Why the world needs zoos | Dr Dave Hone | The Guardian However, the truth is that no enclosure can come close to matching the vastness of an animals natural environment. Thats undeniable. His justification was philosophical. This alteration of the animals behavior will eventually do more harm than good. Breeding programs in zoos eventually lead to some animals being sold off to other zoos or worse circuses. In addition, when animals are removed from their natural habitats, they are also removed from their family structure and social hierarchy. As humans, we have no right to hunt and lock up animals for our enjoyment. From there, it was an easy leap to protecting animal species. See Related: Endangered Species in Oklahoma. Persuasive Speech: Why Animals Should Not be kept in Zoos. Not surprising, perhaps, considering the typical polar bear enclosure is one million times smaller than the area they would naturally roam.". The A.Z.A.s policies allow for the euthanasia of animals, but the president of the association, Dan Ashe, told me, its very rarely employed by his member institutions. More than 6,000 comments made by the visitors were recorded, nearly half of which were purely descriptive statements that asserted a fact about the exhibit or the animal. The researchers wrote, In all the statements collected, no one volunteered information that would lead us to believe that they had an intention to advocate for protection of the animal or an intention to change their own behavior.. Others allow private parties to keep animals like tigers or primates with a permit. Living collections were often presented in taxonomic order, with various species of the same family grouped together, for comparative study. Severe arthritis and foot infections are common in captive elephants due to standing on hard, unnatural surfaces all day without room to roam. A study by Bristol University found that many British zoos fail to provide animals with the required minimum standard of care. Some of these animals are surplus from roadside zoos. Zoos are home to many animals. They found that only 27 percent of people bothered to read the signs at exhibits. Animals such as lions, elephants, and tigers dont get even close to one percent of the area they roam in the wild. In several cases, animals held in poor conditions at roadside zoos have been transferred to sanctuaries, after the Animal Legal Defense Fund brought lawsuits under the Endangered Species Act. Captive animals need better laws, and better enforcement of those laws. Before anyone starts sprinkling the stuff on their cornflakes, this isn't the hottest new beauty trend nor is it a natural phenomenon: Assiniboine Park Zoo's keepers use coloured glitter in the bears' feed to identify their droppings. Reasons Why Animals Should not Be Kept in Zoos - GradesFixer The most recent addition to the family, Willow, a cockapoo puppy, has settled straight into family life and now controls who sits where on the sofa. Here they are relatively safe . After being captives of the pandemic for more than a year, we have begun experiencing the pleasures of simple outings: dining al fresco, shopping with a friend, taking a stroll through the zoo. Articles on why animals should not be kept in zoos. Why Animals Some roadside zoos declaw tiger and lion cubs a serious surgical procedure in which a cats toes are amputated at the last joint. By designing these enclosures so that many animals could be seen at once, without any bars or walls in the visitors lines of sight, he created an immersive panorama, in which the fact of captivity was supplanted by the illusion of being in nature. The incident in Miami Seaquarium is proof that animals do not belong in captivity. The first zoos housed animals behind metal bars in spartan cages. For comparison, in 2018, they spent $4.9 billion on operations and construction. Zoos often do more harm than good, creating unnatural environments that look realistic enough to make any potential return to the wild all but impossible. The process of training an animal is a long and brutal one. This is how animals get physical and psychological scars from abuse. Due to the low density of the population of some animals in their natural ecosystems they struggle to find partners. Zoo elephants tend to die young. (707) 795-2533 |info@aldf.org Below are a dozen reasons why zoos can be bad for animals: No matter how dedicated a zoo is, it cant meet the space requirements for most of its animals. Elephants figure prominently in his book, in part because they are so big that when they escape it generally makes the news. An increase in the populations of herbivorous animals such as deer and buffalos isnt a good thing, especially not for the vegetation and ground cover. Things like ensuring animals arent caged and treated less than they deserve. They go for the same reason people went to zoos in the 19th century: to be entertained. