What's Wrong With Zoos By Amy Whiting

Zoos. As young children we adored them, peeking into the monkey cages and staring in awe at fully grown tigers and lions meandering around. It was such the experience to be able to be so close to these animals that usually lived thousands of miles away. Even now, it is pretty inspiring to see an elephant less than a hundred feet away. However, the actions of zoos keeping animals in captivity have become questionable. According to “What’s Wrong with Zoos” by Amy Whiting as well as the “Blackfish” video and Dave Granlund cartoon, many times, the animals are not given enough space in their cages and are lonely away from others of their species. In addition, when zoos attempt to re-introduce them back into the wild, it often fails because the animals
don’t have the experience to survive. Zoos should not keep animals in captivity any longer because they cause the animals physical and mental pain, animals never get to live free lives, and zoos do not live up to their claims. First of all, zoos can cause the animal's physical, mental, and emotional pain by holding them in enclosures often “one hundred times smaller than their minimum home range in the wild”, writes Whiting. Imagine being held in a small cage against your will, only to be gaped and stared at by others. This small environment and lack of diversity of other animals both not and of their species can often drive them insane. According to the “Blackfish…” video, the tv news anchor states, “Being kept in such tiny pools when the whales are used to swimming a hundred plus miles a day taxes their physical health and drives the whales mad with frustration. It may even psychologically traumatize them.” It has been proven that these “highly intelligent, sophisticated animals are being driven crazy in captivity, just like a human would.” Zoos shouldn’t be able to keep these animals in captivity to just entertain humans because they have the ability to feel not just physical pain, but also emotional pain from being kept up in a cage all day long. Not only are the animals becoming crazy and frustrated, but there are physical side effects of staying in captivity as well, especially in exhibitions that are significantly smaller than their natural habitats. Whiting writes, “Animals in zoos are bored and lonely creatures who spend their days...pacing back and forth, their eyes sad and empty. Other stereotypic behaviors displayed...include rocking,over-grooming, mutilation, neck twisting...hyper-aggression, abnormal maternal behavior and feeding disorders.” This demonstrates the devastating effect of keeping the animals in captivity both mentally and to their physical health. Zoos should not have the power to keep these animals locked up against their will. In addition, by holding animals in captivity, they never learn how to live in the wild and are forced to live a life that is not free and natural.
The natural instincts that the animals should develop in the wild are never established in captivity because they don’t have the experience. As the author writes in “What’s Wrong with Zoos?”, “Animals in zoos are merely shadows of their wild counterparts.” Without the space needed to exercise, practice hunting techniques, and just have the fun, animals are practically living out life sentences in these zoos. Animals that live in the wild are used to being free, and animals in captivity simply never get to experience the joy in the natural world. Even if they are reintroduced into the wild, “there are still difficulties with the process of re-introduction. Captive bred animals have often missed out on valuable lessons their wild parents would have taught them and therefore often do not have the instincts or knowledge to survive in the wild.” Furthermore, the political cartoon by Dave Granlund is a great example of this, because the animals are only used to the life inside cages and are unaware of the outside world and their true habitat. The gorilla belongs in the jungle, yet he thinks that the world outside of the cage is a “jungle”. The animals in captivity are becoming just shadows of their former glory in captivity and in order to restore their beauty, we must make sure zoos no longer hold any more animals in captivity. The “Blackfish” video states, “When the animals [whales] engage in rough play, they’ve been seen patting their playmates head with their fin…” In small pools in zoos, whales most likely lose the ability to do this and have fun in the wild because they cannot engage with as many of their species or have the room to do so. Animals need to be free and wild in the natural world, not pent up in a small cage to move around
in. Finally, zoos many times do not live up to their claims of “conservation, education, and science among their core missions” as claimed by Michael Hutchins in “Zoos Connect Us…” and the animals live in very poor conditions. Even though they may state that they are doing something good by “educating” the public and “helping” endangered animals, many times they are doing just the opposite and send the wrong message to the public. First of all, “zoos claim they provide the opportunity for people to see and learn about wild animals and that this will inspire people to contribute to their preservation. But what are they really showing us? Keeping animals in zoos sends the message that animals are commodities and that humans are justified in locking them up. The conditions… distort their behavior significantly.” (“What’s Wrong…”) Watching documentaries on TV could be a better method of seeing animals in their natural habit and behavior, not in an artificial exhibition that is just made to appease the public, not the animals. In addition, many zoos claim that they are doing research on the animals in order to find out more about them, however, “research conducted in the artificial environment of the zoo teaches us very little about the complex lives of wild, free-ranging animals.” (“What’s Wrong…”) By not meeting their claims, zoos are unjustly keeping magnificent, beautiful animals locked up and in pain. In conclusion, zoos should not keep animals in captivity because zoos cause the animals physical and mental pain, animals never get to experience joyful, wild lives, and zoos do not live up to their claims of why they are “justly” locking up the animals. In a world that is quickly developing, there must be establishments that help in the conservation of animals, not ones that put them behind bars so they can simply entertain us. The beauty and majesty of animals are never fully realized in zoos; they must be put back into their homes and natural habitats.