Being able to live freely, wild animals are definitely happier than captive zoo animals. In the article "Bambi or Bessie: Are Wild Animals Happier?," paragraph 12, it says, when we domesticated animals, we forever altered how they respond to their environment, and paragraph 10 says that in all the domesticated species ever studied, all animals had a decreased stress response compared to wild counterparts. Like what paragraph 14 says, stress is needed and is important for surviving in the wild and the vast majority of domesticated animals wouldn't survive in the wild. The second article, "Dogs help herd elephants at the Pittsburgh Zoo," says that the PETA (The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) group thought that it showed clearly
Animals life spans in Zoos are also drastically different from those in the wild. Studies have shown that animals kept in Zoos live only half of the lifespan animals do in the wild (Cokal 493). This goes to show that when animals are kept in Zoos they do not live statistically longer or healthier lives. They live shorter, problematic lives due to poor
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.
Lets start with zoos, where animals are kept in cages or large enclosures for public viewing. Millions of people visit zoos thinking the animals are happy, when in all reality they are miserable. You can try to replicate the animals enclosure to their natural habitat, but they can never replace their homes. An animals rights organization states, “Animals are often prevented from doing most of the things that are natural and important to them, like running, roaming, flying, climbing, foraging, choosing a partner, and being with others of their own kind,” (PETA). Although, zoos are said to ‘help’ these animals, they really are not, it is more a collection of different animals in order to show off to the audience and gain money off of them. People begin to believe it is okay to keep these wild animals captive and have their lives be controlled by someone else.
Ever since animals have been domesticated, they have been very instrumental in providing humans with a plethora of benefits in multiple areas such as agriculture, medicine, and industry (Transgenic Animals). Today, animals and their products are used for almost everything from food to clothing to products we use on an everyday basis. Some argue that animals should not be used as much as they are being utilized; however the use of domesticated animals propelled humans from a nomadic species to a more civilized people. The domestication of animals was a keynote of the beginning of agriculture as a whole, which lead to industrialization and progression as human beings. Domesticated animals play a foremost role in our society today as well as in the future.
Thirty years ago, congress passed a law to protect animals that are at risk of becoming extinct. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 outlined the responsibilities of the government and citizens concerning these animals. It requires that every five years, species are evaluated, and it is decided whether they are okay, endangered, whose population is so low that it is in danger of becoming extinct, or threatened, who are not in as much danger, but whose population is small enough for concern. Threatened and endangered species are then placed on a list, the “red list,” and closely monitored until conditions improve and population numbers increase enough that they can be removed. But how are these animals monitored and how is it possible to get them to the point that they can be removed from the “red list”? To find the answers, many conservationists and scientists have turned to technology. Technology has enabled scientists to help animals reproduce, improve their habitat, and protect them. There are a few disadvantages and opposing viewpoints to this issue. Is it worth the money to use these technologies to save a species from becoming extinct? And more importantly, is it right for humans to intervene with nature? From cloning to satellites, technology has helped save many species from extinction, but is it worth it?
Although zoos have helped animals in a variety of ways, they have also affected the life of many animals. Within zoos there is a numerous amount of cruelty that strip the animals a fair chance at life. Capturing animals is cruel and destroys their chance at surviving for as long as they should. Zoos all over the United States have had occasions of animal cruelty. At the Scarborough Sea Life Center, Humboldt penguins suffer from depression and they are forced to take antidepressants.
“Much as we might want to understand animals at a level deeper than pop culture, we can only understand them in terms of our own experiences, language and emotions, and interpreted within our social, historical and cultural contexts. The only way we have of understanding animals is to recognize that ‘when we gaze at animals we hold up a mirror to ourselves’ (Corbett, 176). Animal messages are brought to us by the pop culture industry, whose job it is to create, disseminate, and sell meaning. In most cases, they aren’t selling you a moose, but what a moose means to you for example – the characteristics and qualities that you and most people associate with the species. Based on common meanings presented to us from an early age, animals are the perfect shorthand communication symbol. We use animals as devices, metaphors and symbols for a great deal of our expressions and ideas” (Corbett, 179).
In The Call of the Wild, by Jack London, Buck goes from thinking he is happy, to being truly happy. Buck starts his life with Judge Miller, thinking he is happy and satisfied with his life, until he meets John Thornton and is exposed to love and true joy. At the beginning of The Call of The Wild, London describes Buck’s life as a lavish, loving, and just overall great life; one that not many dogs get to experience. But the closer you look into detail and description, you can come to the conclusion that Buck is not truly happy. A convincing reflection of Buck’s solidarity and unhappiness is when London explains that “It was true, there were other dogs. There could not but be other dogs on so vast a place, but they did not count” (10). This
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.
All around the world, zoos and circuses are merely entertaining places to visit animals doing what they would in the wild or performing mind blowing tricks. Although zoos are said to be a learning environment and circuses just a harmless show, these environments are some of the most threatening to wild animals. What these people do not see are the horrors that happen behind the curtains or behind closed doors. These people do not witness the constant brutality or the constant neglect that animals in zoos and circuses experience almost every day. *Due to abusive environments and lack of resources critical to their development, wild animals should not be used for entertainment purposes.
Zoos display fascinating animals from all over the world for human entertainment, research, conservation, and education. Many scientists conduct studies on animals in captivity that they may not have been able to in the wild. Zoos educate all the visitors that come; they let people know everything that they know about the animals on display. We do learn a lot from these animals, but not all of the animals in the zoo are behaving like they normally would in the wild. Larger animals, such as elephants and orcas (commonly known as killer whales), have trouble with being confined in such a small area. However, many smaller animals benefit from zoos because they provide protection from predators, natural disasters, and poachers. They also benefit from conservation efforts; the babies being born get all the care they could ever need. Some animal rights activists are concerned that the conservation efforts are limiting the gene pool of the species. They argue that the small number of animals able to breed in captivity limits biodiversity and leads to weaknesses in the species overall. Zoos are wonderful places to study and learn about animals, but we need to improve the living standards for animals that struggle with captivity.
Animal welfare is a fairly recent, yet troubling argument in society. This subject is a strong argument on a variety of opinions. Animal welfare has become a major issue and has grown internationally. The human concern and the safety and rights of animals is the meaning of the concept of animal welfare. Through decades of animal welfare, people fight to prevent the action of animal cruelty and bring help towards animal rights.
Zoos are an unsuitable environment for wild animals and should, therefore, be abolished. Firstly, zoo animals are kept in a very confined area compared to their vast natural habitat. Secondly, breeding programmes are far less successful than zoos claim. Thirdly, zoo animals are exposed to many diseases and other dangers. Zoo animals are usually kept in very cramped enclosures and do not behave like their wild counterparts.
... danger too. A good reason for captivity is rehabilitation for an animal that is hurt or wounded and could be treated. Then having a second chance back out into the wild. Also by keeping endangered species from going completely instinct by figuring out genetics of an animal. So having zoos and farms do help animals but does put them at risk.
Zoos bring human kind closer to wild life. Though, sometimes that means taking the animal out of its natural habitat. Some animals have lost most of their habitat and are on the verge of extinction. In this way, the zoo helps the animals rather than using them as a form of human entertainment. Zoos also allow humans to study different kinds of animals more closely. Some zoos on the other hand manipulate the animals to acquire as much revenue as possible rather than being concerned with the welfare of each animal.