Free Essay: Zoos Are Internment Camps of Animals and Should Be Shut Down

Thesis; zoos should be completely shut down owing to the fact that they pause more than enough danger to both the animals confined in them and the people around them.

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Argument one- zoos are physically harmful to animals. This is owed from the fact that various posts have confirmed the high death rate that animals within the zoos experience as compared to those living in the wilderness.

Argument two- zoos inflict psychological stress to the confined animals. The confinement of these animals within small restricted areas makes them dull since they do not have much space to carry out their normal ways of lives such as hunting.

Argument three- zoos are harmful to the children, evidenced by the negative attributes that children acquire from those visiting the zoos who in most cases abuse the animals confined in them. Children acquire bad influence from those who inflict pain on these animals and as a result they start mistreating other helpless animals.

Conclusion- zoos are dangerous to the animals, therefore, should be shut down.

Zoos Are Internment Camps of Animals and Should Be Shut Down

Zoos are public parks that display animals for recreational or educational purposes. Supposedly, zoos form mans recreation which at now is referred to as a habitat; however, on a clear and deeper scrutiny; zoos form cages that are designed to ease the life on the faces looking into them and not the animals living in them (Coetzee & Maxwell, 6). The captivity effects on the animals both outside and inside the zoos, the danger paused to the humans working within the zoos, and publics false education are just some of the reasons that make me support the statement.

Zoos are harmful to the animals. According to various Washington post, a number of Wallabies drown into pools of water around their zoo and end up dead yearly (Coetzee & Maxwell 6). Convictions of the zoo caretakers do not have any viable effects since the dead animals cannot be resurrected. Animals get abused more ubiquitously and frequently within the zoos. The leading area where animals get abused within the zoos worldwide is China. According to Coetzee and Maxwell, about eleven Siberian Tigers ended up dead in Chinese park in 2010 since they could not be provided with proper care and food (7). This is hypocritical and ridiculous and to some extent viewed as evil and senseless. The underling question is, what prevented the staff from asking for help from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) or other zoos around? This then leaves us to second guess ourselves and ask, why confine the animals in the zoos when many animals get hurt in them? A study done by Haraway and Jeanne (20) shows that, the lifespan for elephants living within European zoos are around 17 years. This is so much shorter as compared to 56 years lifespan of sub-Saharan African elephants dying of natural causes within the reserves. This shows that elephants within European zoos have thirty years less lifespan than those surviving within the wild places. Clearly, zoos harm animals which they are designed to protect in the first place.

The damage inflicted by the zoos on the animals is more than just physical. The confinement stress and ever present attention on the animals put a huge psychological toll in them. According to (Haraway & Jeanne 20), many tourists visiting the snow regions normally throw snowballs at the animals within the zoos. Irrespective of the physical pain inflicted by the snowballs on the animals, the psychological torture that they face for not being in a position to defend themselves is undeniable. Theses abusive acts make the animals be in a state referred to as zoochosis. Zoochosis is the state that describes depressed animal behaviors acquired from physical damage within their confinement. Study done by (Morin & Karen 75) illustrate that large animals more so the elephants, express zoochosis when they are confined. From the study, elephants appeared bored and seemingly uninterested due to the crowded cages and no entertainment. At a given point in life, we have to realize that putting animals within the zoos is wrong. This cuts across all edges, it is wrong both to the caged animals and to the people who see these animals humiliated within the cages.

In addition to harming the animals, zoos also harm children. When children visit the zoos, the scenes and actions that they see within these areas stick to their minds (Morin & Karen 75). What the children are exposed to or see are the exact things they end up doing. If a given child view something bad or immoral within the zoos, it sticks with the child. Take for instance, the visitors who throw snowball at the animals within the zoos while smiling. If children observe such an act, they automatically view it as being ethical. The end result is that, the child will start treating helpless animals that same way thinking that it is the right thing to do as learnt from the zoos. For the child to understand the actual behavior of animals in the wild environment, they need to have wildlife experience. In the natural wild habitat, the children will not have the mistreatment ideas since everything they are exposed to is natural. The actual behaviors of the wildlife become clearer to the children educationally if they are exposed to nature (Fox & Frank 90). Zoos are restricted, controlled, and artificial areas thus do not give children the correct picture of the wild habitat. This may end up giving children misinformed ideas of the natural wildlife. The proper learning of children involves the combination of what they hear and see thus the children cannot learn about wildlife in the zoos since they are fake natural habitat. Since the zoos impact children negatively both intellectually and socially, they are not good for the kids.

Zoo supporters argue that endangered animals get saved by the zoos. A number of endangered species more so the Rhino get killed for the horns or their body parts (Fox & Frank 91). Why are they not placed in reserved areas where they can be protected from hunters? It is not ethical to put animals confined and control their breeding systems. At the same time, holding endangered animals captive is not the right way to protect them. Endangered animal species just form the obvious alternatives of animals to be confined within the zoos for attraction of customers. These endangered species of animals attract thousands of visitors who benefit the zoos economically. This only shows that the zoos take advantage of these animals for money making.

Another argument of the zoo supporter is that they teach visitors. Various zoos have a number of educational programs, but this only means that the visitors will be told by the zoo workers about the wildlife facts. The visits are not able to see the actual actions of these animals as depicted in their natural habitat (Newell & Jeff 2). This means that it is far much better for these visitors to visit the woods or be on wild tours than to attend these zoo educational programs. Zoos have the hindering ability on visitors to learn the actual wildlife behavior and as such are disadvantageous.

Zoos need to be completely shut down. Endangered animals need to be placed in reservations to protect them from hunters while the rest of the animals need to be released into their natural habitats. With increased number of animals living in their wild natural habitat, more people will get the opportunity of seeing the actual behavior of the wildlife. At the same time, the animals will be safer and happier since they will be able to control and protect themselves. In particular, to ensure there are no meaningless killings of the animals within the zoos, there are needed to shut down all the zoos worldwide.

Works Cited

Coetzee, John Maxwell. The lives of animals. Princeton University Press, 2009.

Haraway, Donna Jeanne. When species meet. Vol. 224. U of Minnesota Press, 2008.

Morin, Karen M. "Wildspace: The cage, the supermax, and the zoo." (2015): 73-91.

Fox, Frank. "Endangered species: Jews and buffaloes, victims of Nazi Pseudoscience." (2001): 82-93.

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