Animal Cruelty and Captivity Animals kept in zoos, aquariums, and circuses are treated poorly by humans. They inevitably suffer from disease, pain, starvation, and fear so they will perform seamlessly for the public. The pets are forced by their owners to carry out pointless tricks and performances and are almost always deprived of their normal behavior (Aquariums and Marine Parks). Animals are ripped away from their families and out of their natural habitat by zoo, aquarium, and circus workers and usually do not live their full lifespan due to the mental and physical abuse that comes from the captive place they reside in (Aquariums and Marine Parks). Performing animals are injected with various drugs because their natural behavior interferes with the entertainment they are meant to showcase.
Due to the horrible environment zoos provide for the animals, they also suffer serve illnesses and lack nutrition. “...98% of free-range farmers believe that their animals are happy and have had 20% less sickness than caged zoo animals” (Annabelle). Zoos are stress makers for the animals in them. They are trapped in prison without committing a crime. That causes stress to the animals and increases the chance to suffer from psychoses.
At each of the zoos investigated, cramped spaces restrain animals from movement and physical exercise that is supposed to have in the wild. Those animals are on the verge of having damages in legs and feet. Further, a few species are kept in old cages and do not provide privacy, which leads to mental illness Poor hygiene and sanitation is also the reason why captive animals get health problems and spread diseases quickly. Besides, animals in Spanish zoos are treated as “performers”. Indeed, as claimed by the Animal Equality, six of eight zoos in Spain operate entertaining performances with species including sea lions, dolphins and so on.
Aquatic animals do not have enough water, birds are prevented from flying away by having their wings clipped and being kept in aviaries. As a result, because the zoo cannot provide the amount of space animals have in the wild, this leads to wild animals’ behavioural problems. For example, in the article “10 facts about zoos” (2010), a government-funded study of elephants in UK zoos found that 54% of the elephants showed stereotypies during the daytime. One elephant observed during day and night stereotyped for 61% of a 24-hour period. Lions in zoos spend 48% of their time pacing, a recognised sign of behavioural problems.
I`am going to introduce the different aspects that make a zoo a sensational or terrible place for animals. In this issue there are several facts that make us doubt about this theme, so in this case we should ask ourselves if our ethic allows this situation to carry on. Firstly, I`am going to talk about why zoos are an exceptional place for animals to live. In particular, Zoos rescue animals from circuses where animals are misuse and from their natural habitats where there are in danger of extension or only because they do not have the necessary natural resources for living. For example, the case of the elephants which are saved from the mafias that only want to cut their horn which are made up of ivory.
Animals don’t have the voice to speak up about being exploited involuntarily for entertainment, so is it ethically right to hold them captive? There are over 750,000 types of animals that are held captive in zoos around the world, not to mention, multiple animals per species. (Statistics Brain). For animals to be held in captivity, it is a necessity to ensure that animals receive the reciprocal of their crucial needs, such as the animals having the correct habitat, social abilities or needs, nutrition, and an appropriate confinement. Zoos around the world have recently been under fire for hiding the reality of the zoo’s version of “The Circle of Life” from visitors.
Zoo is the place where wild animals are collected for tourist attraction, as there are several endanger species animals protected from extinction by zookeepers. Some people say zoos are safe to place for animals to live because they do not have to seek for food to survive. Other people say that zoos are not suitable habitat for animals to live, as some kinds of animals might be difficult to adapt to new condition. In order to make a peaceful relationship between human and animal there are two major reasons why zoo should be banned: rarely help animals from extinction and cause animals stress behaviors or lack of freedom. First of all, wild animals are less likely to be helped by the zoo, because they were not born to be caged in the zoo for
One would think animals like being in a zoo, ordinarily animals don’t. To an animal, a zoo feels like a prison they can’t escape out of. So, consequently if zoos were to release animals back into the wild, the animals would feel lost and not know what to do. Because they relied on the zoo for so long. Nevertheless, animals don’t feel like they are in their natural habitat.
Growing up I had my own idea of what a zoo was, a place like the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo full of beautiful animals and dedicated to education, research, and conservation. After persistent research I have come to find that not all zoos are the same. Zoos can range from nationally ranked research facilities to makeshift “monkey-shows” dedicated to profit. The debate of whether zoos are ethical can be easily split between animal rights activists and zoo advocates. Animal rights activists argue that it is inhumane to house animals in inadequate habitats and are upset that many species that aren’t considered endangered are being held in zoos around the world.
Additionally, to maintain control over these animals, they are often deprived of food and water for extended periods of time” (Godd). Ringling Bros, like most circuses, took their animals from the wild. “While it may appear that the animals that perform in Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey shows are special breeds that were simply born to thrive in the spotlight and eat up applause, in reality they are not. It is estimated that about 50 percent of the Asian elephants owned by Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey were captured from the wild” (Godd). Ringling Bros.