Why Do Zoos Offer Adequate Protection

Zoos have become a very visited place over a person’s lifetime, whether it be for an educational school field trip or for a day of fun. It’s a wonderful experience to be able to see animals up close in a controlled environment, keeping visitors safe from these animals, however do visitors think of what the animals are going through? Zoos are not providing enough space for captivated animals to live causing numerous problems not only involving the animals, but some visitors as well. Zoos should not be allowed to hold animals in captivity unless they significantly increase the size of each cage (change cage into something else).

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.

In the past, there have been many reports of zoo accidents, to be specific; over 200 zoo accidents in the last 26 years have occurred. From my perspective zoos should be prohibited, taking innocent animals from the wild and holding them captive for display at zoos is cruel. There has been a bulk amount of controversy over the topic of zoo mishaps and whose fault is to blame for the occurrence. In all fairness, nobody should be blamed, but there should be a change or new regulations to guide zoos in a more prominent direction. Because in the end, if there is no difference in the zoo, then tragic events like this will continue to happen. There are various amounts of precautions that can be taken by zoo corporations to prevent zoo accidents;

“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

Most people go to zoos with the expectation of a happy family and enjoying a day staring at wild animals that we do not see very often except of a screen. They see zoos as a place to experience something different and to take their children to. However, few people know of the mistreatment and unfit conditions the animals are forced into. On the contrary to popular belief, there are many zoos that care so little for the health of the animals the zoos are actually the reason the animals become ill. For the truth is that animals in zoos are mistreated, neglected, and even abused because of the awful situations they are in. In this essay, then, we will go over the excruciating conditions and the abuse these animals face everyday of their lives

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

’’According to CNN, animal advocacy group Born Free reports that there have been 256 injuries in zoos due to animal attacks over the past 26 years, resulting in 33 deaths.’’ Every single year there are many animals killed or injured in zoo’s. There are numerous zoo’s placed all over the United States. The zoo’s keep the animals trapped in a fenced in enclosure with little to no water source or spacious area. Numerous people disagree with the fact various breeds are mixed in the same enclosure. People believe that animals should be allowed to enjoy their own natural habitat and live with their families, and not trapped within enclosures.

Zoos and aquariums neglect proper care and treatment for animals. In the article, Mauling, Escapes and Abuse: six small zoos, 80 sick or dead animals, Over the past decade, more than 80 animals have died, been injured or become ill because of neglect at the zoos, and more than 200 others were kept in inhumane conditions, according to hundreds of pages of federal inspection reports, interviews with keepers and court documents (Jouvenal 1). This clarifies that because six small zoos neglect proper care and treatment for animals, there are now dozens dead, injured, or kept in inhuman conditions.. The article also states, “ That keepers with no experience or little experience were asked to care for sick animals and even manage birth,”(Jovenal 2).

In the ‘first places zoos don’t take care of the animals. There have been mess-ups in zoo that killed animals. In Chicago killed a malfunction that killed 13 stingray. They had to shut down shunts the stingray die lower lighting less aggressive animals noise level can cause stress.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t hide the fact that visitors may unintentionally or intentionally lead to the death of an animal by feeding (despite warnings) or by introducing foreign bodies into the enclosure. There are many cases in where visitors intentionally mess with the animals to receive reactions, that is through throwing objects or calling to them. In 1874, when the Philadelphia Zoo opened, a sloth was poked to death by the walking sticks and umbrellas of visitors within a week (“From Zoo Cage”). Zoos need to start taking into consideration the intent of humans on seeing the animals and that the animals being so close to humans will negatively affect their health. Another cause for the physical health deterioration of animals in captivity

One well known zoo is called The Zoo of Death. The suffering of the animals occurs there on a daily basis. Animals are confined to trash-littered, barren, cramped cages that are messily fractions the wild animals would call home. A former member of the zoo's management estimates that around fifty animals have died at the zoo in the last three months, which is just a small fraction of the animals who have suffered and died at the hands of this decrepit facility. Some monkeys even swing out of their cages to interact with the public. They will also scavenge the trash bins for any food they can get. They normally end up choking on the trash and dying. Nearly fifteen thousand people go to this heart wrenching zoo each weekend.(www.Peta.com.

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.

Is this how animals are really supposed to be treated? Would you want to be treated like this? So why do we insist on keeping it this way? Zoos have been around for a long time, but just recently people have began to wonder if it's really what's best for the animals, or for us? So, they began talking about it, seeing if all animals, including endangered animals, should live in the wild or in man-made environments, and they started doing experiments. Many species are dying every year, and because of this, zoos are being blamed.

A worthy, proper zoo would provide animals with luxurious amounts of space and necessary food to survive, but most zoos around the world are underfunded and do not provide animals with what they need to live a life of fulfillment. Animals that are captured and brought to a zoo are bound to die prematurely and develop several psychological problems during their imprisoned lifetime. Zoos tend to cover up the distress that the animals begin to carry and continue to mislead the public in an attempt to keep the zoo business running. Children banging on the glass walls and people hanging over the exhibits to get a closer photo evidently causes these animals to become stressed and miserable. Ultimately, a zoo environment will never be enough to provide captive animals with their natural habitats. There is a dire need to save these animals’ sanity, and the only way that is possible is if zoos stop being so oblivious to the harm they are