Free B., Joe H., Sean R.
Professor Aikens
English 202
April 20, 2018
An Argument to be Made About Zoos
What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than a day trip to the zoo with loved ones? Zoos are great, right? They are the middle ground where the urban meets the wild, allowing city slickers from all over to encounter the wild beasts that otherwise only exist in faraway places. Imagine being face to face with a five hundred pound lion, where the only thing keeping you from death is a slim piece of glass. A sheet of glass that both separates inquisitive people from their television and their favorite animals. But at what cost do we face as a society for us to have this connection? More specifically, what costs do these animal celebrities face because of their incarceration? The entertainment that zoo visitors receive is contrasted by the burden that these animals must face. The zoo keeps wild animals in a prison locked away from their natural habitat. In some cases, animals receive no attention to their physical or mental well-being, so it is pertinent that we identify their mistreatment and promote the preservation of wild habitats.
Zoos have been around for a long time, dating as far back as Ancient Egypt. Although they have been around for awhile, contemporary society fails to effectively act upon and protect animals in need. In the past, animals were kept in cages to display wealth and satisfy curiosity. Views on the matter have changed greatly. People no longer wish to see an animal pacing in circles behind bars. Instead, they wish for more open and natural habitats. The animals in these zoos are considered property, but there are laws in place to regulate and protect them (Grech). Although, they currently lack effective protection and enforcement to ensure that animals are treated well. Laws are made at the international, federal, state and local levels. Zoo animal welfare protections are only found in the state and federal levels for anti-cruelty. These laws are meant to ensure that a species is not wiped out completely in trade, and to protect the species as a whole rather than a specific animal. Although these laws are in place, zoos usually only adhere to them when it affects their more popular animals like lions or dolphins (Grech). This is only because these animals can bring in more visitors and money. The laws are only minimal standards to protect the animals, and there would be much more benefit to implementing stricter control. Without strict control, the black market for animal trade will prosper (Grech). In a lot of cases, if a zoo has an excess of a species then they will sell it to the black market to make money. These laws provide a facade, since zoos actually care little about the welfare of the animals.
Zoos are murderous businesses. A huge obstacle that zoos run into is dealing with animals after they age. Some of the zoos with little to no ethics take a few different paths to this problem. Zoos have been known to ship older, less attractive animals to smaller “roadside” zoos with atrocious conditions. These animals become “neglected castoffs” of some of the seemingly better quality zoos. One zoo that does this is the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, N.Y. (Stachell). While the Rosamond Gifford Zoo has been recognized for its higher quality living spaces for animals, the zoo sends many of their animals to die in smaller zoos. These zoos are where “inhabitants often exist in cramped compounds and tiny cages with poor protection from the elements, marginal food, and spotty veterinary care. They typically get little psychological enrichment beyond a tire swing, a plastic ball, and a few dead tree branches” (Satchell). These poor conditions are no way for any creature to live. These animals are thrown to the wayside simply because they fail to attract as many visitors. Sadly, there are even worse fates for some older animals in zoos: “Zoos often kill healthy animals considered surplus to their needs….This isn’t euthanasia, or mercy killing, but ‘zoothanasia’” (Bekoff). Zoos try to justify their murder by claiming to control either a surplus of animals or fear of inbreeding, This fatal, unethical decision making is something that should not be tolerated by any means. A horrifying example, “Members at the Copenhagen Zoo surprised many people by shooting a healthy young giraffe, dissecting it in public, and then feeding its remains to lions” (Parker). Moreover, using the term “surplus” to describe living creatures is creating the notion that they are just capital and not actually meaningful. Marc Bekoff from Psychology Today also supports this by saying, “There are no surplus animals if you consider each and every individual to have some value” (Bekoff). Giving animals the right to live is essential if we has humans want to think of our ourselves as an ethical species.
Zoos use for animals is to make money, and do whatever it takes to maximize their profits. Animals in zoos are like models on runways as they are forced to stroll around in circles and provide entertainment for any person nearby. It is apparent that these poor creatures appear to be depressed because this behavior they are conditioned to express is unnatural. This is a problem for zoos, just like managers of a runway show, if their prospects appear to be sad. So, what do zoos do? Some are known to feed their animals antidepressants to boost the animals’ moods (Rawlinson). Ultimately, zoos want to make money, so they need their animals to be happy. Another example of this is the experience with Gus the polar bear at the Central Park Zoo. Zookeepers determined that Gus was bipolar due to his awkward behavior. They then proceeded to give Gus prozac in order to make him behave normally for people who are wanting to see Gus (Medlock). The Gaza Zoo, for example, painted stripes on donkeys so they resembled zebras, where the kids would enjoy riding these donkeys (Associated Press). These naturally occurring animals are being taken out of the wild and being altered to fit the demands of society.
