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Shaylynn Green

AP English 11C

Mrs. Fryske

16 May 2016

Zoos:

Animal Captivity on the Rise

In the United States alone, there are 2,400 animal exhibitors or zoos. This creates

thousands of animals in captivity. Some people believe that there is nothing wrong with that

because animals do not have the same feelings as humans and they are getting entertainment

from it. A portion of democratic people in the government are against zoos caging animals as

they believe it negatively affects their health, treats the animals poorly, and prohibits their rights

to be with other species.

Hundreds of species are held in zoos around the world. Part of the animals are born in

captivity so they may not get to experience life in the wild. They do not get to explore because

there is a wall separating them from freedom because they grew up in cages. They do not learn

how to hunt for food or take care of themselves if they had to be released. They do not have

interaction with any other species.

Because animals in the wild have as much room as they want, they get plenty of exercise

to become strong and healthy. Elephants will walk up to 30 miles in the wild and bears will cover

hundreds of miles around their habitat to hunt and explore. Animals in captivity are confined to a

small pace where they may not be able to run around as freely; therefore not getting enough

exercise. Like tigers, lions and other big cats love to run and climb and with their cramped living

quarters that just is not possible. Tigers and lions have 18,000 times less space in zoos then in the
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wild. They may be smaller or weaker than those in the wild. Some animals even get zoochosis.

Zoochosis can be disturbing to watch. According to Born Free, animals who exhibit zoochosis

have many odd behaviors including pacing and circling, tongue-playing and bar-biting, neck

twisting, head-bobbing, weaving and swaying, rocking, over grooming and self-mutilation,

vomiting, regurgitating and acts that relate to unnatural activities involving feces, e.g. eating it,

playing with it or smearing feces on walls.

Animals in captivity are not treated as though they matter. Zoos often buy or trade for

babies because they know that the children love to see them more. When they grow older, and

are not as interesting or fun to look at, they will often be sold or killed. Animals who breed

frequently, such as deer, tigers, and lions, are sometimes sold to game farms and ranches where

hunters pay to kill them. Other animals are sometimes sold to roadside zoos, private individuals,

animal dealers, or to laboratories for experimentation purposes. In the case of them being

released in the wild, captive-born animals are not as afraid of large carnivores as they should be

resulting in many deaths. Animals released into the wild only have a 33 percent chance of

surviving. Other animals are less likely to mate because they dont have the social skills they

would have learned growing up in the wild where they wouldve been born. Captive-born

carnivores are more likely to starve to death because they lack hunting skills. They are also more

likely to catch a deadly virus or disease. Animals who are comfortable around animals are at a

disadvantage because when hunters are present they dont think to run or hide.

Without association with other species, animals cannot learn how to be around other

species. When a zebra only associates with the other zebras and the occasional human, they

would not know how to act around a giraffe or boars.

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Without enough room to roam and exercise, species will become smaller and weaker and could

impact the species through generations. Some people think this does not matter because animals

have no feelings or worth. Think about how this could impact things such as natural selection,

the food chain, or the overall ecosystem.

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Works cited

"10 Facts About Zoos." CAPS. Captive Animals' Protection Society, 3 Mar. 2010. Web. 6 June
2016.

Fravel, Laura. "Critics Question Zoos' Commitment to Conservation." National Geographic.

National Geographic, 13 Nov. 2003. Web. 25 May 2016.

Owen, James. "Most Captive-Born Predators Die If Released." National Geographic. 23 Jan.
2008. Web. 2 June 2016.

Ramos, Jessica. "Zoochosis: The Disturbing Thing That Happens to Animals in Captivity." Care
2 Animals 22 May 2014. Web. 1 June 2016.

"Zoos." Last Chance for Animals. LCA. Web. 2 June 2016.

http://www.petakids.com/save-animals/zoos/
http://www.captiveanimals.org/news/2010/03/10-facts-about-zoos