Animals in Captivity Seeing tigers jump over each other, elephants balance on a wooden ball, or orcas waving their tails; it can be easy to forget what they are going through. Some think Zoos, Aquariums, Circuses and other places that collects wild animals are like homes. I disagree, I think zoos are more like prisons. According to dictionary.com a prison is: any place of confinement or involuntary restraint. A home or in this case a habitat again as dictionary.com describes it is: the natural environment of an organism; place that is natural for the life and growth of an organism. Which one sounds more like a zoo now?
Today, I would like to persuade each of you to help solve the issue of locking animals up. Let’s begin by addressing the problems that can occur when animals are fed up of being trapped in small dirty cages or tanks where they are bored and cramped all day.
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One is violent animal attacks which isn't surprising because wild animals are natural born killers. Especially if animals are kept in captivity for long periods of time they will become aggressive and will do anything to get out. In “Incidents Involving Animals In captivity” the Associated Press publicized that on “ Dec. 25, 2007 A Siberian tiger named Tatiana escapes from its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo, kills one man and mauls two others before being shot dead.” This is horrible because animals and people can be killed and the people who were badly hurt may have also been traumatized from this experience. However, not only humans are left traumatized. When an animal is captured from its home they are panicked and stressed, which can cause health issues and lead to sooner death. For instance, a Vervet monkey: lives only 11-13 years in captivity but 15-20 years in the wild. Thats a seven year difference. As you can see, and hopefully understand, the transition from home to being jailed is not an easy
Since the creation of fast food restaurants, there has been an increase in the consumption of meat which has caused a shift in the way food is produced, including the way animals are treated in factory farms. For many years factory farming has been part of life, which perhaps have led humans to be ignorant when it comes to factory farming because people so not want to admit that animals have feeling and emotions. Animals suffer their entire lives in both factory farms and slaughterhouses, animals are kept in small cages and pens with no access to the outside world. As a result, state and federal laws were created to protect animals from abuse, but they are rarely followed or enforced. Animal welfare was also established to enforce the well-being
Keeping animals locked in cages, bored and cramped up in such a small space is an awful sight to show the children. It creates an image in the little minds of children that animals are to be treated like they don’t matter. They say Zoos are a place where children can learn about the wild, exotic animals, but in reality it doesn't teach them anything only that they are meant to be caged up, which is wrong. Also, it is really painful to see the animals bored and lonely, so why should people keep letting them do this to these beautiful creatures. Animal captivity for entertainment should end to let them go to their rightful home.
The fact that humans do it and get away with it is sickening. There are laws that protect the animals, but people, especially hunters, find ways around them. These animals should be living in an environment where they can feel safe. However, they live in the complete opposite environment. Humans are at the top of the food chain, this makes them superior and able to make smart decisions.
Animal abuse is an ongoing issue all over the world. 48% of all animals are abused in the U.S. Animal abuse is portrayed in many ways. A cat claws the carpet and it is thrown outside. A dog makes a mess and it is kicked.“There are two main types of abuse. The first type of animal abuse is passive which can be defined as neglect or failing to take care of an
Animals not only experience cruelty from their caretakers, but from visitors as well. As a result of this, the abuse can cause psychological damage and varies from the animals being teased, yelled at and having objects thrown at them (OccupyTheory, 2015, List of Cons of Zoos, para. 4). Animals that are restricted to zoo living arrangements show a great deal of abnormal behaviors as well as mental health issues. For example, animals in captivity easily become lonely and bored when deprived of their natural necessities. Due to stressful living situations, many animals begin to show signs of a psychological condition known as zoochosis, a repetitive and multiple obsessive behavior (Netivist 2016, Cons of Zoos, para. 2). Some symptoms of repetitive and obsessive behaviors that have are common include, but not limited to self-mutilation, pacing up and down or rocking back and forth (Isacat, 2015, Chapter.8). According to the database on the animal advocacy organization, Born Free USA website (http://www.bornfreeusa.org/reports/exoincidents.php) there is over 1300 recorded incidents of "deadly and dangerous captive wild animal incidents" that have occurred since 1990 (ResearchBuzz, 2010). One of the most recent incidents involved Harambe, a western lowland gorilla that lived in the Cincinnati Zoo. Animal psychological and former head of Zoo Atlanta, Terry Maple stated, "Its difficult to say whether
“There can be many reason for animal cruelty, like any other form of violence, is often committed by a person who feels powerless, unnoticed, or under control of others. Some who are cruel to animals copy acts what they have seen or that have been done to them, others see harming an animal as a safe way to get revenge against--or threaten-- someone who cares about that animal”. (“Animal… Statistics”) Concerns towards abusing animals have gone up in the past. Although there are not many cases on animal abuse, many have occurred. Abusers are charged with Criminal Animal Abuse and then sentenced to life in prison. Some animals that are physically abused are sometimes rescued by Animal Control, and are taken it to an animal shelter. However, many shelters have not had the space to keep the animals so the workers would have to put them down (Carol Roach). Researchers have shown that the main animals getting abused are dogs, chickens, horses, and livestock (“Animal...
