The Pros and Cons of Zoos

There are over 1,500 zoos in the world and over 200 of them are in Great Britain alone. This shows how popular zoos are all over the globe. With the wide range of species and animal presentations, it’s no wonder why 600,000 customers stream through zoo doors every year. However, zoos are always looking for ways to make money. Currently, Edinburgh Zoo, is trying to sell off some land so they can keep the zoo functioning. This shows they’re willing to sell off land that is meant for these animals, just to keep this unnatural habitat viable.

If an animal was under threat in their natural habitat it would be inhumane not to rescue them, not the other way around. We are merely protecting them from poachers and extinction. Breeding programmes are the main function of zoos, by reproducing species for our future generations, we are conserving animals. Some may say though that we should be leaving these animals alone to live their lives, no matter if it’s a short or long one. It’s a breach of their natural rights to use them for our own purposes, and the human race has done enough for these poor animals. I personally think that the zoos breeding programmes are a bad idea they have a very low success rate and by the end of the programme the animal hasn’t got the characteristics of what the animal born in wild would have, so it’s just a waste of time.

Zoos where animals are fed well and looked after properly with nice surroundings should be encouraged throughout the world and in most zoos this is the standard they go by. Maybe if one zoo is suffering from abusive problems it does not mean that all zoos should be shut down. Even if these are the guidelines zoos follow animals are still stressed and suffering. They show this by displaying self-destructive behaviour. What is educational about watching an animal in its unnatural habitat, behaving in a way that it wouldn’t normally behave? In my opinion children would be better educated reading a book or watching a documentary of an animal behaving in a natural way, and if that means animals dying out then at least they died with their dignity intact.

If families and children come along to zoos as often as the figures say then ideas will be put in their heads that it’s okay for animals to be trapped in small cages and that they are only there for our entertainment and not our educational needs.