Persuasive Essay Against Zoos

Millions of grandparents, parents, and children attend one of the 10,000 zoos located worldwide (Fravel). Zoos are purposeful through amusement or entertainment and education to children and adults. Overall, zoos are perceived as a happy, fun, and educational place, although, according to National Geographic, they are locations for holding wild animals captive for the purpose of studying and breeding them as well as to protect the endangered species (Society). Even though society might learn a few facts in a zoo, are they actually beneficial to the animals? An animal's life depends on the decisions humans make, it depends on our morals regarding captivity, liberty, and if they have a legitimate purpose. A zoo is an animal prison. According

Animals have a purpose other than for scientists to take them to labs and dissect them or breed them until they have created a superior animal of one species. Each zoo has a maximum capacity and despite their numerous breeding programs, they still create “unwanted” animals that overpopulate the zoos. According to Dale Jamieson’s article, Against Zoos, some zoos send the excess species to be traded off to locations that lack the proper facilities or to be shot and killed in private hunting camps. The animals are forcefully being bred with 50% chance, depending on their sex, of being sent to die. The article also states a “solution” to the inhumane acts zoos are committing. “Some zoos have been considering proposals to ‘recycle’ excess animals: a euphemism for killing them and feeding their bodies to other zoo animals” (Singer). As previously stated, a zoo is a breeding ground, but they breed to kill their animals. They have no actual purpose other than to commit inhumane acts and they need to be abolished. If all the zoos were abolished, the animals would be sent back to the wild to live their natural life or to a wildlife reserve where they may still be confined but away from the harms of a zoo. “True wildlife sanctuaries do not breed or exploit for commercial activities (including, but not limited to: use of animals for entertainment or sport, sale or trade of animals, their offspring or animal parts and by-products.)”