Wilderness: The Only Suitable Environment For Animals

Around the year 1897 Edward Morel noticed something that would change the way the modern world viewed the colonization of Africa and the supposed “humanitarian” work there forever (Hochschild 1). Morel worked for an English shipping company that was responsible for cargo going between the Congo Free State and Belgium. What Morel noticed was that ships from Africa were filled with rich, exotic goods like rubber and ivory, but the ships headed to Africa from Belgium were filled with military members and various firearms and ammunition (Hochschild 2). Morel made the conclusion that the cause of this odd “trade” between Europe and Africa was slave labor. European colonization of Africa was a slow, arduous process resulting in the deaths of

n the passages “The Last Wilderness Preserve” the impacts that people cause in Antarctica is that we cause a lot of damage that cannot be restored, the pollution we produce erodes the ice wonderland, and that if we were granted access to explore Antarctica greed would take control, and we’d want to colonize it as our own. On the other hand, the passage “A New Land of Opportunity” is the exact opposite of “ The Last Wilderness Preserve”. The impacts that come from “ A New Land of Opportunity” is that, we could find more resources that are beneficial, researchers can find more clues that can help us understand the way life was before Pangea and other theories, and that even though the land is covered in ice there lies beauty underneath.

People think that animals want to be in zoos, but they really do not. In some zoos the owners or zookeepers see how the environment is making the animals feel bad or good and they try to change it by giving the animals a similar habitat to where they came from. All three stories “The Stripes Will Survive”, “The Zoos Go Wild”, and “Our Beautiful Macaws and Why They Need Enrichment” deal with protecting animals but they all do so in different ways.

Since their very beginnings, zoo’s around the world have been at the forefront of ethical debates. Animal ethicists, animal liberationists and proponents of the land ethic raise considerable questions about the nature of zoos in a moral and ethical context. Drawing on animal rights claims, the questionable moral status of animals and the land ethic, this essay seeks to argue that zoo’s; a place in which wild animal’s are held in captivity, are inherently unethical. Though animal liberationists tend to include domesticated animals and agriculturally farmed animals, the scope of this essay will focus solely on the ethics of zoo’s and those animals within. Citing experts in the animal ethics

“As a businessman, I believe that we should not invest in a zoo. The zoo would be a waste of money. People are hardly impressed or fascinated by an animal locked in a cage anymore and there is a slim chance that I will get the money I invested back. A zoo can take years to build and acres of land that we don’t have to spare. We’d be better off building factories in place of the zoo, and they’d make twice as much money twice as fast. While baby animals may bring in some visitors and money, the incentive to breed them can lead to overpopulation. If we built the zoo, we would have only accounted for a specific amount of animals. Breeding can lead to reduced space for all of them and we may need to let some go. Some people

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

According to The Washington Post, “About 20 percent of American adults suffer some sort of mental illness each year, and about 5 percent experience a serious disorder that disrupts work, family, or social life” (Brown). People with these mental disorders and illnesses were not recognized, treated, and dealt with until the early 1900s. The Yellow Wallpaper is one of the first public sources that talks about the damage these illnesses have on a person. Charlotte Perkins Gilman suffered from a mental illness herself, postpartum depression, which lead her to write the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper. Before she published this story, hardly anyone knew anything about these illnesses or what it was like to live with one.

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

In the article “Zoos Are Cruel and Unnecessary,” Earth Times posed a question, “With the internet, as well as DVDs, 3D TV, etc., are zoos really necessary to teach people about animals in the 21st century?” In the response given by Liz Tyson, director of the Captive Animals’ Protection Society, she argues an animal and its environment in a zoo is “out of context” and there is no substitution for an animal’s natural habitat. Therefore, viewing animals in such environments distorts the message that a zoo’s primary purpose is to conserve these habitats in the wild. By focusing solely on the artificial habitats, Tyson fails to mention the educational opportunities that zoos and zoological parks can provide, such as interactive visitor programs, breeding and rehabilitation programs, and up-close animal encounters.

“The truth is every bit of me is devoted to love and art. I aspire to be a teacher to my young fans, who I feel just like I felt when I was younger. I want to free them of their fears and make them feel as if they can create their own place in the world”-Lady Gaga (Marsico 93). This quote means she cares and wants her fans to feel as if they free. There are multiple features of Lady Gaga that would be shocking to many. By researching Lady Gaga her background, her quotes, and influences really help with how today’s people see her.

