Why Do People Ban Zoos

while visiting the zoo a few years ago, i realized how unfair zoos are to the animals. The animals are incased and treated badly by the zoo keepers. In the zoo, I've seen animals being thrown around like they're nothing. why would we want those situations to keep happening to our animals? I believe that zoos should be closed due to unfair treatment.

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.

There have been a lot of problems with animals in zoos. It has gotten to the point where zoos are hated and looked upon as a places of animal torture. Are zoos really that bad? Turns out, they are. They do not have enough space, they do not allow the animals to communicate with each other, and they sell the animals to cruel circuses.

“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

Every year almost 175 million people visit a zoo, yet the mistreatment of animals in zoos goes almost completely unnoticed. This mistreatment is constantly swept under the rug by issues that society deems more relevant or impact us more. For example, issues like climate change receive more attention. However, this mistreatment is relevant and is constantly impacting society. These animals that are left malnourished, fatigued, and constantly fighting bacterial infections, are important. Every time an animal is pulled from the wild and put into captivity it impacts the mental health of the animal and endangers everyone and everything around it. Zoos are to blame for this endangerment, yet so is the public for overlooking mistreatment such as enclosures that are too small, surplus animals, and mental illness in animals.

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

75 big cats, including Tatiana, have been killed because of such incidents. The solution? PETA and other say get rid of zoos.” Zoos not only hurts human but it also hurts animals. This quotes emphasizes that many zoo animals are victims of death.

Animals being held in captivity develop aggressive behavior. Captive is defined as “captured; held prisoner” (Captive). On 25 December 2007 a 350-pound “Siberian Tiger escaped from its grotto at the San Francisco Zoo…and went on a bloody rampage in front of terrified zoo patrons” (Rubenstein A-1). That same tiger chewed a zoo keepers arm during a scheduled feeding one month prior. In January 2011, in “Knoxville, Tennessee, an 8,000-pound elephant crushed a zookeeper to death inside a cage” (Venezia). In Scottsbluff, Nebraska “a zookeeper…had two fingers bitten off in an attack by two chimpanzees” (Caulfield). Animals in captivity did not willingly choose to be there. No guest would attack their host if they were in the zoo of their own free will. Animals that turn aggressive towards their trainers or keepers are not in the purest since of the word, happy. If an animal were happy in captivity, they would possess no reason to attack.

180 million Americans visit zoos in the United States each year. However, an incident in 2016 at the Cincinnati Zoo, where a three year old boy fell into the exhibit of a 440 pound gorilla named Harambe, sparked a controversy in America. Americans have been questioning and debating whether these institutions are actually beneficial to the animals and if it’s really ethical to keep animals like Harambe in captivity. Not all zoos have the money to provide what wild animals need. Considering both the pros and cons of either sides of the issue, it is clear that zoos are detrimental to the animals for various reasons including unacceptable living environments, dangerous health concerns, as well as a huge ethical dilemma.

Do you ever wonder what happens when their are no visitors at zoos. I think the animals would be mistreated because there's no visitors

Animals are not safe in zoos. Abigail Hauslohner, who wrote the article “Giraffe Suicide? Bear Riot? It's a Zoo Unlike Any Other” for the Washington Post, reveals that animals are dying in the Giza Zoo in Egypt. According to the article, a young giraffe strangle herself to death from a wire. Animals under the supervision of people should not be able to hurt or kill themselves. Another horrifying truth in “Giraffe Suicide? Bear Riot? It's a Zoo Unlike Any Other” is that zookeepers kill camels for the purpose of selling the meat for profit. Those zookeepers have no right to kill those camels. The purpose for the camels is to educate the public. Those two examples are not the only tragedies. “…three black bears died in a single night under mysterious circumstances” (Hauslohner). This example shows that zoos need to be better monitor. The caretakers are more of a threat than anything else for those creatures.

We need to keep a closer eye on zoo animals. We take animals out of their natural habitat and put them in smaller enclosements. Because they are used to being in big, open fields, they may get a little bored or resort back to their natural instincts. Animals such as tigers

According to Statistic Brain, “A total of about 751,931 non endangered species and 1,041 endangered species of animals are kept in zoos around the world ”. Many of the non endangered animals are capable of living in the wild by themselves, but the more time they spend in zoos the more they will forget about how to survive in the wild and they will also gain many other negative effects. Zoos are more harmful than helpful because they restrict animals to enclosed habitats, they weaken the animals primal instincts, and they cause the animals stress which lead to mental and physical health issues.

On average around 175 million people visit a zoo per year. However, the majority of these people fail to notice a relative issue that is lying in front of their faces. That these animals within these zoos are suffering every day from mistreatment and abuse. Most of the society ignores the many factors that have been revealed to them every time they enter a zoo. Instead, they focus on issues that are happening now, issues that draw out the media and are on the cover of every newspaper. However, these animals facing this mistreatment are relevant and do impact society. Every time an animal is taken from the wild and placed in the captivity of a zoo it impacts the mental health of the animal and endangers everyone and everything around it. Zoos are to blame for this endangerment, yet so is the public for overlooking mistreatment such as an early death in animals, mental illness, and being imported illegally from the wild.

Imagine walking through the zoo as a child, thinking how awesome it is to see all of those big interesting animals you would never get to encounter in the wild. Now think of walking through the zoo when you are older seeing these same animals in a very different light. Instead of seeing animals happily living their lives you see animals wandering aimlessly around their small enclosures looking bored to tears and depressed. Is it fair that we keep these animals cooped up specifically for our own entertainment? What right do we have to capture, contain, and breed these precious animals as we please? Why should we get to control their lives when they could obviously be living a better life elsewhere? Often these questions are meet with responses of conservation and education, but in reality those defenses have little backing. No animal should be forced to live in captivity for its whole life, which is why zoos should be banned since they are truly unjust to the animals living in them.