Argumentative Essay On Animals In Captivity

Imagine being locked in a tiny room for your entire life, being forced to perform and entertain a species you are not familiar with, and then being killed off once you are no longer useful. This is what many in zoos and amusement parks animals go through constantly. Animals should only be in the wild or sanctuaries because zoos and amusement parks are not fit habitats for such amazing creatures. These artificial habitats are causing beautiful animals to act neurotically; neurotic behaviors are bringing physical and emotional harm both to the animals, and the people working with them. Animal’s well-being needs to come first above everything, and zoos do not always do that, while that is sanctuaries first priority. Thankfully, everything about
zoos is bad; it is true that there is a lot of good that comes from zoos, but many of qualities can be found in the much more animal friendly, sanctuaries. Sanctuaries are great places that take in animals that would not be able to survive in the wild: these are available for all land animals, and there even are sea and ocean sanctuaries. It is the tragic truth that animals that are extremely social, such as orcas and elephants, are being separated from their families and never getting to see them again. Orcas, also known as Killer Whales or Blackfish, are a magnificent breed of whales that have a part of their brain that makes them more emotional than even humans. This part of their brain is a big reason why they are extremely social. These whales live in groups called pods. Different pods have their own way of living just as humans do, and they even are believed to have different languages. New York Times bestselling author David Kirby, states that, “Adult orcas spend a minimum of 40 percent of their time within one body length of their mother” (page 1). Males rely on their mothers to such extremes, that mothers will actually help their sons find possible mates. If a mother dies, this bond will often transfer to a sister, aunt, or even a grandmother. Mothers have their own special calls that they let out to their children so they know how to find their way back to their loving fins. Female orcas who are too young to mate will often serve as a babysitter for tired mothers. It is very clear that orcas rely on these pods to survive. This is why it is so inhuman to steal these animals from their families and lock them away.
By putting orcas in these artificial environments, it is not just stealing their society away; it is stealing them away from their incredible travels. On average, orcas swim up to one hundred miles in a day. To match the distance they travel in the wild to the tanks they live in while in captivity, they would have to swim around the perimeter of the main pool fourteen hundred times. Even if they do swim around that many times, there is no doubt it is just not the same as the giant ocean (“The Fate of Captive Orcas” page 1).
Orcas have been held in captivity since 1961.
To this day, 150 orcas have been captured from the wild, and 127 of these have died. In the wild, male orcas can live up to 60 years, and females can live up to 90 years. In captivity, 92 percent of SeaWorld’s orcas did not live past the age of 25. In the wild, less than 1 percent of whales have a collapsed dorsal fin, and in captivity all males and some female’s dorsal fins are collapsed. The collapsed dorsal fin is a sign of unhealthiness and stress. The collapsed dorsal fin can even be found in possibly the most famous orca currently in captivity, Tilikum (“The Fate of Captive Orcas” page
1).
Tilikum is one of the most known and loved male orcas ever to be held in captivity, yet he is also the orca with the most aggressive record. He was stolen away from his family in November 1983, near Iceland. When his capturers brought him in he was estimated to be two years of age, and 13 feet in length. For a year he was held in a cement tank, swimming around, wondering why he was no longer free. After a year, he was sent to Sealand of Pacific in British Columbia. He began his training at Sealand, where he was trained with more experienced whales. When Tilikum would perform a trick incorrectly, he and his tank mates were denied food. This would clearly anger the other orcas, because they knew that Tilikum was the reason they were not being fed. Other whales would react by biting Tilikum and raking his body up and down, which caused a great deal of blood. After a long day of training with no food, these whales would then be locked away in pitch black rooms that were only 100-by 50 feet, and 35 feet deep. Trainers would often open these rooms and see the blood infested water. Although Tilikum went through a beating, trainers would often describe him as happy, eager to learn, and they would say that Tilikum was always glad to see them. After he completed his training, he began to perform. He performed every hour on the hour eight times a day seven days a week. The stress of the constant performing gave him stomach ulcers. During one of his shows on February 21, 1991, while he was performing alongside two other orcas, trainer Kelttive Byrne was killed. No one knew which of the whales actually did it, but suspicions were aimed towards young Tilikum. It was clear that he was beginning to show signs of stress and frustration because of his confinement. After this event, Sealand closed, but tried to make their last dollar by selling Tilikum to SeaWorld; Tilikum Weighed 12,500 pounds and was over 22 feet long, being the largest whale ever in captivity to this day. SeaWorld ignored the fact that he was under blame for killing a young woman, and decided to use his sperm to breed. Now 54 percent of SeaWorld’s orcas have Tilikum’s genes in them (“Over 30 Years and Three Deaths: Tilikum’s Tragic Story” Page 1).
It was clear while he was at SeaWorld, that Tilikum was starting to become even more uneasy and restless.
