Why Should Animals Be Kept In Zoos?

Taking your family unit for a twenty-four hour period out at the zoo has been a sort of tradition for a very long fourth dimension and given recent statics the number of visitors is growing.

There are currently 421 zoological gardens and aquariums and a 2.9% business growth this year despite the pandemic. In the past v years, the number of zoos has been gradually going up. But is there a reason why animals should not exist kept in zoos? Go along on reading.

What is a Zoo?

A zoological park is defined equally an establishment designed for conservation, written report, and public display. The start modern 1 was opened in Paris, France in 1793. Older menageries existed every bit far back every bit 2500 BCE, in Mesopotamia.

The thought of conserving animals that are at gamble of going extinct is a swell one; the problem is that not most zoos live up to it. Virtually zoos don't focus on the educational attribute of zoos; the animals are mainly kept for entertainment.

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What are some benefits of having zoos?

Animals have been going extinct for as long as there has been life on earth–whatsoever weakling or disadvantageous animals get wiped out.

Zoological gardens take been working to help ensure that any endangered species are given another hazard to thrive again over time.

Caring for the said animals, away from their predator will give their species a run a risk of repopulating. Unlike in the wild where these endangered species have to worry about staying safe, in these convenance programs they get taken care of.

Students and the general public get a take chances to learn well-nigh different species of animals. This can pb to an appreciation of animals, which in return volition see them being treated much better.

They are used to collect exotic pets from owners who are looking to go rid of them. This gives the poor pets a home and creates a revenue stream for the zoos.

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Reasons why staying in the zoo isn't all glamorous for the animals

About people aren't ever comfortable seeing animals that are kept in zoos. This is due to the inhumane weather that these animals are forced to endure. Below are a dozen reasons why zoos can be bad for animals:

i. Lack of sufficient Space

No matter how dedicated a zoo is, they can't meet the space requirements for most of their animals. Animals such equally lions, elephants, and tigers don't get even close to 1 per centum of the area they roam in the wild.

They normally notice themselves locked in cages, and only released into an artificial habitat when there are visitors at the zoo.

On height of that, the animals don't accept much freedom even in these tiny spaces that they are forced to live in. Fifty-fifty if the animals are being fed well, the lack of freedom tin can cause them to be stressed.

For instance, the typical enclosure designed for a polar comport is nigh a one thousand thousand times smaller than its natural roaming grounds. This can make the animals neurotic, causing them to start biting bars, pacing repetitively, and swaying.

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2. Unnatural Environments

Some animals are quite intelligent that keeping them in captivity should never be an option. The environment that these animals are kept in isn't natural to them –more so the animals that are taken from the wilderness and kept in zoos.

Though some zoos plan on reintroducing the animals into the wild after a while, living in zoos makes it impossible for some animals. For example, a lion might have a difficult fourth dimension adjusting to hunting for its meals when it has spent years existence fed and lazing around.

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three. Altered Behavior

Wild animals have certain behaviors that are uniquely influenced by their environments. Taking an creature –say a big cat, into an enclosed habitat when she can't hunt for herself or can be detrimental to her life skills.

When large predators are brought up on dead meat and never have to chase for themselves, mingle with the prey they tin can't hunt, and entertain humans with tricks, they get further from their natural behaviors.

Lack of learning valuable brute life skills such as hunting and social structures eventually leads to the alteration of the said animal's behavior.

This alteration of the animals' behavior will eventually do more than harm than good. Reintroduced animals accept a hard time coping with life in the wild after long periods abroad.

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iv. Poor Living Weather

Though the zoo'southward business organization has grown from what it was over a century ago, there are still some things that can exist improved.

Animals are forced to live in bogus habitats that aren't anywhere close to their sometime homes (the wild). Their sleeping quarters can go overcrowded and this can lead to the animals harming each other.

Their lives in captivity can be harsh specially when the creature has been completely removed from its social structures. The bars living areas are a big contributor to beast stress and lack of concrete stimulation –like would exist gained from a nice sprint.

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5. Brusque Lifespan

Life expectancy for animals in captivity depends on a couple of things, such equally their style of life, among other factors.

For example, smaller and faster animals with a lot of predators in the wild tend to thrive in zoos. Tiresome animals with minimal to zippo predators such as elephants accept brief life spans in captivity.

Life expectancy is controlled by both the mental and physical health of most animals. Even though they might be getting plenty nutrient, if your animals are not okay mentally they might still non live to their full potential.

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6. Zoos are Unethical

Equally humans, nosotros have no right to hunt and lock up animals for our enjoyment. Animal rights activists argue that hunting, capturing, and putting animals on display is unethical.

The animals as well take rights and they shouldn't be subjected to half the things they undergo. Animals are stressed when they become separated from their packs or herds, peculiarly when they terminate up every bit the only one of their kind in their new homes.

When an animal is not on the endangered list, capturing it doesn't serve any purpose to the animal. Capturing animals –even smart ones like apes, for amusement shouldn't be going on anywhere. Even without a consciousness (that we know of) animals are alive and should be treated as such.

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7. Insufficient Knowledge of animals

Some sad facts about zoos are that at times, the people hired to take care of and protect these animals aren't very qualified. Cleaners and feeders spend a lot of time with the animals, understanding the situation one is getting into can exist very helpful.