A main proponent for zoos are that they serve a purpose as a mechanism to prolong the lives of endangered species. Zoos do not provide any enhancements to the lives of such species whatsoever. The animals that are found in a zoo are most likely not endangered, nor are they being prepared for release into the wild. It is actually almost impossible to release captive-bred animals back into the wild since they have become so used to a domestic lifestyle. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology instead states that, “Captive breeding can reduce motivation and resources for conservation in the wild, with disastrous consequences” (UEA). This actually works more as a way out of the real problem, since zoos usually only breed animals because babies that will attract more people to visit them. Without protecting animals in the wild, captive-breeding will likely make no difference (UEA). Paul Dolman says, “Our research challenges the assumption that when a species is perilously close to extinction in the wild, it is always a good idea to set up a captive breeding population” (UEA). Their models showed that there was little to no chance of captive breeding proving to be useful. The zoos must focus their efforts in other places if wildlife is to survive. If we would like to preserve wildlife, then there has to be a shift from captive breeding to the larger problems at hand: habitat destruction, poaching, and exotic animal trade. Simply claiming that zoos provide preservation and entertainment is detrimental to the welfare of the animals which suffer in zoos.
Zoos can be quite beneficial for kids, but the cons outweigh the pros. A child’s first encounter at a zoo can be considered a life-changing experience. While many children’s first time at a zoo could be exposed to by a family trip, children’s first time at a zoo could be exposed to by a school field trip. Zoos do a great job at advertising their claim of saying zoos intent is to educate young students. Ettlin from the Oregon Zoo says, “A zoo exists to educate. Research happens, recreation happens, but above all is the intent to educate” (Ettlin). Ettlin points out the fact that zoos can be educational because teachers can bring their students and have a lecture with visuals of actually seeing the animals. This in-person experience cannot be beat and is far better than learning inside the walls of a classroom. The problem with this is that though we may be benefiting children by changing their learning environment, the altered and entrapping environment the animals are in does not resemble their natural habitat. Children learn about different kinds of species and get an idea of what their environment is like by observation. Not only does a disservice to the teachers and children as these zoo environments are not entirely accurate, but it is not ethical to trap these animals in the man-made environment. Going beyond, zoos have been referred to as more of an entertainment gallery than an educational experience. “Over the course of five summers, a curator at the National Zoo followed more than 700 zoo visitors and found that ‘it didn’t matter what was on display … people [were] treating the exhibits like wallpaper’” (PETA). This curator goes on to say that signs are not given hardly enough information about the animal such as its diet, species, and natural habitat.
So what are these inhuman, unjust prisons really like close up? Between the three of us, we have had previous positive experiences in the zoo environment, but after research and further thought our perceptions of zoos have changed and evolved. Our group consensus of our early childhood zoo visits were filled with pleasant memories and exciting events. Each of us had experiences where we were in awe of being up close and personal with huge animals, or sticking our hands out to feed smaller animals. While our memories remain the same, we now understand the cost at which these memories come. At first glance we saw a window into the actual wild, a common ground between the civilized world and the unknown barbaric realm. In reality this window is actually a locked door that imprisons animals into habitats that are not their home. Now we view zoos for what they really are, cold hearted prisons. Zoos try to give the impression that they are a beneficial organization for all, but the captivity is harmful the the stars of the show, the animals. We hope that since our perceptions have changed, yours will change too.
Animals are deprived of their freedoms when they are kept in zoos. The small habitats, harsh treatment, and unethical fatalities are just a few of the reasons that these so-called parks are more like prisons. There are arguments that zoo proponents can make: that they help educate children, help save endangered species, or provide a safe form of family entertainment. These arguments seem very promising on the outside, but through deeper inspection it is found that none prove true. Animals suffer from mental illness when they are kept in small cages the majority of their lives. These animals, which would otherwise be thriving in the wild, are unable to reintegrate with their wild counterparts. Once an animal is taken out of the wild, it is impossible to put them back. If zoos truly wanted to prolong the lives of endangered species, then they would promote the conservation of wild habitats. Do not go to zoos if you care about animals. Instead, help educate others about the harmful consequences that zoos can have on animals. We hope that in the future we will be able to see the abolishment of these ideas that inhibit animal welfare.
Bibliography
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