Should We Keep Animals in Zoos? Essay Example
Should We Keep Animals in Zoos?
The Animal Welfare Act establishes that all UK zoo enclosures must provide “sufficient space to allow each animal to make normal posture and social adjustments”. Is this enough for e welfare of every captive animal? I am going to look at both sides considering whether or not we should keep animals in zoos?
One of the main problems with zoos is the lack of space in the enclosure. Zoos cannot provide the area of space that an animal has in the wild, especially not for species who roam larger distances in their natural habitat. In UK zoos: mammals have an average 100 times less space than in the wild; tigers and lions have around 18,000 times less space and polar bears have one million times less space. This can lead to recognised behavioural problems. As the Animal Welfare Act states, “Inadequate space may be indicated by evidence of malnutrition, poor condition, debility, stress or abnormal behaviour patterns.” These precautions could be too late for the poor animals that have already undergone life in an undersized enclosure and it has got to the stage that it is malnourished or has irreversible behaviour problems.
Another main problem with zoos is the animals’ health and welfare. Animals in zoos undoubtedly have worse health than those living in the wild. Studies of elephants have shown that 75% of elephants are overweight, because of the lack and exercise that they get and overfeeding, only 16% could walk normally, 54% of elephants have shown behavioural problems during three daytime. These are obvious and immediate risk for every elephant or in fact every animal in the UK and they are not being dealt with correctly. These are not the only issues that the animals have to endure. In 2010, it was revealed that an elephant at Worburn Safari Park had been trained to perform tricks with an electric goad, a long rod that gives the unfortunate animal an electric shock when it is prodded. Even elephants that work in timber camps live
The Animal Welfare Act establishes that all UK zoo enclosures must provide “sufficient space to allow each animal to make normal posture and social adjustments”. Is this enough for e welfare of every captive animal? I am going to look at both sides considering whether or not we should keep animals in zoos?
One of the main problems with zoos is the lack of space in the enclosure. Zoos cannot provide the area of space that an animal has in the wild, especially not for species who roam larger distances in their natural habitat. In UK zoos: mammals have an average 100 times less space than in the wild; tigers and lions have around 18,000 times less space and polar bears have one million times less space. This can lead to recognised behavioural problems. As the Animal Welfare Act states, “Inadequate space may be indicated by evidence of malnutrition, poor condition, debility, stress or abnormal behaviour patterns.” These precautions could be too late for the poor animals that have already undergone life in an undersized enclosure and it has got to the stage that it is malnourished or has irreversible behaviour problems.
Another main problem with zoos is the animals’ health and welfare. Animals in zoos undoubtedly have worse health than those living in the wild. Studies of elephants have shown that 75% of elephants are overweight, because of the lack and exercise that they get and overfeeding, only 16% could walk normally, 54% of elephants have shown behavioural problems during three daytime. These are obvious and immediate risk for every elephant or in fact every animal in the UK and they are not being dealt with correctly. These are not the only issues that the animals have to endure. In 2010, it was revealed that an elephant at Worburn Safari Park had been trained to perform tricks with an electric goad, a long rod that gives the unfortunate animal an electric shock when it is prodded. Even elephants that work in timber camps live