When the caretakers' not well informed about the animals they are to be taking care of, it tin can exist problematic. This is how animals get concrete and psychological scars from corruption. If an untrained zookeeper comes across a stubborn animate being, they might hurt it if they are impatient.

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viii. Roughshod Treatment by Zookeepers

Zoo animals sustain both physical and psychological scars from harsh zookeepers. However, suffering doesn't have to exist physical; boredom, confinement, and stress can cause an animal a lot of suffering.

Even when properly fed and "well" housed, they tin can never be fully relaxed in bars spaces. Especially animals like lions that are used to roaming vast distances in the wild in search of food.

To treat animals on a full-time basis requires someone who is both informed and cares about them. It's zookeepers who aren't fond of animals that go around pain animals fifty-fifty when they oasis't been provoked. The worst ones are the malicious keepers who enjoy pain animals in captivity.

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ix. Surplus Animals Killed and Sold Off

Breeding programs in zoos somewhen lead to some animals being sold off to other zoos or worse –circuses. The allure of babe animals and the crowds they pull tin can lead a zoological garden director to increase them to keep attracting customers.

Sadly, one time the small animals outgrow their "beautiful" phase, the zoo has to get rid of them since feeding and housing them all can become expensive.

The surpluses are then sold off to zoos, aquariums, or even circuses. However, when the animals being culled aren't in need, they might find themselves facing decease. This is seen as a cheaper choice every bit opposed to moving them dorsum into the wild.

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10. Working with Circuses

For the unlucky ones that stop upward in the circuses, they are ever in for a wide awakening. The process of training an creature is a long and brutal 1.

It gets even worse for the animal if the trainer is impatient, the poor creature volition have to endure beatings over commands they don't understand. Hither is an example of but how harsh it can get when an animal is beingness trained to perform tricks.

The statistics on the number of big cats lonely that accept died in captivity betwixt 1990 and 2021 is 126. And this is not a definite number of victims; there is probably a skillful number that that hasn't been documented.

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11. Breeding

Though the thought of convenance endangered animals to aid increase their numbers dorsum in the wild is great, at that place are problems that it comes with.

Agreement the optimal requirements for the reproduction of certain animals tin be hard. This could cause problems for the animal.

Animals also lose their genetic diversity especially due to inbreeding. Genes evolved overtime to assist the animal adjust in a man-fabricated habitat can be a downside to the populations of the species in the wild.

Some of the captive-born animals are not capable of sustaining themselves in the wild and they could laissez passer on these genes –dooming the whole species in that region.

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12. Profits and lack of Regulations

Zoos are built as a source of income for some. The owners of such zoos are focused on maximizing profits even at the animals' expense. Non investing enough when designing a habitat for your animals to save money.

Since most countries don't have whatsoever regulations on how to handle animals in the zoo, these business people tin can do any it takes to make the most profits possible. Profits are too gained through the selling of animals to other zoos or circuses.

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Do Zoos have any negative effects on the Environment?

Zoos can be productive when information technology comes to reviving an creature species at the brink of extinction. This isn't always guaranteed since the breeding practices could be insufficient or even produce animals that are not suitable for survival in the wild.

When it works out, convenance endangered animals has positive results that tin be felt fifty-fifty in the human being kingdom.

However, there are some disadvantages of zoos on the environment ranging from overpopulations of a species to global warming.

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Negative Environmental Complications

People are always attracted to exotic animals such as Grizzlies, Lions, Wolves, Tigers, and Alligators among others.

The problem is that these large predators control the population of herbivorous animals in their domain. This can have huge negative effects on the surroundings in many agin ways. For example, if the number of lions is drastically reduced in an area, their prey will thrive.

An increase in the populations of herbivorous animals such every bit deer and buffalos isn't a practiced thing, especially not for the vegetation and ground encompass.

Deforestation will exist the adjacent problem when animals such as moose, elks, and deer get-go eating everything fifty-fifty immature trees. This becomes a major blow to the biodiversity of the affected region.

Once the footing has been left with no coverage, soil erosion will be the adjacent footstep. When it rains, the topsoil gets washed away leaving the land more exposed.

Lack of trees to rain will then lead to less and less vegetation and eventually draught in the expanse which will force the surviving animals to migrate to areas with better conditions.

The lack of plenty vegetation will and so atomic number 82 to global warming due to less carbon in the temper. Climatic change has become a very real threat for the next and fifty-fifty current generations.

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Is at that place hope for the animals?

In that location are zoological park associations that were formed to keep zoo owners on their toes. Zoos are held to their discussion of conserving animals and releasing them back into the wild when they are set.

An example of these associations is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) that represents over 240 businesses beyond the world. There's also the Zoological Association of America that operates in the United States.

These associations ensure that members are treating their animals with high standard care and following whatever guidelines they provide. Things similar ensuring animals aren't caged and treated less than they deserve.

Sadly, most of these associations end upwards protecting the interests of their members, and not the animals they should be protecting.

Related Resources

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Ways to Salve Animals Facing Extinction

Source: https://www.ourendangeredworld.com/species/why-animals-should-not-be-kept-in-zoos/

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