Suffering From Captivity Have you ever wondered what is going on in an animal’s mind? Just like us, both wild and captive animals have many different emotions about many different things. As former SeaWorld trainer, John Jett said in the documentary, Blackfish, “When you look into their eyes, you know someone is home, somebody’s looking back. You form a very personal relationship with your animal.” This text evidence shows that no matter what, something is going on in the animal’s mind and you don’t always know what it is, but it’s something. Keeping animals in captivity is especially cruel as it is harmful to the animals mind, body, and emotional well-being. To begin with, captivity is harmful to the physical body because of their living …show more content…
One of those reasons could be from the animals either getting separated from its young or the young getting separated from its mother. John Hargrove, another former SeaWorld trainer stated in Blackfish, “In fact, when Takara was taken from her mother Kasatka, she was emitting vocalizations that had never been heard before ever by anyone...obviously Takara was gone and she was trying anything she could to locate and communicate with Takara.” After that, the mother was probably depressed for a long time and kept on emitting those vocalizations. Another reason for an animal to get depressed in captivity would be from not getting enough food and water. I remember a couple years ago when I went to SeaWorld and got to sim with the dolphins. I put on a wetsuit and got in the water, and in the water there was this one dolphin that kept making a screeching sound and the trainer said that she was just hungry but that they just fed her about a half hour ago. In the wild, there are unlimited sources of food and water wherever you go. In the article “Is Animal Captivity Wrong” by Tauriq Moosa, it says “Animals behind cages, starving and dying, is an awful sight. It’s an image that underlines the callousness with which humans treat other creatures and indeed themselves.” So not only are the animals suffering without …show more content…
On one hand, an animal is having a normal life in the wild with their families or packs and then, on the other hand, another animal is by itself in captivity but supposed to be with other animals of their kind. Laidlaw says that only a couple species have successfully been reintroduced back into the wild from being in captivity. This text evidence proves that once an animal is in captivity for so long, it cannot resume life in the wild. Also an animal being in captivity can harm their emotional well being with all of the attention they get from their trainers and other people who work with them because of how they are taught. In the wild, that animal can be taught to hunt, be independent, and to rely on your instincts. In captivity, you get fed when it’s time to, your cage gets cleaned sometimes, you don’t have to protect your young. You are pretty much taken care of so when or if you get introduced back into the wild after a certain period of time, you don’t remember how to take care of yourself because you are so used to be taken care of. In a way, I do understand that captivity is good because it teaches you what animals are like and how they live in their habitat, but their habitat in captivity is nowhere near how it is in the wild. Overall, captivity confines and restricts animals greatly and as a result, they are suffering and slowly dying. It is cruel and harmful to just let the animal sit there and let their
He states that “Animals in zoos and aquariums can live longer, healthier, and richer lives than their forbearers ever did in the wild.” Studies have proven again and again that for most animals a caged life was a short and unhappy one. To begin with, for many species, a stare is received as a threat. With the public constantly staring at the animals, many of them become depressed. Scared and depressed animals might fill the hours with repetitive behaviors known as stereotypy: masturbating to a danger point, pacing their paws raw, or swaying endlessly from side to side (Cokal 492).
The captivity of large, wild animals is accepted for theme parks all around the world. Tickets are sold for people to come and watch these animals live and even preform in an exhibit that almost resembles their natural environment. It is impossible for parks and zoos that use animals as attractions to provide the same resources and space they would have in the habitat they are usually found in. They can, however, help injured or ill animals that cannot survive in the wild. This is where I believe they should draw the line for keeping animals in captivity. SeaWorld has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years, especially since the Netflix documentary, Blackfish, was released. This film targets the company for the mistreatment of their orca whales. In particular, it told the story of one named Tilikum and shows the problems he and the other orca whales face while living under the care of SeaWorld. Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director
I will now provide arguments against the use of animal captivity. Firstly, I will use Peter Singer, who I believe delivers the strongest argument against animal captivity. Singer is a consequentialist who argues for animal rights and the position that animals should not be held captive. Singer reminds us that humans are animals but language makes us overlook this. As a utilitarian and hedonist, Singer looks towards the end result, where like human beings, other animals choose pleasure over suffering. Singer regards interests of consciousness rather than self-consciousness. Therefore since animals are conscious beings and animal captivity causes pain and suffering, it is wrong. Robert Garner
Animal Captivity is a huge problem in today’s society. The animals shouldn't be caged up, they should be running
The practice of keeping wild animals in a zoo or aquarium is looked at favorably in most aspects but what we fail to realize is that we have placed animals which at one point lived freely in wide open spaces into captivity. Society is assuming these animals are happy to be taken from their natural habitat and placed in pens and cages because they have every need handed to them. David Suzuki asked “What gives us the right to exploit other living organisms as we see fit?” (681). Through selfishness, people have justified zoos and aquariums to be an educational benefit to children, to help them learn about animals, their individuality and where they come from. Zoos and Aquariums are for society’s personal entertainment not for the good of the animals and should be closed down.
