There are many opinions about animals in captivity. Many people think that keeping animals in captivity is abusive and that we should not use them for our entertainment. This is true, animals should not stay in these cages. Other people think that we are saving these animals because they are rehabilitating these animals and if they were in the wild, they would die. Both opinions are true. With zoos there is no black and white, it is gray.
Many animal activists believe that the cons outweigh the pros when it comes to zoos. Doris Lin speaks from the point of view of animal rights activists when she says that a scam about zoos is “we have no right to raise, capture and confine other animals, even if they are in danger of extinction. Membership of an endangered species does not mean that they have fewer rights. ” This is very true, God did not intend for animals to be put in cages. Some animals are bred in captivity and only know life in cages and have never seen the wild. These animals that are kept in captivity have high levels of stress and suffer from boredom and confinement.
Animal husbandry in captivity leads to a large surplus of animals and this can lead to animals being sold to other zoos, circuses and may even be euthanized. Most programs that raise animals do not return them to the wild, they are left in the zoo system. On the subject of captive whales, Naomi Rose speaks out against it. Orcas in the wild have a longer life expectancy than those in captivity. Killer whales that live in the wild have a life expectancy of females of up to 80-90 years and males of 60-70 years. For captive killer whales, both males and females live into their 20s and perhaps even adolescence. Sea World has lost 26 killer whales in the last 29 years. That’s a considerable amount of killer whale kills. When these killer whales are in these pools, their levels of aggression and stress are high. There have been 4 whale trainer deaths. As we can see, orcas should not remain in captivity.
On the other hand, zoos have some advantages. Zoos bring people together and teach the public about endangered animals. This can be very good for a community. Zoos also help endangered species by giving them a safer home and raising them because in the wild it can be difficult for them to find mates. “Zoos benefit conservation not only through direct efforts such as captive breeding, wild survival training, and reintroduction, but also indirectly (Aziz).” Almost 50 percent of people live in areas where they are disconnected from nature. So in these cities, zoos and aquariums enrich the lives of citizens and make them want to preserve animal life. “Research on animals in captivity increases knowledge of animal biology, genetics, behavior, interactions, feeding habits, etc. (Aziz)”. These are all very good pros for zoos, but we see that there are many more cons.
Here are the pros and cons of zoos. Ultimately, we all have our own opinions about the effectiveness of zoos. After looking at all the data about the zoos, we see the gray areas. Zoos do far more harm than good when it comes to these wild animals. Animals deserve to live their lives free, not on corpses for our entertainment.
