Zoos Exploit Animals for Entertainment
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The idea of keeping animals in a zoo was initially implemented by wealthy individuals that thought of privately collecting animals for entertainment, education, scientific studies, species conservation, and as a sign of power. Wild animals are animal species that are difficult to tame to coexist with human beings. Notably, some people that feel that wild animals need to receive care and conservation benefits have come up with various conversation establishments, including wild parks, circuses, and Zoos. They argue that these establishments are meant to help in conserving and protecting the animals. On the contrary, it is common to find various animal species including dolphins, dogs, fish, camels, bears, and lions in the movies, zoos, and circuses being used for entertainment. Though some people believe that zoos offer safety to animals that are endangered and promote reproduction to prevent extinction (Williams et al., 2019). Animals are living in unpleasant conditions as compared to the wild environment. For instance, the size of the zoo prohibits the movement of the animals. Additionally, the management authorities of the zoo who are responsible for taking care of the animals tend to violate their rights, especially when training them to act in an unusual way. Notably, as much some people believe that zoos can keep animals safe, keeping animals in zoos for entertainment is morally wrong and violates their legal rights
Zoos are mostly used for making profits by capturing animals from their natural habitats and preserving them for the amusement of viewers. It is unethical to hold the animals captive in zoos for the reason of entertainment. Besides, the money collected from the charges of viewing in zoos does not go directly into conservancy functions (Sampaio et al., 2019). The reason for entertainment is insufficient in the justification for endorsing animal zoos. The animals are often disturbed by the large crowd who visit the zoos taking photos and making much noise. In essence, animals can be susceptible to the slightest sounds made by human beings as they tour. As such, the disturbed animals suffer from anxiety, and they become unproductive due to excessive human disturbances.
The visitors, especially children, and the zoo attendants tend to use aggressive means to get the animals in motion if they are resting. For example, a leopard hiding in a shady tree in the zoo is disturbed by making sounds or pretending to be entering the cage such that it charges, and the viewers see it (Williams et al., 2019). Less mobile animals such as tortoise and crocodiles are poked irresponsibly in some cases to trigger movement for easier views. As such, though this brings monetary value to the zoo, the rights of the animals are violated
Conserving animals for entertainment reasons allow for abuse and neglect of their welfare such that the animals suffer from adverse effects of selfish people’s activities. The health of animals in zoos is often overlooked, and the animals tend to suffer from both psychological and physiological damages. Wild animals are used to free movement and exposure to a large variety of foods in nature (Sampaio et al., 2019). For example, a lion and other known predators are used to hunting to find food, and they eat to different levels depending on seasons and availability of the prey (Vervaecke et al., 2019). Keeping the animals in enclosed spaces reduces freedom of movement, and the animals are poorly developed in their muscles such that they would not survive if they were left out in the wild. The other problem is the neglect of the needs of the animals, such as reproduction when they are enclosed. There are cases such as the one a tiger called Zabu and a lion called Cameroon, where the management wanted the different tow species to interbreed and produce liger cubs (Vervaecke et al., 2019). Besides, some animals are left to starve when the management of the zoos collapses, or activities of the zoos do not generate sufficient profits. The welfare of the animals is often overlooked, especially when tourism slows down due to various external factors.
. Zoos affect the development of animals due to unnatural environmental conditions. Most animals do well in terms of reproduction and life when they are in a natural setting, and they become poorly developed when they are limited to space and resources. For example, the orcas can live up to a hundred years when in their natural setting, but they are known to live for only up to thirty years when they are held in zoos. The zoos are designed in different ways in terms of space and resources (Bennett, 2019). Some animals, such as elephants, typically cover between 30-50 kilometers per day in movement, but keeping them in zoos curtails the free movement and availability of various foods. The example of Alaska Zoo that failed to maintain an elephant called Maggie due to adverse weather conditions that forced it to be kept inside a structure. Furthermore, inventing a treadmill to help the elephant in exercises did not work, and the animal’s health deteriorated and reached a point of immobility (Bennett, 2019).
Zoo’s bred animals cannot adjust to the wild environment after captivity because they are used to a controlled way of living. The breeding programs create dependencies because animals bred in controlled settings are poorly adapted to the wild environment of searching for food and surviving. For example, a lion that is reproduced in the zoo and then released into the wilderness has minimal chances for survival, and most of such predators die from starvation because they cannot hunt effectively (Sampaio et al., 2019). The other problem of dependency is that grazers that are released into the wilderness are poorly adapted as their survival instincts do not help them to escape danger. In addition to this, animals in captivity such as elephants that use migratory abilities for survival and breeding experience severe challenges and they end up becoming excessively aggressive (Vervaecke et al., 2019). The aggressive behaviors of animals pose a risk to the zookeepers and visitors. The use of zoos does not provide an opportunity for growth and effective development of animals. The use of zoos for entertainment purposes is risky because the animals are sometimes dangerous due to tension and aggressiveness (Sampaio et al., 2019). The dependency created by the system used in zoos is unbeneficial to the animals unless the animal is kept as a method of salvaging an injured animal and they should be released immediately they recover fully.
The conditions for these animals in captivity are cruel because the animals are often harassed by the zookeepers, especially when being trained to behave in a certain way. Keeping the animals in cages is a cruel act, and it is against the legal rights for the freedom of animals. The conditions in the zoos are not precisely replicable in the small areas set for keeping the animals (Bennett, 2019). It is difficult to provide an environment that is favorable for the wild animals in zoos because they have limited spaces, thus leading to disruption of natural events such as migration and reproduction (Sampaio et al., 2019). Naturally, animals are meant to live in a wild setting, and creating artificial conditions hinders their process of growth (Bennett, 2019).
Although different arguments support the establishment of zoos because of the positive sides, animals kept for entertainment reasons tend to live in uncomfortable conditions. The use of these animals for entertainment is ethically and morally wrong. Ethically, it violates their rights because they are. Additionally, from a moral perspective, it is illegal to take away animals from their natural environment. Again, it involves animal performances, where animals are forced to act unnaturally. It as well requires cruelty during such shows.
References
Bennett, S. (2019). Are Zoos and Aquariums Justifiable? A Utilitarian Evaluation of Two Prominent Arguments. Journal of Animal Ethics, 9(2), 177-183.
Sampaio, M. B., Schiel, N., & da Silva Souto, A. (2020). From exploitation to conservation: a historical analysis of zoos and their functions in human societies. Ethnobiology and Conservation, 9.
Vervaecke, H., & Stevens, J. (2019). Minimum standards of mammals in zoos and welfare. In Intervisiedag Dierentuinen, inspiratie voor welzijn, Date: 2019/10/23-2019/10/23, Location: Odisee, Campus Sint-Niklaas, Sint-Niklaas.
Williams, H., Pickles, T., & Walsh, M. (2019). ‘To our big boy’. Zoos and animal sanctuaries as deathscapes. Nordic Academic Press.