Animals should not be held captive in zoos because it is inhumane and unfair to the animals. There are so many records of terrible things that have happened to animals in zoos over the past few centuries, the go under the radar too often. Too few people even know about these animal care atrocities, and therefore the New York Times decided to bring light upon this situation. The Times did a first-of-its-kind analysis of 390 elephant fatalities at accredited U.S. zoos over the past 50 years (Berens 3). It found that most of the elephants died from injury or disease linked to conditions of their captivity, from chronic foot problems caused by standing on hard surfaces to musculoskeletal disorders from inactivity caused by being penned or chained for days and weeks at a time.
middle of paper ... ... Freedom is precious and animals are constantly suffering mentally and physically from the lack of freedom that captivity brings to them. Although many zoos are visited by millions of people annually, they still operate at a loss and have to make budget cuts. Funds that should be used to provide humane conditions for animals are often wasted on cosmetic improvements such as landscaping, refreshment stands, and gift shops in order to draw visitors, leaving the animals behind steel bars and glass trapped in a concrete jungle for no reason without hope of ever being free.
When talking about zoos some people think that they are terrific for the animals while others think they’re harmful to the animals. I think that zoos are terrible because the animals are trapped and zoos even cause some animals to have a mental illness. The first reason I think that the animals are trapped is because they are in small cages and habitats, and are forced to socialize with other animals of their kind. In the text it says some animals “who are accustomed to swimming up to 100 miles in one day and diving hundreds of feet, are forced to live in confined spaces” (“Zoochosis”).
Being in captivity means that animals do not have the same environment as free animals. Also according to Jane Goodall elephants need more room to roam. In the article ( Pro or Con ) animales stress out when in small places. According to the video, “ Born wild” animals can be kept in a cage without a companion for a
An article found by PETA gives 13 examples of incidents that could categorize zoos as being bad. These incidents include penguins being out on antidepressants, a giraffe, being killed and fed to lions, donkeys being painted to look like zebras, animals being imported, animals being illegally trafficked by poachers, animals being found to show signs of neurotic behavior, different species of animals being sold to questionable places, animals being sold to circuses, animals being sent to livestock auctions, animals being used as experiments for medications, a bear was starved to death, and a kangaroo being euthanized after being hit by a train going through the exhibit. Personally, an incident that seemed to stand out was at the Dallas Zoo. There was a gorilla named Jabari who had escaped from the Dallas Zoo's walls and was shot to death by the police. It was found through a witness who later confessed to seeing teenagers taunting Jabari by throwing rocks at him.
Some will be convinced, others will see it as brick-and-mortar propaganda.” (Rinaldi). The worst part is that they are not wrong, most think that zoos are prisons for animals and that they are not happy at zoos, which is not true. The exposure of captive animals to the public through shows or observatories raises awareness to the general public. Public awareness, in turn, leads to funding from donations.
At Zootopia,… [the] 300-acre zoo without bars, fences, or glass…[will make] for the “best possible and freest possible environment for animals”… It is not a preserve—as those who want zoos shut down have called for—but it is an advancement in how people think of holding captive animals. Zootopia’s layout would let animals roam land that encircles a doughnut-hole observation center. And though people can walk through tunnels and poke their heads up for a closer look, in this design it is not dangerous animals…that are caged, it is the humans.
For example, the sport fox-hunting is very popular; families often train the younger generation in the proper technique of fox-hunting so that the tradition may live on (Nurse, 2013). Although it is an important tradition to some, the torture and death of an animal is nothing to be commended or celebrated. In Margit Livingston’s article "Desecrating the Ark: Animal Abuse and The Law’s Role in Prevention" she goes on to point out how animal abuse is often viewed as an owner’s right to exercise dominion or even entertainment. Furthermore, she states that, “today, only a scant majority of state jurisdictions provide for felony-level penalties for intentional animal abuse.” Because animal abuse has been viewed so lowly throughout history, there are no proper laws in place to prevent such atrocities from occurring.
The reasons that animals are held in captivity could favor some people and others not. Animals in captivity are usually held for entertainment, education, research, and conservation purposes. The other major reason they are held in captive is the process of rehabilitation. The article, Ethical Issues, defines rehabilitation as the treatment of wild animals found injured or ill, taken into captivity until restored to full health and then returned to the wild. Then when the animal is released they are then able to live freely in their own habitat. Although this may lead to suffering and stress or even death for the animal. The animal is so dependent on their caretaker that once they are put into the wild they do poorly (1).