Animals should not be kept in cages or zoos In the dawn of time, animals have roamed free in their natural

habitats. But as mankinds dominance grew, so did their desire to contain and control animals. Cages and Zoos have become two very popular options of containing fauna. In the stereotypical 1920s zoo, all animals that were sort of threatening to the public ,such as lions, tigers and bears, were kept chained in barred cages that limited space and looked nothing like the animals natural habitat. But over time cages have grown in size, no longer have bars or chains and habitats are mimicked down to temperature. These are not cages but enclosures or open spaces. Animals should not be kept in cages but rather in enclosures and open plains monitored by humans because they are given food and protection and they can be bred to prevent their species extinction. In the wild, every day is a daily struggle for all animals. Mothers have to hunt, gather and forage enough food to feed their ever growing families while being on the lookout for rivals that could potentially take their precious find or kill. The resulting conflicts are bloodbaths which leave both parties seriously injured or, in some cases, dead. And if the mother of a young litter is killed, there are no legal guardians in the animal kingdom, they are forced to grow up immediately and fend for themselves. However, in a Zoo food is provided meaning that life isnt a constant struggle to survive. If the mother of a litter dies, each animal is adopted by a dedicated zoo keeper who cares for them until they are old enough to fend for themselves. And while they are in the zoo, they are kept in enclosures similar to their natural habitat and fed their natural diet. In this way, it is in the animals best interest that animals are kept in zoos. There is an old story about the Amazon beetle, a beetle that roamed the Amazon Jungle until the 1890s.Early expeditions in the 1870s sighted mass amounts of these beetles wandering the soft forest floor. However by the time an expedition returned in the 1890s, this species was extinct due to food shortage. Would it have been different if one of the party collected a male and female beetle and brought them home for breeding? In the 21st century, we too risk losing most of our amazing fauna. The main causes for extinction are issues that humans have no control over in the wild including habitat destruction, food shortage and disease. However if more animals, specifically the ones that are critically endangered, were placed in zoos under human supervision, we might be able to breed them in a safe, clean space without adequate food and shelter. If this was done more often, we would not have lost some truly spectacular animals. Zoos preserve animals for future generations and therefore animals should be kept in them. In conclusion, while it may not seem like it, Zoos and cages really have the animals best interest at heart. They protect them more than do them harm and preserve them for future generations. Society should embrace them instead frowning upon them.