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Animals are an important part of nature and should have the right to live in their natural environment. To many people, a trip to the zoo is a fun day out for the family. Another problem of zoos is that animals often only have rather limited space to move. Id like to think these kids, now in their early 20s, are working for a conservation organization somewhere. This is only one of the Act's limitations. These associations ensure that members are treating their animals with a high standard of care and following any guidelines they provide. Private individuals with the financial means use their money to procure rare or exotic animals from zoos to add to their own private collections. The trade in wild animals involves tremendous suffering at every stage of the process. There is considerable variation from state to state and among cities and counties, as to how much legal protection is offered to captive wild animals. In fact, while animals will have almost unlimited space in the wild, they are often caged in rather confined areas in zoos. In a 2011 study, researchers quizzed visitors at the Cleveland, Bronx, Prospect Park and Central Park zoos about their level of environmental concern and what they thought about the animals. On top of that, the animals dont have much freedom even in these tiny spaces that they are forced to live in. Visitors will hammer on the glass or clamor around an animal enclosure, calling and shouting for the creature to perform for their pleasure. For some animals in zoos, the shock of their relocation alone can be fatal. Is Keeping Wild Animals In Zoos Unethical?: Arguments For - WorldAtlas We say zoos are bad because animals are forced to live in unnatural, stressful, boring environments, leading to a lack of mental and physical stimulation. Groundhog More than Just a Weather Prognosticator! These laws help the animals and also people, since wild animals in captivity present a serious public safety risk. Animal Legal Defense Fund,National Headquarters Sanctuaries promise to take in and care for any animals that have been abused, neglected, or abandoned and to keep them for life. The Endangered Species Act: The Endangered Species Act, the ESA, is a federal law that protects fish, mammals, birds and plants listed as threatened or endangered in the U.S. and beyond. When factoring in the number of zoos breeding animals and the risk posed to baby animals, the change of disease skyrockets further. Thousands of animals are captured and put in zoos and aquariums for tourist attractions every year. This may be true to some extent; however, many zoos are running breeding programs for their own benefit and have no interest in releasing their animals back into the wild. Little Joe, a gorilla, escaped from the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston twice in 2003. WHY ANIMALS SHOULD NOT BE KEPT IN CAPTIVITY By "Phillip" Hungry, depressed, and unable to connect. Polar bears have one million times less space. Zoological gardens have been working to help ensure that any endangered species are given another chance to thrive again over time. Zoos have been around for thousands of yearsas far back as 3500 BC in Egypt. T he video above shows the tragic reality of how animals in captivity are mistreated and never get to experience freedom, or live how they were . What if zoos stopped breeding all their animals, with the possible exception of any endangered species with a real chance of being released back into the wild? In the 1980s, a group of orangutans escaped several times at the San Diego Zoo. If an animal cannot be given sufficient space or is suffering from stress and not behaving as expected, the zoo is within its right to kill the animal(s). In the case of America, our maps, developed with experts, show where extreme heat is causing the most deaths. They are kind people, bonded to their charges and immersed in the culture of the zoo, in which they are the good guys. 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. Should animals be kept in captivity? - The Current We say zoos are bad because animals are forced to live in unnatural, stressful, boring environments, leading to a lack of mental and physical stimulation. There are zoological park associations that were formed to keep zoo owners on their toes. Here are some of the major ways that these jurisdictions are protecting wild captive animals under the law: Restricting Private Parties From Keeping Wild Animals: Some states ban the keeping of wild and exotic animals. Being placed into a small tank, away from their family units, might not break existing animal protection laws. But whether recent events have triggered a profound shift in public consciousness is harder to . Wild animals have certain behaviors that are uniquely influenced by their environments. Existing animal protection laws do not actually consider the true ramifications of captivity. RELATED ARTICLE: Dolphin Attacks Trainer in Front of Horrified Families in Miami Seaquarium: How Often Do These Sea Creatures Attack Humans? Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Claws N Paws, Looking for case and legal resources? In addition, a costlier but more educational option is to make arrangements to view animals in the wild. "Animals in zoos suffer tremendously, both physically and mentally. Marine mammals are best protected by cleaning up and protecting their habitats. Though the idea of breeding endangered animals to help increase their numbers back in the wild is great, there are problems that come with it. Visiting a zoo is a chance for many people to see exotic animals they would otherwise be unable to see. Some surplus animals or injured animals are even fed to predators as a means of life-cycle maintenance. A peer-reviewed 2017 study in the . While researching my book on the ethics of human interactions with wild species, Wild Souls, I examined how, exactly, zoos contribute to the conservation of wild animals. What if they sent all the animals that need really large areas or lots of freedom and socialization to refuges? Regardless of the merits or ethics of zoos, one thing's for certain: they're going to be around for some years yet. Today's zoos are extremely important to saving wild animals and their habitats. 