The Controversy Over Zoos And American Culture

America is commonly characterized as the greatest country in the world, the glorious “land of the free and the home of the brave”, “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. This idealization of the American identity conveniently focuses on what people want to hear and blurs out most everything else. In reality, Americans do not live up to the dreamscape created by our views, and we never really have. America is no longer characterized by its freedom and democracy, nearly every first world country can afford that luxury. Nor are we set apart by the great opportunities given to our people, for those are far from universal. We aren’t equal, we aren’t unified, we aren’t kinder or smarter or richer than any other country across the board. It’s easy to find the shortcomings of American culture, all the things we aren’t, but the things we are have proven to be more elusive. First, let’s examine the nots.

Zoos, rehabilitation institutions, and many other environmental centers provide opportunities for the public to witness animals that cannot be seen on a daily basis. Whether to keep animals in captivity is morally hard to decide, especially for me personally. In the essay, “Against Zoos,” by Dale Jamieson, he writes about the positives zoos provide, and then reiterates them; making positives turn into negatives. Jamieson makes statements about humans being superior over animals, and how we should not be thinking that we are better. We tend to take a lead role over other species, because of our “higher intelligence.” That should not mean that we treat wildlife as if they are something lower than us. In more ways than one, we as humans are

“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.

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

Zoos present a certain blend of nature and culture. They have always provided a way to bring natural wildlife and urban Americans together as a means of entertainment. Yet, throughout the years the role of zoos have changed. Though once used for amusement, zoos are now being used for education on preservation and the welfare of endangered species. One may wonder where and how the idea of zoos started and just how they, and the environment around them, have changed throughout history.

Some people go to zoos to see the wild animals, but that’s not all that they are for. People in groups such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) may think that zoos cannot provide the needs to wild animals as the wild can. Zoos help animals. They have improved, helping to repopulate species and save animals in the wild.

It is so difficult for nonprofit organizations to deal with the withdrawal of a major gift. In order to illustrate what ABC Nonprofit should be aware of and how to successfully navigate the complexities that it is facing, I selected the case of the Central Park Children’s Zoo as an example. I suggest that ABC Nonprofit should get to know more about the new major donors before reaching agreements, handle the major gift wisely, and have good relationships with both major donors and individuals or communities that have involved in.

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.

A well-developed institute in history, the zoo was a work in progress that advanced from animal collections to caged menageries to elaborate exhibits of exotic wildlife. The aforementioned animal collections differ in the fact that the American zoos of the Progressive Era mainly appealed the middle class family. American Zoos can be traced back to colonial days, where animals were displayed via chains and cages in front of local businesses or placed in traveling menagerie collections. Such animal collections fascinated inquisitorial patrons. Early collections reflected amusement and very little actual zoological knowledge.

The first modern zoo to be founded was in Vienna, Madrid and Paris in the eighteenth century and later on in London and Berlin in the nineteenth century. The first zoo to be established in America was in Philadelphia and Cincinnati in the 1870s. In today’s America there are thousands of zoos. Humans like to be entertained regardless of how they are being entertained, whether that is walking through the park, watching a show, listening to music or simply going to the zoo. There are truth behind zoos that many don’t see, for example, many zoos don’t show the death rates that many zoo animals have after being transported from their natural habitants or the experiences that the zoo keepers provide to the animals being kept in captivity. To what extent are we okay with animals being tortured or being aware that animals are being killed just so humans can be entertained? While there are benefits to keeping animals in captivity, scholars agree that there are more negative effects that are damaging to the animals. The purpose of zoos can be more than just keeping animals in captivity and creating significant health or mental problems, zoos also can have a positive outcome, zoos can help keep endangered animals safe from others who are trying to kill them for what they are worth. Jamieson explains and gives one example of when people started putting animals in captivity. The Romans is the example that Jamieson uses, the Romans “kept animals in order to have living fodder for games.” Jamieson continued to explain how over the years the use of animals historically grew in popularity and how the idea continued to “thrive until at least the eight century.” Jamieson also mentioned that keeping a large amount of animals showed who had power.

Thousands to millions of people are bustling around within this country in which we call America, the greatest country in the world; the towering architectural structures, the millions of economical exchanges being conducted, the numerous amounts of food, technology, material objects and comforts we grant ourselves in our homes, the thousands of grand priveleages of freedom, and liberty. These are just a few of the things that people of America have everyday in ‘the land of the free’. We lable ourselves with this bold statement, basking in our own self centered pride and glory, refusing to realize the reality of it all. America has lost sight of the tremendously prideful goals and mere personal accomplishments that can better our country, we

For many centuries, zoos have served as a way of both educating and entertaining various audiences around the world. However, many ethical and moral concerns have arisen recently regarding the manner in which the animals in these facilities are treated. Zoos disregard the rights of animals because the audiences and employees treat them poorly and animals are unable to thrive in the small enclosures. Journalist Michelle Carr is correct in her claim about the harsh reality of zoos. Even though authors Leslie Kaufman and John Pickrell are accurate when they claim that many zoos serve as educational and conservational institutions, this does not excuse the fact that zoos take advantage of animals in order to make money.

Zoos in America is a trademark of the “American dream” however, they hold a much sadder background.

Zoos have been historically known to be not only nature spaces, but also entertainment spaces. The many complicated associations and contested views of zoos can provide some background as to why some people can be extremely affected by decisions zoos make. Another factor is the different cultural factors that can shape people’s views of what defines humane animal practices. For example, if Marius the giraffe had been slain in front of children at an American zoo, there could have been even more uproar. Jessica Alexander, author of The Danish Way of Parenting, wrote that Danish parents tend to be more honest with their children about life and death (Bilefsky). Thus, there are many reasons that need to be considered before dissecting why zoos are generally warier of what is “safe” to show audiences or

The main aim of zoos is to protect and conserve global biodiversity and wildlife. To do this they have four roles to play which are; research, conservation, education and welfare.