Date: March 29th 2013
Topic: 11. Discuss some of the arguments for and/or against keeping animals in zoos
The problem with zoos
Have you ever thought about how beneficial or damaging can be for an animal living its life kept in zoos? If you ask about zoos to people, most of them would be against keeping animals in jails, especially young people; but most of them don’t think about how favorable maintenance can be for some species. In this essay I will demonstrate the way that zoos can be either essential or mortal, depending on the species.
Firstly, it is well-known that species that do not have the adequate habitat cannot survive or live a good life in captivity, like tigers that do not have enough space to recreate or cold-blooded reptiles that do not have the correct heating temperature in their terrariums. However, there are several species that do not have a single chance to survive in their natural habitat, like albino breeds of snakes or gorillas, for example. In those cases, it is better for them to be in a place where their life is not in risk and they can even end up breeding others in their kind.
A huge mistake that some zoos make is when they overpopulate their habitats, making animals live more and more uncomfortable, causing, as a consequence, some species having fights between their captivity groups or other problems like birds plucking themselves. That is why I think that a good solution for this problem could be that zoos take the responsibility of giving their species the adequate habitat that they really need: Wide spaces for animals that need to run or terrariums with adequate heating for reptiles, for example.
Summarizing, I believe in zoos as something that does not have to be necessarily eliminated, but implemented. Giving their species in captivity a well-made habitat where they have a suitable quality life, for those who cannot survive in their natural habitats, and giving the possibility to live