why animals should not be kept in zoos articles

Many animals in zoos are not used to confinement. I once overheard two schoolchildren at the Smithsonians National Zoo in Washington confess to each other that they had assumed that elephants were mythical animals like unicorns before seeing them in the flesh. A quick google search reveals that a zoo is an establishment that maintains a collection of wild animals, typically in a park or gardens, for study, conservation, or display to the public. or the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria have studbooks and genetic pedigrees and carefully breed their animals as if they might be called upon at any moment to release them, like Noah throwing open the doors to the ark, into a waiting wild habitat. There are a few exceptions. Why Animals Should Not be Kept in Zoos These animals oftentimes live in inhumane conditions, and pose a serious threat to public safety. Running a successful zoo is about drawing in visitors as much as it is caring for animals. "An even smaller proportion are part of captive breeding programmes and, of those, a tiny fraction have been released back into the wild. It is not humane to keep large mammals like orcas, dolphins or elephants in zoos or theme parks. Whats Causing Their Decline? They bought tickets, and the wild creatures should behave accordingly. Eventually, the only animals on display would be a few ancient holdovers from the old menageries, animals in active conservation breeding programs and perhaps a few rescues. PETA isn't alone. There are a number of reasons why animals should not be kept in captivity. The trade in wild animals involves tremendous suffering at every stage of the process. Many zoos use Prozac and other psychoactive drugs on at least some of their animals to deal with the mental effects of captivity. The Brutal Truth About Seal Clubbing: Because Everyone Needs Dead Seal Pups (Not)! In states without tight enough regulation, local jurisdictions oftentimes adopt ordinances that ban or restrict the display of captive wild animals. Kings would keep hippos, baboons and large cats. ", Published in the June 2017 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK), What to do in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire, How to plan and book an Indian rail odyssey, Four of the best luxury sleeper trains in India, How Miami is re-embracing its modernist architecture, Where to eat in Clitheroe, the Ribble Valley's culinary hotspot, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society. Not investing enough when designing a habitat for your animals to save money. Persuasive Speech: Why Animals Should Not be kept in Zoos. Polar bears have one million times less space. Nature reserves, bird watching, going on a safari. See Related: Different Animals That Cant Jump. They go for the same reason people went to zoos in the 19th century: to be entertained. There is always that element of choice that gets removed from them in a captive environment. The AWA only applies to some captive wild animals. Exotic animals have become very popular, but they are also dangerous in so many ways. Read on to find out why animals should not be kept in zoos. Animal Legal Defense Fund petition for rulemaking spurs reporting improvements: Forms will be revised to ensure AWA licensees maintain complete records of all animal deaths. A 2014 study by the Society for Conservation Biology found that of over 2,800 children surveyed following visits to London Zoo, 62% showed no positive learning outcomes. Tell lawmakers you support animal-friendly legislation and local bans on using animals in entertainment. The first zoos housed animals behind metal bars in spartan cages. Read more: Should I worry about chemtrails? But the law excludes protection for birds, rats and mice, farmed animals and "cold-blooded" animals such as reptiles, amphibians and fish. Reasons why people think keeping animals in zoos is bad for their welfare: the animal is deprived of its natural habitat; the animal may not have enough room; the animal is deprived of its natural . Elephants bob their heads over and over. In addition, a costlier but more educational option is to make arrangements to view animals in the wild. There are 39 animal species currently listed by the IUCN as Extinct in the Wild. Alas, theres plenty of heartbreaking evidence that many are not. I pointed out that we cant ask animals whether they are happy with their enclosure size. When wild animals shouldn't be in captivity. (This law does not affect zoos or circuses.). For many wild animals, this is a vital part of their life, and they can struggle to redefine their footing. Roadside zoos dot the American landscape. Your email address will not be published. Drugs given to animals include sedatives and antipsychotic drugs. In the case of America, our maps, developed with experts, show where extreme heat is causing the most deaths. Depressed monkey Most states have no laws governing captive wild animals. This is seen as a cheaper option as opposed to moving them back into the wild. The process of training an animal is a long and brutal one. Important to protect endangered species from extinction. Zoos also say that they save the endangered animals, but all they really care about is how much crowd the animal draws. Zoos across the US can take credit for reviving the wild Arabian oryx, golden lion tamarin and Californian condor populations, among many others. In zoos, elephants are often given a small outside enclosure and an internal house. This is nowhere near enough space to provide an elephant with a life comparable to that of its wild counterparts. Private individuals with the financial means use their money to procure rare or exotic animals from zoos to add to their own private collections. Instead, they will hire generalists with a degree of knowledge specificity and run with that. Most zoos dont focus on the educational aspect of zoos; the animals are mainly kept for amusement. The idea of conserving animals that are at risk of going extinct is a great one; the problem is that not most zoos live up to it. An orangutan at the Omaha Zoo kept wire for lock-picking