Zoos: The Historical Debate

One of the most fun, visually amazing functions to visit are zoo's. Growing up as a kid going to the zoo was so much fun and basically guaranteed a great day out. People have been complaining and questioning the role of zoo's for a long time now. Some claim that it actually kills the animals off faster. Others claim that zoo's actually help protect and preserve the lives of these animals. Only one can make a reasonable argument by studying sources, and finding out statistics. Based off of the articles, "The Stripes Will Survive", "The Zoos Go Wild", and "Our Beautiful Macaws and Why They Need Enrichment", we can truly get in-depth analysis about the role zoo's play.

As the animal rights movement has developed and grown substantially in recent years, there has been an increased focused on the welfare of captive animals. A popular institution that has received much attention for keeping animals captive is the zoo. Because of this focus, zoos have responded by publicizing their positive benefits for existence in order to justify keeping these animals on display. Since the term “zoo” can have a wide variety of meaning and characteristics, it is important to define what constitutes a zoo in this essay. Zoos are defined as a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and

Zoos have always been criticized because some claim that animals are being abused and mistreated due to the lack and care of certain zoos. However, zoos actually help many animals with research and are critically important for conservation purposes. People need to understand that zoos have programs that breed endangered animals as well as rescue programs for exotic animals that people are no longer able to support. Also, they have many hands on activities that allow people to get more connected to animals. In addition, zoos do not only focus on animals. They focus on environmental problems/concerns as well. Zoos help us stay educated about environmental impacts and animal care.

Zoos play an important role in conservation. It is important to realize zoos have breeding programs that help restore threatened species. As a result of those breeding programs, the Los

Zoos have been around for 4,000 years, for many years people have gone to zoos to see wild animals up close. What people do not know is animals don't have the best interest in being in a zoo. The article, "Zoos: The Historical Debate" from Globalanimal.org discusses some pros (positive sides) and cons (negative sides) of zoos. As well as how millions of people visit zoos around the world and how some argue that zoos are either places of education and conversation or unnecessary prisons. After reading the article a logical conclusion is zoos are detrimental to animals.

Zoos take giant roles to protect animals. In the magazines I read, "The Stripes Will Survive", and "The Zoos Go Wild," and the video that I watched called "Behind the Scenes with the National Zoo's Lion Cubs.", there are ways that they help the animals.

Zoos present a certain blend of nature and culture. They have always provided a way to bring natural wildlife and urban Americans together as a means of entertainment. Yet, throughout the years the role of zoos have changed. Though once used for amusement, zoos are now being used for education on preservation and the welfare of endangered species. One may wonder where and how the idea of zoos started and just how they, and the environment around them, have changed throughout history.

Zoos may seem fun to visit and exciting to see the animals; but what you don’t see is the suffering and depression that lies in these helpless creatures. There are many arguments whether or not zoos are good or bad, and if they should be removed or kept. Several think that zoos should be abolished or at least very much improved, due to animal cruelty. While, others want zoos to stay because it is beneficial for the animals and people. I strongly believe that zoos aren’t good for both the public and animals for numerous reasons.

“People forget the good that zoos do. If it weren’t for zoos, we would have so many species that would be extinct today.” Betty White, a longtime well-known actress, stated for her fans. With a simple quote such as this one, so many truths come out of it. And yet, this statement can also be a cause for debate. Within this research, the ethical and logical reasons as to why zoos should remain in place will be explored, while also the counter claims will be examined. Zoos were created to help and protect animals while also to bring joy and education to the humans, they have continued to do so. Inhumane acts being done to animals are unacceptable. With that zoos are working to improve themselves as well as strengthen the animals, they are a necessity to the animals as long as they continue to help. How zoos benefit the people, have economic benefits, and give both education and volunteer opportunities will be explored further. Zoos have gone from a commonly accepted good to an institution the necessity of whose very existence is now debated.

It’s human nature to have compassion towards animals and an instinct to react if they are abused or mistreated. This human nature is the foundation to the controversial topic of whether zoos are ethical to have. With this issue, there are various reasons that promote the importance of zoos along with reasons to why they can be considered immoral. Both sides are essentially equal and fighting for the same result, the well-being of the animal both physically and mentally. It’s difficult to determine which side is right, but I believe that zoos are beneficial to not only humans but the animals as well.

Zoos are terrible places for animals that do not belong in cages. Zoos include roadside zoos, petting zoos, and smaller animal exhibits. The animals they have are meant to be out in the wild not locked up in cages. The areas are not big enough for them to be animals. They are held in captivity with nowhere to go because if they try to break out, they are going to get shot down. Animals are not meant for entertainment. If you want to see an animal there are many websites with live cameras in order to see it. Also, if you want to see animals the animals should have a free range area and the people ride around in cars to look. The people should take the chances of getting beaten, eaten, trampled, etc. Zoos make money off poor animals who have no choice

They are life savers, and that?s what people don?t realize. When people find a sick animal they call for help. Usually a zoo that has the stuff to fix and take care of the animal will be called. They will go and help the animal as quickly as possible (Miller). Zoos are the best thing to keep animals alive and also from going extinct (Morris). There are also different ways that zoos are changing. Zoos have gotten very good at habitual restoration (Sunquist). They know how to make the animals comfortable. They study what the animals likes. They look at their normal habitat in the wild and they can bring it to the zoos. For the bigger animals, they have bigger cages. For the aquatic animals they have water. They also have cages that look like the wild. They have real trees and things the animals can play with. The animals think that it is their natural habitat. Some states are even making cramped cages against the law (Mendoza). The bigger change that is happening is that some zoos are sponsoring conservation programs in the wild, so the animals is extremely comfortable where they are and people can still visit them. They say this will be very popular in the future (Sunquist). In my opinion, this seems very cool and different. I think other people will like it. The zoos are trying to connect with the animals. Rob Vernon, the AZA?s communication coordinator states, ?The fastest and most direct way for people to save and care about endangered species is to connect with them?

Displaying and caring for the zoo animals are one of the main parts in the zoo. These places have been around for a while helping our economy evolve and keeping animals safe.

Zoos are a dynamic educational source that enhances our community. Zoos raise awareness about jeopardized species and the significance of preservation. Zoos may help us to comprehend animals. They offer a good tool for our societies by lodging and dealing with creatures that may have been in peril at one point in their life. “100,000 kids come to London Zoo every year to learn about creatures.”[3] Usually when people come to zoos and they are taught about the conservation of some of the endangered species, a lot of these people get motivated and inspired to do something about it either by donating money or volunteering to help and so on.

Some people agree that animals should be kept in the zoo. They said it would be safer for the animals and they won’t be extinct. The amount of possibilities of them dying, shot by hunters or any other reason, still higher than the chances of their survival. Food and shelter are provided, medicine, and their breeding is being controlled. And many of the wild animals in zoos are ones that are on the endangered list as their amounts are rapidly diminishing. Letting them loose and returning them to the wild is not necessarily a safe option. (Mylot, 2007) In fact, zoo can be one of the educational studies for children and people who are interested with animals. Zoo is the only place that we can have an opportunity to see animal’s life really close and sometimes we can touch them. Zoos also provide lots of information about certain animals, children can have chance to get out of the classroom and learn so they can see natural beauty from different species of animals. Even children can see them from discovery channel but that’s really different if you see animal in real world, for an example, if you see crocodile, snake or shark in the movie, maybe you won’t afraid than you see the real one. According to Tudge, (1992, p.56) Zoos are the place where people can study animals and their habitat, even scientist don’t need to go