Hewitt-Ernst1

Lacey Hewitt-Ernst
Mrs DeBock
English 4
12, April 2016
Why Should the Waccatee Zoo Close?
The Waccatee Zoo has been around for many years. The animals that have been at
Waccatee Zoo have been there since the zoo first opened, and some even die in captivity. The
Waccatee Zoo is not a sanitary place for animals, and these animals should not be kept in
captivity.
For as long as Waccatee Zoo has been around, so has the chimpanzee Chico. Chico was
taken from his family to be placed in captivity for people's entertainment. Chico was placed
behind big steel bars, and very little space. People would throw things at him or yell things to
him, and when he performed a trick he was given a Coca-Cola as a reward. It is unnatural to give
a chimpanzee a soda for performing a trick, and he would have to open it himself to show the
people how he opens the soda can. Chico has rights just like humans, and its not right for this
animals to be taken away from their families for the pleasure of others. However, according to
Baier and Donaldson-Evans in the article Animal-Rights Activist Going Bananas Over Chimp
Named Chico state's, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are going bananas
over Chico's situation. They want the Futrells to give the monkey up because they say his
isolation from other chimps is inhumane (Baier and Donaldson-Evans). Chico has never been
in contact with another chimpanzee since he was taken from his mother when he was an infant.
Chico did not know what it felt like to have a family or how to be happy. Chico did not have a
family or any other chimps around him, he lived his life depressed in a small cage. Unfortunately

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Chico died of a heart disease on November 3rd, 2015. Chico was not that old and should have
lived longer than he did. Chico deserved to be happy with his family, just like the other
depressed animals being kept in captivity.
This zoo is not a good environment for these innocent animals. These animals do not get
enough room in their cages to perform their natural instincts like running and jumping. When the
animals are being fed, they will fight one another over the food as if they are not fed properly.
The monkeys are kept in small glass cages, and the glass is so dirty to the point that you can
barely see them. The bigger animals such as the big cats and the bears have dirty cages, and little
space. These animals do not get the exercise and meals as they would in their natural habitat.
Once these animals have been in captivity for so long they start to perform unnatural behaviors.
Some of these behaviors are pacing, swaying back and forth, and rocking. Imagine how these
animals feel, they are taken out of their natural environments to be placed in these small compact
cages. Animals have feelings just like humans do, and the fact that this zoo does not take these
animals feelings or health into consideration is depressing. According to the article Worst Place
Ever for Animals- Review of Waccatee Zoo, Myrtle Beach,SC - TripAdvisor one statement that
was made by a visitor if the zoo is These animals need to be rescued and taken to a place
equipped to deal with them (Worst Place Ever for Animals- Review of Waccatee Zoo, Myrtle
Beach,SC - TripAdvisor). Another statement in the article Worst Place Ever for AnimalsReview of Waccatee Zoo, Myrtle Beach,SC - TripAdvisor is give these animals the peace and
sanity they deserve! (Worst Place Ever for Animals- Review of Waccatee Zoo, Myrtle
Beach,SC - TripAdvisor). These animals are being tormented and deserve to be somewhere
where they can be well treated.

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Any place that has animals in captivity is sad. Looking at these animals in these small
compact spaces is sorrowful. Imagining the pain and heartbreak these animals are going through
is such a horrible thought. These animals deserve freedom just like humans do. Just because they
are animals, does not mean they should be treated any differently than humans are. These
animals deserve a family and deserve to be treated right.

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Works Cited
"After Myrtle Beach Zoo's Solitary Chimpanzee Dies, PETA Demands Answers." PETA After
Myrtle Beach Zoos Solitary Chimpanzee Dies PETA Demands Answers
Comments. N.p.,

24 Nov. 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Baier, Bret, and Catherine Donaldson-Evans. "Animal-Rights Activists Going Bananas Over
Chimp Named Chico | Fox News." Fox News. FOX News Network, 20 July
2001. Web.

14 Apr. 2016.

"Worst Place Ever for Animals - Review of Waccatee Zoo, Myrtle Beach, SC - TripAdvisor."
Worst Place Ever for Animals - Review of Waccatee Zoo, Myrtle Beach, SC TripAdvisor. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.