English Essay

Whenyouthinkofazoo,ahappyplaceshouldcometomind.Itshouldbe
animalsrunningaroundinlargeenclosures,livingagoodlifeandfreeofworries.But
thatisnotreality.Behindthescenes,thesadtruthisdiscoveredthatanimalsarenot
properlytreatedinzoos.Azooshoulddemonstrateaplaceforanimalstolivesafely,not
forthemtoliveinsorrow.

Zoosarguethattheydoindeedhelpsaveendangeredspeciesandeducatesociety,
buttheanimalrightsactivistsbelievezooshavemoreconsthanpros.First,zoosbelieve
theyhelpthesespecies,forexample:breedinganimals.Butfromananimalsrights
standpoint,theydontevenhavetherighttobreedthem.Theyalsopromotethatthey
haveenclosuressuitablefortheanimal,withadecentamountofspaceandmatchingtheir
environment.Toconclude,zoosaredoingdamage,noteducatingsociety.

Whenyouthinkaboutit,dozoosevenserveapurpose?Theyaffirmthattheyare
helpingwiththeconservation.Zoosclaimtohelpwithconservation.However,hardly
anyzooregisterstheiranimalsonaninternationalspeciesdatabaseandmostzooanimals
arenotendangeredatall(Embar).Next,therearethousandsofendangeredspecies,but
intotal,zooshaveonlyreturnedabout16speciesbackintothewild.But,thesuccess
rateofsurvivalislow;mostspeciesreturnedintothewilddonotsurvive.Lastly,
animalsneedtobekeptinanenvironmentthatresemblestheirownhabitat.Foritto
accommodatethenitmustmatchinclimate,size,andhaveminimalcontactwithhumans.

Forexample,incentralparkzoo,thepolarbearenclosurecangetupto45F when the

healthy temperature for them is -34F. In the end, many zoos do not
reach the animals living standards.

Itisknownthatmanyanimalsinazooareveryunhappy.First,withthelackof
roomintheirenclosures,theycantgetmuchexercise.Inthewild,theyhavesomuch
spacetorunaroundwhileintheirenclosures,theyarestucklyingaroundconstantly,
whichcausestheseanimalsdepression.Animalsinzoosshowsignsofstressand
boredom,andthesamesignsmayalsosignaldepressionorpsychoses(Arnau).Inthe
zoo,animalsareunabletohuntfortheirownfood.Theyareputonastrictfeeding
schedule,andtheanimalsdonotgettheadrenalinofcatchingtheirprey.Inaddition,
animalsswayandpaceintheirenclosures.Thisisknownasstereotypicanimalbehavior;
itisshownwhentheanimalisclinicallydepressed.Toendoff,zoosarecreatingvery
unhappyanimalsintheirenclosures.

Manyzooshavetakennoticethatvisitorsarefondoftheyoungerorcuter
animals.Thisgavethemtheideatobreedanimalsmoreoften,creatingsurplusanimals:
whentheyhavetoomanyanimals,sotheysellthemtounsafeplaces,orputthemdown.
Itisafactthatzoossimplydonothaveenoughroomforalltheanimalstheyhave.
Withaconstantincreaseofanimalsincaptivitywithoutanincreaseofspaceinzoos,a
surplusofanimalsiscreated(Arnau).Next,zoosalwayskeepthemoredesirable
animals.Unlessitisababyorapopularanimal,itwillbeshippedawayorputdown.For

example,somezooshavetriedtoreintroducethemtothewild.Lastly,zoosarenow
sellinganimalsonline.Employees at the Erfurt zoo, it was revealed recently,
have for years been killing animals and selling their meat. Recentlywehave

foundoutthattheyareofferedahigherprofitiftheyselltheseanimalsonline,illegally.
Toconclude,zoosdonothaveenoughspace,andtheyarestrugglingwithsurplus
animals.

Azooissupposedtobeaplaceforanimalstolivesafely,notforthemtobe
punished.First,zoosdontevenreallyserveapurpose,itisjustentertainmentfor
society.Second,theanimalsareveryunhappyintheirenclosures.Finally,zoosarevery
overpopulated,whichcausessurplusanimals,whichcanleadtotheirdeath.Zoosshould
nolongergetawaywithpunishingtheseanimals,thebeginningofchangestartswith
you.

Works Cited
Arnau,Anna."ZooLifestyleNotSuitableforAnimals."Technique.N.p.,29
June2012.Web.20Nov.2014.
Embar,Wanda."Zoos."AnimalCruelty.N.p.,2008.Web.18Nov.2014.

Rosenberg,Amy."Zoos:PitifulPrisons."Peta2comSiteWideActivityRSS.
N.p.,5Aug.2001.Web.20Nov.2014.
"10FactsaboutZoos."CaptiveAnimalsProtectionSociety.N.p.,3Mar.
2010.Web.18Nov.2014.
Yourofsky,Gary."What'sWrongWithZoos?":AnAllCreaturesAnimal
RightsArticle.N.p.,Nov.2010.Web.20Nov.2014.