animals, orcas in specific, should not be held captive, as it causes them psychological Orcas, better known as killer whales, have an average lifespan of fifty years. This is only if they are not in captivity. Orcas in captivity have an average lifespan of twenty years. This is an enormous difference! After the release of the controversial film “Blackfish” in 2013, Democratic State Assemblyman Richard Bloom, in the news article, “New California Bill Aims To Stop SeaWorld From Making Orcas Perform” (2014), argues that orcas should not be held captive for “entertainment purposes”. Bloom supports his argument by introducing a bill that will end orca performances, prohibit import and exports of killer whales, and ban captive breeding. The authors
I will now move onto arguments supporting the use of animal captivity. I am starting with Kant, who provides a strong argument for animal captivity. Kantian Ethics holds the view that we do not have any direct ethical duties to non-human animals. We only owe ethical duties to rational beings, and non-human animals are not included in this group. The value humanity comes from our capacity to be governed by autonomous, rational choices. Since non-human cannot be part of this, Kant believes we can do as we please with them. This can be demonstrated in Kant’s ‘Political Writings’ when he argues,
Captivity is the state or period of being imprisoned, confined, or enslaved, according to Wiktionary. Every year, marine parks and aquariums, like SeaWorld, make billions of dollars through ticket sales. SeaWorld estimates about 70% of their total revenue is due to their performing killer whales (Jeffs). People visit from all over the world to encounter killer whales up close. “Their beauty and power, combined with willingness to work with humans, have made them legendary performers” (Gorman). In recent years, humans have gained the ability to tame and train these creatures. Killer whales should not be kept in captivity simply because it is cruel, unnatural, and dangerous.
Even some people think that the captivity is benefit for Whales in pit of reason, but others people think differently because it has consequences more than benefits. Some people think if they put the Whales in captivity will help them because as we know the sea exposed to pollution by some of ships transport that has oil tanker and factory pollution that they throw poisons items in the sea, and this will affect most of them and will lead them to death. Other reason is if they got sick or anything that will affect their health nobody will know what will happen to them until they put them in other small safe place to check and medicate them to protect them. Also, the upbringing for those kind of animals in captivity might be the only way to save an endangered species.
This sounds like it would be a logical as well as honorable reason to keep these animals in captivity, however, it isn’t entirely true. Yes, dolphins are at risk due to many factors including habitat loss, commercial harvest, and entanglement. Because of this, businesses claim there justification to keep these animals captivity is to secure the populations return to the wild, should they ever become extinct. According to the Born Free Foundation, those that rely on captivity create a false security and therefore draws attention away from the wild populations and their habitats. These habitats could potentially be destroyed, and therefore the captive animals would have nothing to go back to if there wild counterparts did become extinct.
For hundreds of decades animals have been the center of entertainment for humans. They are used in circuses, zoos, aquariums, and other animal-based exhibits. However, how many of us actually take the time to consider if this involuntary imprisonment is doing more harm than good? Not many take into account the permanent effects these animals suffer from being locked in cages or small spaces for 95% of their life. Using captive animals to entertain humans should be considered unlawful and cruel because of the physical and mental repercussions that are caused and because they are not educational.
Zoos introduces captive-bred projects to take care of some animals for years and reintroduce them back to the wild. However, captive animals usually lose their survival skills in wild after under an absolute protection for a long time, especially those who are used to learning from their parents. They no longer able to escape from predators or track preys. Reintroduction often needs to be abandoned permanently.
Just take into consideration what happens when you are stuck in the same room with someone for a long period of time, especially at the end of a bad day. Who’s to say that they don’t feel the same way, but as long as Sea World is making money, then who cares, right? Sea World has ten captive Orcas, seven of which were born in captivity and it is said that they wouldn’t survive in the open ocean. This wouldn’t be a problem if you wouldn’t have taken their parents out of the ocean and left them to do things on their own in the first place. Sea World claims that they “couldn’t love their animals any more”.
It is said that in order to protect the wildlife, we need to be educated about the wildlife that inhabits our planet. As humans, and the superior species on Earth, we put exotic animals, aquatic and terrestrial, in zoos or aquariums where people can go to see them to learn more about them in order to protect them. It just so happens that by putting these animals into captivity, we are causing more damage to them, just as damage is occurring in the wild and more species are becoming extinct. Animals should not be held in captivity; it does not save them from going extinct, but helps kill them off.
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).