hidden in his mouth. The California condor shows what zoos can accomplish. As a late Gen-Xer-cum-early-Millenial, my childhood was rich with trips to visit zoos. They go to get out of the house, to get their children some fresh air, to see interesting animals. Zoo keepers are often trained and specialize in a particular breed or species. As we snap a selfie by the sea lions for the first time in so long, it seems worth asking, after our collective ordeal, whether our pleasure in seeing wild animals up close is worth the price of their captivity. They are used to collect exotic pets from owners who are looking to get rid of them. What if they sent all the animals that need really large areas or lots of freedom and socialization to refuges? This is only one of the Act's limitations. For some animals, reintroduction will always be difficult, such as baby elephants, or pet cheetahs, both of which habituate to human care very quickly, says Moore of IFAW. This type of behaviour is almost unheard of in their wild counterparts. When big predators are brought up on dead meat and never have to hunt for themselves, mingle with the prey they cant hunt, and entertain humans with tricks, they get further from their natural behaviors. A common criticism is that the inspectors are often inadequately trained to look for sign of problems such as abuse and neglect. In the past five years, the number of zoos has been gradually going up. Once an animal has served its purpose, many zoos will either sell them or euthanize them. ALSO READ: Man in Uganda Beats Lion With Bare Hands In Bloody Battle Before Feasting on the Beast for Dinner. Even the best zoological park cannot fully capture the wild, and many smaller zoos fail to take effective measures to ensure the health and well-being of their animals. Jason Hribals 2010 book, Fear of the Animal Planet, chronicles dozens of attempts. The law, adopted by Congress in 1966, protects so-called warm-blooded animals who are bred for commercial sale, used in research, transported commercially or publicly exhibited, like in a zoo or circus. They often display neurotic behaviour, like repetitive pacing, swaying, and bar biting. Outside of providing sufficient space to allow natural behaviors to develop, issues such as climate, diet, and the formation of a social hierarchy where appropriate make running a zoo a difficult task. "Zoos are prisons for animals, camouflaging their cruelty with conservation claims," Mimi Bekhechi, director of international programmes at PETA, explains. When it comes from unsustainable sources it is a key cause of deforestation, impacting many species like orangutans and tigers. Capturing animals even smart ones like apes, for amusement shouldnt be going on anywhere. In the end, he said, we live with our own constraints. He added, We are all captive in some regards to social and ethical and religious and other constraints on our life and our activities.. Visiting a zoo is a chance for many people to see exotic animals they would otherwise be unable to see. Well, scat reveals all sorts of things about individual animals; information the keepers share with the scientific community. Protect animals by boycotting roadside zoos. Climate change has become a very real threat for the next and even current generations. [WATCH]. CreditPhotographs by Peter Fisher for The New York Times. Many suffer from arthritis and other joint problems from standing on hard surfaces; elephants kept alone become desperately lonely; and all zoo elephants suffer mentally from being cooped up in. Help inform others by writing letters to your local newspapers and posting to social media. The problem is that these large predators control the population of herbivorous animals in their domain. Four of the zoos and the aquarium in New York City, for instance, are managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is involved in conservation efforts around the world. Its said that Texas has the worlds second-largest tiger population, due to private citizens propensity for keeping these big cats as pets. Ive been to zoos and aquariums in Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island, not to mention those in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. When factoring in the number of zoos breeding animals and the risk posed to baby animals, the change of disease skyrockets further. The U.S. became a signatory to CITES in 1975. worldanimalfoundation.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and Other Programs, an affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to the Partners. An estimated 20 red wolves are all that remain in the wild. These refuge-zoos could become places where animals live. In a study done on 40 chimpanzees in six different zoos, all of the chimps exhibited behavior their counterparts in nature did not. Chimps pull out their own hair. In many modern zoos, animals are well cared for, healthy and probably, for many species, content. The confined living areas are a big contributor to animal stress and lack of physical stimulation like would be gained from a nice sprint. Some, however, argue that children benefit from zoos. The polar bears in Winnipeg have disco poo. And it is true that the territory size of an animal like a wolf depends greatly on the density of resources and other wolves. There is no end to the risk of cross-contamination and disease spread, especially when considering the fact that lots of zoos fail to provide the correct standard of care. Zoo animals sustain both physical and psychological scars from harsh zookeepers. The shooting of Harambe the gorilla spawned the most-shared meme of 2016 and caused a hounded Cincinnati Zoo to suspend its social media accounts. Terrifying, Pre-Historic-Looking Fish Captured in the Ocean's Twilight Zone; What Is It? Not surprising, perhaps, considering the typical polar bear enclosure is one million times smaller than the area they would naturally roam.". But whether recent events have triggered a profound shift in public consciousness is harder to quantify. CITES does not directly address living conditions for captive animals.

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