12 Reasons Why Animals Should Not Be Kept in Zoos - Our Endangered World 1. Read on to find out why animals should not be kept in zoos. A day may come, he said, when we need to breed elephants or tigers or polar bears in captivity to save them from extinction. Why Zoos and Aquariums Are Beneficial - Association Of Zoos And Aquariums What people can do: Justin Gillis and Hal Harvey describe the types of local activismthat might be needed, while Saul Griffith points to how Australia shows the way on rooftop solar. Animal rights activists argue that hunting, capturing, and putting animals on display is unethical. And it is true that the territory size of an animal like a wolf depends greatly on the density of resources and other wolves. This becomes a major blow to the biodiversity of the affected region. 7 reasons why animals in captivity deserve freedom. The United Kingdom, for example, has announced a plan to phase out all circuses featuring wild animal performances by 2020. Breeders: How to Stop Puppy FarmsPermanently. More tigers live in cages in this country, than exist in all the wild. Humans have kept wild animals for thousands of years. The required standard of care for wild animals, such as those held by zoos, is wide-ranging and nigh on impossible for zoos to provide. 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. Having seen a majestic leopard in the zoo, the visitor becomes more willing to pay for its conservation or vote for policies that will preserve it in the wild. Going to the zoo is often quite affordable. A few zoos are famous for their conservation work. Unfortunately, this is done under the guise of conservation and to protect endangered species. The researchers divided the odd behaviors of captive animals into two categories: impulsive/compulsive behaviors, including coprophagy (eating feces), regurgitation, self-biting and mutilation, exaggerated aggressiveness and infanticide, and stereotypies, which are endlessly repeated movements. To update your payment information, visit our Member Center. Zoo keepers are often trained and specialize in a particular breed or species. It is not possible to have zookeepers versed in a detailed understanding of every single species. Read more: Should I worry about chemtrails? Zoos and circuses are among those who fall under this act. 9 Reasons Not to Visit Zoos - PETA UK Zoos also have the power to euthanize their animals when they themselves deem it permissible. They learned from their parents to be mistrustful because they have no way of knowing whether people could be good or do them harm. Why Animals Should Not Be Kept In Zoos - AnimalLoveTalk.com "Only 15% of the thousands of species held in zoos are considered 'threatened'," says Will Travers OBE, president of Born Free. But few federal laws protect these animals, who may be forced to perform or kept confined in small cages with little to keep their minds occupied and bodies well. Instead, they will hire generalists with a degree of knowledge specificity and run with that. Why? The surpluses are then sold off to zoos, aquariums, or even circuses. Should We Keep Animals in Zoos? - Scholastic However, in a zoo, the boundaries between the wild and captivity are rearranged. Private Possession: Many wild animals may be kept captive in private homes as pets. 525 East Cotati Avenue,Cotati, CA 94931 See Related: What Is The Hunters Role in Wildlife Conservation? Jason Hribals 2010 book, Fear of the Animal Planet, chronicles dozens of attempts. This paper is going to discuss why animals should not be kept in captivity. Why zoos are good | Zoology | The Guardian Zoos accredited by the A.Z.A. Lets get into the nitty-gritty details of why keeping animals in zoos is bad: Wild animals often suffer in captivity because they were meant to be free. In the age of social media, high profile culls have sparked heated debates. Theres also the Zoological Association of America that operates in the United States. Apes are known for picking locks and keeping a beady eye on their captors, waiting for the day someone forgets to lock the door. Zoos also say that they save the endangered animals, but all they really care about is how much crowd the animal draws. When an animal is not on the endangered list, capturing it doesnt serve any purpose to the animal. If an untrained zookeeper comes across a stubborn animal, they might hurt it if they are impatient. Some of the captive-born animals are not capable of sustaining themselves in the wild and they could pass on these genes dooming the whole species in that region. (This law does not affect zoos or circuses.). This is only one of the Acts limitations. Many zoos give children the wrong lessons about wild animals and how to protect animals. These are highly intelligent animals with complex social constructs that scientists have studied for . Copyright OurEndangedWorld | All Rights Reserved, Environmental Organizations in The Philippines, Environmental Organizations in North America, Environmental Organizations in South America, Best Energy-Efficient Electric Fireplaces. An animals worth is only equal to the attraction it offers to visitors. Many people consider zoos amoral and cruel while others have the notion . Wildlife experts remind people that these animals do not know people's intentions, so they will try