Sydney Shetler

Mrs. Crist

18 September 2017

English IV

Essential Question: Are animal sanctuaries really way better for animals than zoo?

Working Thesis: Animal sanctuaries are way more beneficial for animals than zoos are.

Refined Thesis: Not all animal sanctuaries are perfect but and as great as they say they are, but

they are still better for animals than zoos. There are definitely some really great and caring

sanctuaries out there.

Annotated Bibliography: Topic Research

These Stories Will Tear Your Heart Out: the Worst Zoos on the Planet. Yahoo!, Yahoo!, 15

Jan. 2015, www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/worst-zoos-in-the-world-108130346962.html.

This article told stories about some of the worst zoos and what happened at them. These

stories are horrific and they open a readers eyes to the exploitation, neglect, and abuse that

occurs at many zoos everyday. Many zoos provide less veterinary care and less nutritious food to

save some money and it leads to the animals having terrible conditions. For example, The Kiev

Zoo in Ukraine is now called the concentration camp for animals, because more than 50

animals have died. Another example is the Pyongyang Central Zoo in North Korea, where

zookeepers provoked caged animals to fight to the death. The last example is the huge Kebun

Binatang Surabaya zoo in Indonesia, where over 200 pelicans are held in one enclosure so tight

together that they are not able to lift their wings. After reading all the stories from this article, I
think that anybody would agree that all of these zoos need to be shut down immediately. I also

think that something needs to be done to prevent any incidents like these to happen again.

Admin. A Sanctuary for Retired Circus and Zoo Elephants. Animal Fair, 18 June 2017,

animalfair.com/2017/07/06/sanctuary-retired-circus-zoo-elephants/.

This article was about The Elephant Sanctuary that is located in Hohenwald Tennessee. It

was founded by Carol Buckley and Scott Blais, who think that elephants should not be kept in

captivity. Blais was an elephant trainer and Buckley performed in a circus or 15 years and held

educational demonstrations for zoos all around the country. The sanctuary is on 2,700 acres and

was made to make the elephants feel like they are in their natural habitat as much as possible.

Fourteen elephants currently live at the sanctuary, they are either just old and sick or they were

rescued from zoos and circuses.

All workers at the sanctuary seem to be devoted and passionate about their job which is

extremely important when working with needy animals. The sanctuary even has an outreach

program to teach kids all over the world about elephants and the dangers they face in the wild,

and in captivity. After reading the article and quotes from caregivers, I think that The Elephant

Sanctuary is an amazing example of a sanctuary that is very beneficial and devoted to the well-

being of its animals.