Examples of zoos that are well known for such programs include Animal Kingdom in Orlando, the Oakland Zoo, and the San Diego Zoo. These three have won multiple awards and achievements for breeding, conservation, and reintroduction of endangered species to their natural habitats. Many zoos across North America participate in such programs like the Species Survival Plan Program (SSP), which strives to increase the numbers of endangered species in zoos while ensuring healthy and self-sustaining populations (Traw). According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), programs like SSP have succeeded in increasing endangered species populations of many animals, like red wolves, snow leopards, and giant pandas within the last three decades (Traw). It has been estimated that the AZA has established around 113 SSP’s spanning over 181 endangered species within a variety of zoos worldwide (Traw). Breeding programs are extremely vital to conservation efforts in zoos; without them, endangered species would be in serious threat of extinction in their natural habitat. However, these breeding efforts also have important standards. They make sure to breed the animals responsibly, healthily, and genetically safe. In some cases, the goal and outcome of breeding programs is the reintroduction of the animals to their natural habitat, which has a large impact on the recuperation of that animal’s population.Reintroduction is the goal andfinal product of breeding programs.

The topic of zoos and whether or not they’re humane have quickly become one of the biggest controversial topics in the past twenty years. There is not much of a ‘middle’ perspective in this debate, rather people tend to lie on two completely opposite ends of the spectrum when displaying their beliefs pertaining to the zoo debate. I chose to research this topic because though I have strong beliefs, I think that, on this matter specifically, people often jump to a certain side without any prior research or actual education on the subject. I think that it’s important to understand both sides of the argument of zoos before sustaining a side. Another reason why I chose this topic was to moreso educate myself and to make sure that the knowledge I

Some people agree that animals should be kept in the zoo. They said it would be safer for the animals and they won’t be extinct. The amount of possibilities of them dying, shot by hunters or any other reason, still higher than the chances of their survival. Food and shelter are provided, medicine, and their breeding is being controlled. And many of the wild animals in zoos are ones that are on the endangered list as their amounts are rapidly diminishing. Letting them loose and returning them to the wild is not necessarily a safe option. (Mylot, 2007) In fact, zoo can be one of the educational studies for children and people who are interested with animals. Zoo is the only place that we can have an opportunity to see animal’s life really close and sometimes we can touch them. Zoos also provide lots of information about certain animals, children can have chance to get out of the classroom and learn so they can see natural beauty from different species of animals. Even children can see them from discovery channel but that’s really different if you see animal in real world, for an example, if you see crocodile, snake or shark in the movie, maybe you won’t afraid than you see the real one. According to Tudge, (1992, p.56) Zoos are the place where people can study animals and their habitat, even scientist don’t need to go

The Lincoln Park Zoo should be banned in order to protect animals from unsuitable enclosures and inadequate living conditions. Many of us feel the obligation to give animals the same rights as ourselves, so the idea of closing this zoo will prevent the capturing of wildlife and help end the miseries of several animals. By shutting down the Lincoln Park Zoo, numerous controversial issues and struggles will brought to attention on how to care for captive wildlife, or where animals would go without a home. However, if public zoos planned to close within the next year, hundreds of animals that are currently residing in the exhibits will be transported to an animal care center and then released back into the wildlife. This would allow for animals to roam free without being enclosed within a limited space, and be able to enjoy their natural habitat. Getting rid of cages reinforces the idea of interacting with animals and biodiversity in parks and reserves in a natural way.

The sun was shining, the sky was spotted with clouds, and the wind was whistling as it passed through the trees. Overall, it was the perfect day to visit the zoo. Smiling, happy children bounded beside me as I walked underneath the large, blue and yellow sign announcing “The Colorado Zoo.” As I walked onto the sidewalk, I looked out over the “habitats.” The big, colorful signs advertising the exotic animals “brought from all over the world!” Animals that were taken from their home, taken from their habitats, and taken to a world where they are put on display. Animals who are forced to live out their lives in zoos in unhealthy, degrading, and devastating ways.