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The Disadvantages Of Zoos: Help Endangereded And Helpangered Animals

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Zoos are not effective in helping endangered or threatened animals, because regardless of the circumstances, confinement cannot reproduce wild animals’ habitats. In this essay I will look at the disadvantages of zoos based on economics, education and the effect it has on threatened and endangered animals.
In order for zoos to retain popularity, they have to generate more income with rising ticket fees, and spending most of their earnings on expensive elephant rides, safari-treks, costly sky rides over exhibits and feeding stations. Pacing bears and sleeping lions bore visitors and make for small crowds, therefore animals are encouraged to dig, play, forage and roll around at astronomical costs. Baby animals are one of the biggest attractions for zoos, and therefore they squeeze as many fascinating species as possible into restricted spaces, reducing the actual percentage of endangered species in their care. For zoos, attracting visitors and making money comes before the interests of animals. According to Hancock (2017:7), a former zoo director “[l]ess than 3% of a zoo’s budget goes to conservation, while the majority goes toward hi-tech exhibits and marketing efforts to lure visitors. Zoos exist primarily to put animals …show more content…

I support the ideas and evidence stated above. However, there are always two sides to a controversial topic such as this one. The principles that zoos live by contradict my own beliefs, yet according to Tidiére et al, (2016:2) “[i]t is typically believed that zoo animals live longer than their free-ranging conspecifics due to the consistent provision of food, water, and shelter from harsh climates, the absence of predation and management to minimise violent intraspecific encounters and accidents, as well as veterinary prophylactic and therapeutic intervention”, one must accept that there are some favourable factors

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