He began doing odd things such as chewing on metal cages, and gnawing on concrete to the point where his teeth wore down. Today Tilikum is still at SeaWorld: while he has been there, he has been responsible for many aggressive acts, including two deaths. His first killing at SeaWorld occurred one night, when a man wandered into the park and decided to go for a swim with Tilikum. This swim would be the foolish man’s last. Tilikum’s second killing at SeaWorld, was one that came as a great shock. One afternoon, in 2010 SeaWorld’s best and most experienced trainer, Dawn Brancheau who always followed every safety precaution, and loved the animals dearly, was killed by Tilikum. Although it was surprising, this death was not to be totally unexpected. During the performance there were a few miscues were Tilikum performed a trick perfectly, but at the wrong time. Because of his mistakes, he was not rewarded. During the performance, Dawn also started to run low on fish, and Tilikum knew exactly why he began being rewarded less. After their performance they went to a part of the pool for trainer-whale bonding. Suddenly their daily ritual took a turn for the worse, when Tilikum grabbed her by her arm and dragged her down to the bottom of the pool. In no way was this Dawns fault, she was doing her job. In no way was it Tilikum’s fault. He had been driven to madness by living in a
tank containing 0.0001 percent of the quantity of water that he would travel in one day in the wild. What these orcas experience in captivity is not natural, and there is no way to know what Tilikum’s intensions were behind grabbing Dawn. He could have been lashing out with anger not knowing that his actions would kill his trainer. It seemed that Tilikum was upset by what he did because for a while he would not let go of her body. It is not the trainers fault, nor the whales fault; it is the people who are putting these animals in the concrete tanks. These people are putting the whales into situations where they become emotionally unstable and they turn a naturally peaceful species into a species that are truly thought of as Killer Whales (“Over 30 Years and Three Deaths: Tilikum’s Tragic Story” Page 1). Orcas in the wild are only violent when hunting or fighting off other pods. There has never been an incident where an orca has eaten a human in the wild or captivity. Orcas in the wild have no reason to harm humans. In their natural environment there has only been one incident where an act of aggression from orcas occurred, and zero deaths. In captivity there have been over 100 acts of aggression and four deaths. This is simply because of the fact that these tanks create hostile environments that just do not happen in the wild. When an orca is locked away, they have the entire ocean to swim freely through. To put it in perspective, if an orca was the size of an average human male, the size of their tank would be 9.5 meters in length, 5.7 meters in width, and 2.1 meters in height. Imaging going from endless space with full freedom to a tiny room, never getting the choice of where to travel. Eventually anyone would start to become unstable. This is why orcas should never be held in captivity. (“The Fate of Captive Orcas” page 1).
Orcas are not the only animal that relies on family to survive. Elephants are also extremely social, and they also live a different life in captivity. When elephants are in the wild, they live in large families that can contain up to 100 members. Elephants are so close to their fellow members, they will often cry when a close family member or friend dies. There have been incidents of elephants becoming so depressed, that they will often stop eating until they die from starvation. Clearly an Elephant will not be happy being separated from their friends and family, and being locked away. When an elephant is in captivity, they often live alone, or with a few others, but they are constantly being separated. A group of Elephants can travel up to 40 miles a day. This walking is necessary exercise that they need because of their extreme size. When an Elephant is restrained from freedom, they are stuck in small exhibits, where they are not able to move around enough to stay healthy. In the wild, they live from 60 to 70 years. Most elephants in captivity die before the age of 40. Putting these gigantic animals in zoos is stealing over 20 years of life away from them, which is awful and unacceptable (“Wild vs Captive” page 1).
This abuse isn’t just happening to huge animals such as orcas and elephants, all animals are in zoos are being affected in similar ways. Some animals are losing their lives in zoos for no fault of their own. At the Dallas Zoo, a gorilla escaped from an award winning exhibit and was shot and killed instead of just being knocked out. At the Toledo Zoo, a bear was locked in a room with no food or water for hibernation. This would have been fine, but when they opened the room and found the bear dead, they were confused. What they later realized is that species of bear does not hibernate. Other zoos have performed actions that are just cruel. The Gaza Zoo decided to save money by painting donkeys black and white to look like zebras. At the Scarborough Zoo, Humboldt Penguins were put on anti-depressants to help them cope with their limited space. Zoos are not taking the time to care for their animals, or giving enough thought to their health and sanity (“13 Times Zoos Were Bad for Animals” page 1).
Although there is a lot of bad that comes from zoos and amusement parks, there is definitely good. Education is a great aspect of zoos. Zoos Victoria; a non-profit website states that, “Zoos Victoria is one of the state’s largest providers of formal learning outside the classroom. Last year alone, 146,136 students embarked on learning experiences at Zoos Victoria, seeking greater connections with wildlife and the skills needed to equip our children with as they inherit stewardship of a stressed planet” (“Why Zoos Matter” page 1). This education is helping everyone learn, and it helps bring families together. Some Zoos are also helping to prevent animals from going extinct. Experts are breeding endangered animals. All these things are examples of when zoos truly benefit animals, as oppose to doing it for money. All of this good can also be found in animal sanctuaries that are truly helping animals.
Animal sanctuaries are the next best place for animals after the wild. Sanctuaries around the world are taking in animals that would have died in the wild. They nurse these animals back to health and if they do it in time, they will release these animals back to their true homes. If the animals are out of the wild for too long, or they are not able to make a full recovery, then they will stay in the sanctuaries where workers try to make it as best as they possibly can for the animals. Sanctuaries also rescue animals from other humans who were abusing the animals or neglecting them. A lot of animal sanctuaries are open for people to visit and experience everything you could in zoos.
Animals should never be taken out of their natural habitats unless it is their only way of surviving. No animal should be locked in a cage, tank, or exhibit; they should be free to live as they want. Zoos and Amusement Parks are no place for an animal to live happily, or reach their full potential of life. All of the education and care that comes from zoos can be found in sanctuaries around the world that care about nothing more than the animals. No animal should ever have to live in these awful places, animals belong in the wild.