What Do I House Them?

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.

Animals are deprived of their natural habitat when transferred from the wild open space of the wild only to be fenced inside a limited habitat. Peta.org explains “Elephants typically walk up to 30 miles in just one day, but Lucy, the lone elephant at the Edmonton Zoo, is locked inside a barn… spends most of her time indoors…”. This doesn’t only apply to elephants, but to many other animals. Preventing them from thriving, because of the limited space provided per animal. Additionally, this leads to health problems because of the restricted amount of movement, health problems like arthritis. However zoos are not only causing physical harm, but mentally making animals sick causing many cases of depression. Trapping animals in cages stressed them out and can make them unhappy taking matters into their own hands trying to kill themselves according to

It won't smell bad or make a mess. They don't shed. It does not need bathes. Its cage won't be a big mess, so it won't have to be cleaned often.

“MidWest offers a variety of containment products for many different small animals, including, ferrets, rats, chinchillas, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, degus, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils and more,” according to its website. Its Critterville line of small animal pens allows for owners to put their animals into a larger enclosed area so that the animals can exercise and play more freely.

I assume many of you have pets including cats, dogs, rabbits, and mice. Imagine yourself as your pet, but instead of living in a warm home with a caring family, you live locked up in a small metal cage,

Imagine this, life in a cage that six inches from you in every direction. This is how thousands of dogs live in a puppy mill.

Saving animals is one objective, but placing an animal in captivity is another. The animals are aware of their surroundings and probably remember where they came from. Just because animals cannot speak, it doesn’t mean that they don’t understand what is going on. So, when placing an animal in a thousand square foot cage, compared to their

In many of the zoos that i have witnessed have had small living quarters for the animals. In both articles “The Impact of Animal Protection” and “Do Animals Lose in Zoos” they both talk about having limited space at zoos and wildlife reserves. I have gone the Oklahoma City Zoo and seen some of the larger animals enclosures. Some of the larger cats in particularly seem small holding the seven or eight cats at a time. In the article, “ Do Animals Lose in Zoos?” it says, “Big cats have been seen endlessly pacing.” This is due to them being locked up and not able to run

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

Some people refuse to go to the zoo because of pity for creatures that must live in small cages.

Many people are attracted to keeping wild animals as pets. They believe the wild animals to be interesting and exciting. At a young age, the animals may seem easier to tame, but the older these animals get, the more aggressive they tend to become. Many problems can develop from keeping a wild animal as a pet. Wild animals have specific needs that have to be met, in order for them to prosper. “Only the most exceptional zoos and wildlife centers provide a living area that somewhat resembles the natural habitat of these animals, but it is virtually impossible to provide sufficient space for larger species”(CFHS). In captivity animals do not lose their wild instincts. They can be extremely unpredictable, and if provoked they can cause severe harm to people. Some wild animals, such as reptiles and hedgehogs can actually carry bacteria called salmonella, which is very easily transmitted to humans. Exotic animals can be very social, and need to have a companion of the same species living with them. If the animal is kept isolated from its kind, then it can suffer psychologically (CFHS). Many wild animals that are kept as pets often get abandoned because the owner was not able to meet of its needs. Others try to

Right now, millions of mice, rats, rabbits, primates, cats, dogs, and other animals are locked inside cold, barren cages in laboratories across the country. They languish in pain, ache with loneliness, and long to roam free and use their minds. Instead, all they can do is sit and wait in fear of the next terrifying and painful

Dogs are often kept in small cages that are stacked in columns, with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs.

(Fisher, 2007). The rats with more space to run around in and consistent meals seemed more upbeat and performed better on tests. Calhoun also noted that the rats without sufficient shelter and nesting space abandoned their young and where quite more aggressive than the other rats. Research in the field of environmental psychology is extremely important because from adolescents to adulthood human beings and the environments we live in are forever changing.

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.