Dennis !

Erin Dennis

Dr. Mitchell

UWRT 1104

4 September 2017

Why we should not keep animals in zoos.

Why do we keep animals in zoos? There are many different answers to this

question. One reason is to study how animals live and their behaviors. Another could be

to save endangered animals. Studies have shown that an orcas lifetime expectancy is

between 30 and 50 years and the average lifetime of an orca in captivity is 13 years. All

captive males have collapsed dorsal fins and it is shown in the wild that this is only a sign

of an injured or unhealthy orca (seaworldofhurt.com). Sources have said that captivity

cannot replicate a wild animals natural habitat. Being in habitat prevents them from

doing the most important things. For example, running, roaming, climbing, and even

choosing a partner. Tatiana, a Siberian tiger escaped her enclosure in the San Fransisco

Zoo and was shot to death after she killed 1 person and injured 2 others (peta.org). This

shows that when the animals are kept in enclosures it can make them more aggressive

towards unnecessary things. Another example is Harambe the gorilla. A kid jumped over

his enclosure and fell into his moat and the gorilla was killed to save the child when the

gorilla had done nothing wrong. Multiple times animals in zoos have died for

unnecessary reasons. Keeping animals in zoos is depriving them of the life they are

suppose to live. They should be able to hunt for their own food and mate with whoever
they want to. According to zoos, they are here to educate us, but instead people go to the

zoo more for the entertainment. Most people do not even read the educational

information on the signs posted in front of the exhibit, they go straight to the animal. This

brings us back to the question of why we keep animals in zoos. Is it merely for our

entertainment or education? I believe zoos are built just as an attraction and to make a

profit.

What is the point of a zoo? According to studies, the point of a zoo is to educate

humans on how animals live and thrive, and to make humans aware of how different we

are from animals. What makes us think zoos are okay? Most people walk into a zoo

thinking that the animals love to interact with humans, which could be correct. Humans

often think that they are happy where they are because they are safe from predators. That

is not always the case, for example, the polars bears are taken from their cold

environment and placed into a warm city zoo where they cannot even hunt for their own

food. What if us humans were locked up in a small single space? Most of us would

consider that jail. Do zoos provide us with correct information about the animals and how

is it accurate if the animals are not living in their natural habitat? Zoos might be getting

correct information from the behaviors of animals but they also might be missing key

information that is not present due to them living in captivity.

I have always been very passionate about animals and recently the issue of

keeping animals in zoos has come up. It is a very serious and sensitive topic. So, why do
we keep animals in zoos? Some say to educate the outside world about animals and how

they live in their certain environments, but how are we getting correct information when

a zoo is not their natural habitat. I think zoos use the education on animals to make

money when in reality people go to zoos for entertainment. The reason I am interested in

this topic so much is merely for the fact that I want to know why. Why do we keep

animals in captivity? Why can we not observe them in their natural habitat? I just want a

good explanation of why. I have my own thoughts on why I think they are wrong but I

am interested in wondering why zoos think it is okay. I feel for the animals that are kept

in enclosures. They have to spend their whole life locked up and personally I would not

like that. When we put animals in captivity we deprive them of their natural habitat. I

have been to multiple zoos and aquariums. For example, Georgia Aquarium, North

Carolina Zoo, and Seaworld. Every time I go to these exhibits I notice more and more

things that are wrong with keeping animals in captivity. For example, the parking lot at

Seaworld is larger than the orca exhibit. In my opinion, that is wrong. Orcas can swim

over hundreds of miles and their tank is not even close to a mile. I am worried that

animals get depressed being in these very small tanks and enclosures, especially the ones

who were pulled from their natural habitat. Again, my question is why. Why do we take

an animal out of their natural habitat and put them into a tiny environment like their own.

My next steps are to find out how much people actually learn at zoos. Taking a

survey and asking people what they learn at a zoo would be very helpful. I would also

like to research online and learn more about the healthcare an animal receives in captivity
since they are more likely to get sick in captivity. Another thing I would like to find out is

how to the animals act when visitors are not around. For all we know they could be very

depressed. Why do zoos not let people go behind the closed doors? Maybe they punish

the animals. Unless we were to have access behind the scenes we will never know. I

would like to do more research on what they feed the animals and if the animals even like

the food. Some animals like to hunt and kill their own food and when they are in a zoo

they can not do that. They are fed things similar to what they kill in the wild. Animals

also can not choose who to mate with. They are bred in the zoo. I want to research how

they pick who breeds with who and if it is forceful or not.

 Works Cited

Foundry, Watson theme by The Theme. Civic Issue. Civic Issue SeaWorld How are the Orcas
Effected Comments, sites.psu.edu/civicissuesm/2016/01/25/seaworld-how-are-the-orcas-
effected/. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Zoos: Pitiful Prisons. PETA, www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/animals-used-

entertainment-factsheets/zoos-pitiful-prisons/. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.