to protect themselves no matter what. Here are my eight reasons why zoos are critical to conservation: 1. The truth is that zoos are a prison for animals. But many animals clearly show us that they do not enjoy captivity. State And Local Laws: Strong state laws and even local laws have historically been a useful way to protect exotic and wild animals. On the other hand, some animals try to flirt their way to protect their nest. Copyrights 2023. However, there are some disadvantages of zoos to the environment ranging from overpopulation of a species to global warming. ViewResources. These experiences are often harmful to wildlife and dangerous for you. Protect animals by boycotting roadside zoos. They bought tickets, and the wild creatures should behave accordingly. At least 20 zoos in the United States have already ended their elephant exhibits in part because of ethical concerns about keeping the species captive. But it's clear, say welfare specialists, that captivity can compromise orcas' health. 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. However, that does not stop the silent damage that captivity delivers to such roaming animal species. For example, Orcas are migratory animals with a vast range. According to an article inPlant Based News, marine parks and aquariums are a billion-dollar industry that exists to entertain the public by catching fish and sea mammals from the wild and using them as live exhibits. This treaty is credited with helping foster international cooperation to protect some endangered and vulnerable species. Most people visit the zoo to see the big draw animals. A zoological park is defined as an establishment designed for conservation, study, and public display. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/opinion/zoos-animal-cruelty.html, Photographs by Peter Fisher for The New York Times. Thats true, he said. There were five such states until 2017, when South Carolina passed a law banning wild and exotic animals to be kept as pets. It is expensive and difficult to keep wild animals in captivity. If an animal cannot be given sufficient space or is suffering from stress and not behaving as expected, the zoo is within its right to kill the animal s. One way that is rarely documented is the sale of other animals into the exotic pet trade. Not investing enough when designing a habitat for your animals to save money. Carl Hegenbeck, a German exotic animal importer, introduced the modern model of more natural habitats for animals instead of obvious cages at his Animal Park in Hamburg in 1907. Here's What Experts Think. Personally speaking, Ive been to zoos in Sydney, Australia, and all over the UK. The Animal Welfare Act: The Animal Welfare Act, or AWA, is the primary piece of federal legislation regulating captive wild animals. The Animal Legal Defense Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Animals in zoos can sense this, and over time their confinement can lead to worrying behavioral changes. In one escape, they worked together: One held a mop handle steady while her sister climbed it to freedom. Because so many diseases can be transmitted from animals to humans, such as Ebola, Hantavirus, and the bird flu, zoos frequently conduct disease surveillance research in wildlife populations and their own captive populations that can lead to a direct impact on human health. Animals kept in an unsuitable environment or fed the wrong diet can suffer, and this can lead to illness or death. See Related: Best Books on Endangered Species. Ive spent many memorable days in botanical gardens, completely swept away by the beauty of the design as well as the unending wonder of evolution and theres no uneasiness or guilt. But theres no unambiguous evidence that zoos are making visitors care more about conservation or take any action to support it. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. There is no wild animal census in the United States, and many states have lax oversight, so any estimates about the population of wild animals in captivity is at best an educated guess. If one could simply stop urging and encouraging zoos then maybe someday animals get to live in the free wild as they please. The same applies to elephants. In 2014, the director of the E.A.Z.A. How Does Saving Water Help Climate Change? Animals have been going extinct for as long as there has been life on earthany weakling or disadvantageous animals get wiped out. Investigators found sticks and pine cones inside the exhibit, most likely thrown by the boys. Once again, a change of this magnitude can cause captive animals to exhibit changing behaviors, which include self-destructive acts and unrelenting restlessness. This is due to the inhumane conditions that these animals are forced to endure. Writing at the end of 2020, Al Gore, the 45th vice president of the United States. Bears, lions, and other animals languish in roadside zoos across the country. Cleaners and feeders spend a lot of time with the animals, and understanding the situation one is getting into can be very helpful. Ms. Marris is an environmental writer and the author of the forthcoming book Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World.. Running a successful zoo is about drawing in visitors as much as it is caring for animals. Captive tigers pace back and forth, and in a 2014 study, researchers found that the time devoted to pacing by a species in captivity is best predicted by the daily distances traveled in nature by the wild specimens. It is almost as