding them poisoned meat” (Graham).

Murder and abuse cases never fail to startle society. Moral codes are flouted with unmatched rigorousness by these indubitable egregious crimes. Sufferers in these cases are often people. Nonetheless, these callous obscenities should not be seen as less important when animals are the victims. Animals undergo horrendous abuse due to barbaric individuals, greed, and unnecessary lab testing.

Since their very beginnings, zoo’s around the world have been at the forefront of ethical debates. Animal ethicists, animal liberationists and proponents of the land ethic raise considerable questions about the nature of zoos in a moral and ethical context. Drawing on animal rights claims, the questionable moral status of animals and the land ethic, this essay seeks to argue that zoo’s; a place in which wild animal’s are held in captivity, are inherently unethical. Though animal liberationists tend to include domesticated animals and agriculturally farmed animals, the scope of this essay will focus solely on the ethics of zoo’s and those animals within. Citing experts in the animal ethics

In this article the author used a variety of rhetorical devices in order to inform readers of a great issue at hand; some hunting has become an awful institution. It was not difficult for the author to quickly connect to the audience emotionally as Cecil’s saddening story was revealed in a great depth. The author revealed how Cecil the lion was shot with a bow and arrow and wounded for a brutal two days before he was shot and killed by Minnesota dentist, Walter J. Palmer. The author revealed this in the quote that states, “Cecil, a well-known lion at a national park in zimbabwe, was lured out of the park and shot with a bow and arrow earlier this month. The arrow didn’t kill him...the hunters tracked the wounded animal for the next two days before shooting him with a gun.” Revealing Cecil’s inhumane death most definitely establishes a very despairing tone and will spark an emotional reaction from readers. The fact that this lion suffered as he was tortured over a three day period made this situation even more saddening. Not only was Cecil’s death a horrible crime but the fact that he endured

This article primarily discusses the time that Ota Benga attacked a keeper at the Bronx Zoo during his time of “captivity” when his keepers wouldn’t let him take his clothes off while they were washing the cages. While reading this article it filled me with despair to see just the lengths that they tried to keep him dehumanized and make him seem and also feel like an animal and that he belonged in that case persay. I cannot say that if I was stuck in a zoo like an animal and I had the chance to take out my aggression towards our society that put him in those circumstances that I wouldn’t lash out in the same way that Ota Benga did. I hated the part that for his punishment they point out that he was put in a cage and made it seem okay being that he was released in the

All around the world, people are abusing animals. Animal cruelty is a big deal because some people do not look at animals as being important; some people do not see a problem with hurting them. Animal cruelty can be define as being a malicious treatment that can cause undue pain or being mistreated. Seeing an animal get brutalize by some humans seems to be cruel. Getting kicked in the ribs, left for starvation and even used for entertainment seems to be heartless. Why abuse animals when they have not done anything to harm a human. If one must see what they are really doing to these animals, then animal cruelty would not be a big deal.

Many people have memories of visiting a zoo or an aquarium in their childhood, but are they safe for the animals inside? Indicators for both support and opposition exist, making the debate double sided and more complex than originally thought. For example, SeaWorld recently shut down their orca breeding program because the whales were being harmed. Despite this, animals in captivity may be a necessity. Habitats being destroyed and the threat of predators and poachers are becoming more common. Zoos and aquariums can provide a safe haven from these dangers. Alternatively, some zoos and aquariums can be even more dangerous for the animals than if they were in their natural habitat. Mistreatment of animals in captivity is a problem that only seems

On August fourth, in Tampa Bay, Florida, a flamingo, affectionately named “Pinky” was forcefully taken from her enclosure at Busch Gardens, and slammed against the ground by an Orlando man with a history of senselessly murdering animals. Multiple news websites covered the traumatic incident, but two managed to stand out above the others: The Tampa Bay Times, and United Press International. However, only one presented the story effectively and accurately.

Recently SeaWorld has come under a significant amount of scrutiny in regards to their orca whale program. Their whales have become increasingly aggressive over the years, hurting and even killing their trainers. SeaWorld and other facilities like it claim that they have these programs in order to conserve species and save them from extinction, but is the damage to the mental and physical well-being of these animals worth it? Orcas are considered highly intelligent and social animals. In this paper, I will discuss the problems associated with SeaWorld and why conservation programs are important in order to come to a compromise between freedom and captivity.

That was in 1998, and at the time it seemed like a turning point in the decades-long fight over circus elephants. For years, animal rights organizations had been releasing horrific undercover videos showing Ringling trainers abusing elephants, but USDA investigations never produced evidence that officials deemed strong enough to warrant action. Now there was a dead body—and a recent precedent. The agency had just fined the King Royal Circus, a small family operation, $200,000 for allowing an elephant to die in an overheated trailer of an untreated salmonella infection.

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

With nearly millions of animals dying each year from being captive, or endangered species being hunted down and killed, we need to discover a new way of displaying that our world is full of beautiful animals and wildlife. Wild animals are suffering both physically and mentally from the lack of freedom that confinement imposes. These harmful environments are preventing animals from having the opportunity to live in, and be exposed to their natural habitats. Keeping animals imprisoned in cages and small enclosures just for the sake of human observation causes stress and frustration, which is risking animals overall health and well being. These morally unacceptable and cruel actions of retaining wild animals in captivity is certainly wrong.