if they feel driven to patrol their territory, to hunt, to move, to walk a certain number of steps, as if they have a Fitbit in their brains. Wild Animals Should Not Be Kept In Captivity - Medium Many zoos use Prozac and other psychoactive drugs on at least some of their animals to deal with the mental effects of captivity. Theyre generally small menageries where wild and exotic animals like lions, tigers, monkeys, wolves, and others are kept in captivity, and often suffer badly. Profits are also gained through the selling of animals to other zoos or circuses. These animals oftentimes live in inhumane conditions, and pose a serious threat to public safety. Their droppings look like little glitterballs. A species protected in captivity provides a reservoir population against a population crash or extinction in the wild. Some zoo animals try to escape. However, the vast majority dont do enough to accurately replace an animals natural habitat. Learn More. The animals too have rights and they shouldnt be subjected to half the things they undergo. But, for every story that casts zoos in a bad light from Vince the rhino's poaching at Paris' Thoiry Zoo in March; Cincinnati Zoo shooting endangered gorilla, Harambe, last year after a child fell into his enclosure; or Copenhagen Zoo killing and publicly dissecting Marius, a two-year-old giraffe in 2014 there are heart-warming tales too. 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. See Related: Endangered Species in California. Infringing the rights of individuals because it benefits the species is wrong because a species is not an. Watching these is a much healthier and more educational way to learn about wild animals than visiting a local zoo. Also, removing a certain species from the ecosystem can destroy the whole ecosystem. However, the truth remains that zoos often have insufficient knowledge of the animals they are housing. A criticism is that protections are less robust for species that are economically valuable, and that CITES is not as transparent in its decision-making or enforcement as would be ideal. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Captures Dramatic Hour-by-Hour Changes of Dart Mission Slamming on an Asteroid, Can Humanity Deflect Potentially Hazardous Asteroids? Why Are Puppy Mills Bad: The Numerous Reasons Why They Must Be Stopped And How You, yes you, Can Help! Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage! That claim is up for debate. Most zoos dont focus on the educational aspect of zoos; the animals are mainly kept for amusement. That change prompted the shift in zoo narrative from entertainment to the protection of animals. 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. Zookeepers also often may neglect their healthcare needs. It took several decades before Alex was able to leave the corporate world behind and embark on a real writing journey. James Borrell: Eight reasons why zoos are good for conservation "We engage huge audiences with wildlife, inspiring the conservationists of tomorrow," argues zoological director of ZSL London and Whipsnade Zoos, Professor David Field. Non-native animals are held in conditions that vary greatly from what they are used to living in. The environment that these animals are kept in isnt natural to them more so the animals that are taken from the wilderness and kept in zoos. All Rights are Resvered. What could these zoos do with it, besides enlarging enclosures? Zookeepers are not mustache-twirling villains. In addition, baby animals that are deemed excess to requirements find their way into black market sales. The sale of excess animals to traveling roadside zoos is another big problem. Since most countries dont have any regulations on how to handle animals in zoos, these business people can do whatever it takes to make the most profits possible. says that its members host more than 50 reintroduction programs for species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Nevertheless, a vast majority of zoo animals (there are 800,000 animals of 6,000 species in the A.Z.A.s zoos alone) will spend their whole lives in captivity, either dying of old age after a lifetime of display or by being culled as surplus.. Animals are forced to sleep, eat, and defecate in the same small area. ALSO READ: Man in Uganda Beats Lion With Bare Hands In Bloody Battle Before Feasting on the Beast for Dinner. When it rains, the topsoil gets washed away leaving the land more exposed. 17 Pros and Cons of Keeping Animals in Captivity - ConnectUS In zoos vets and biologist help to prevent inbreeding. Mr. Hagenbecks model was widely influential. There are 39 animal species currently listed by the IUCN as Extinct in the Wild. Another similar behavior of flirting is freezing, in which an animal does not move when there is no way of escape, like being caught in a trap or net even though they are terrified. Your voice is needed, so that captive wild animals in the United States, and elsewhere, are better protected. For the unlucky ones that end up in the circuses, they are always in for a wide awakening. Life expectancy for animals in captivity depends on a couple of things, such as their way of life, among other factors. The bill helps end the rampant abuse of tigers and other big cats in captivity by banning private possession. Unfortunately using real animals for these purposes involves tremendous cruelty. Zoo owners go to great lengths to build enclosures that have a wild aesthetic and give paying visitors a taste of the wild world.