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Modern Zoos Are Not Worth the Moral Cost

  Credit... Photographs by Peter Fisher for The New York Times

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By Emma Marris

Ms. Marris is an environmental writer and the author of the forthcoming book “Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World.”

• June 11, 2021

After being captives of the pandemic for more than a year, we have begun experiencing the pleasures of simple outings: dining al fresco, shopping with a friend, taking a stroll through the zoo. As we snap a selfie by the sea lions for the first time in so long, it seems worth asking, after our collective ordeal, whether our pleasure in seeing wild animals up close is worth the price of their captivity.

Throughout history, men have accumulated large and fierce animals to advertise their might and prestige. Power-mad men from Henry III to Saddam Hussein’s son Uday to the drug kingpin Pablo Escobar to Charlemagne all tried to underscore their strength by keeping terrifying beasts captive. William Randolph Hearst created his own private zoo with lions, tigers, leopards and more at Hearst Castle. It is these boastful collections of animals, these autocratic menageries, from which the modern zoo, with its didactic plaques and $15 hot dogs, springs.

The forerunners of the modern zoo, open to the public and grounded in science, took shape in the 19th century. Public zoos sprang up across Europe, many modeled on the London Zoo in Regent’s Park. Ostensibly places for genteel amusement and edification, zoos expanded beyond big and fearsome animals to include reptile houses, aviaries and insectariums. Living collections were often presented in taxonomic order, with various species of the same family grouped together, for comparative study.

The first zoos housed animals behind metal bars in spartan cages. But relatively early in their evolution, a German exotic animal importer named Carl Hagenbeck changed the way wild animals were exhibited. In his Animal Park, which opened in 1907 in Hamburg, he designed cages that didn’t look like cages, using moats and artfully arranged rock walls to invisibly pen animals. By designing these enclosures so that many animals could be seen at once, without any bars or walls in the visitors’ lines of sight, he created an immersive panorama, in which the fact of captivity was supplanted by the illusion of being in nature.

Mr. Hagenbeck’s model was widely influential. Increasingly, animals were presented with the distasteful fact of their imprisonment visually elided. Zoos shifted just slightly from overt demonstrations of mastery over beasts to a narrative of benevolent protection of individual animals. From there, it was an easy leap to protecting animal species.

The “educational day out” model of zoos endured until the late 20th century, when zoos began actively rebranding themselves as serious contributors to conservation. Zoo animals, this new narrative went, function as backup populations for wild animals under threat, as well as “ambassadors” for their species, teaching humans and motivating them to care about wildlife. This conservation focus “ must be a key component ” for institutions that want to be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit organization that sets standards and policies for facilities in the United States and 12 other countries.

This is the image of the zoo I grew up with: the unambiguously good civic institution that lovingly cared for animals both on its grounds and, somehow, vaguely, in their wild habitats. A few zoos are famous for their conservation work. Four of the zoos and the aquarium in New York City, for instance, are managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is involved in conservation efforts around the world. But this is not the norm.

While researching my book on the ethics of human interactions with wild species, “Wild Souls,” I examined how, exactly, zoos contribute to the conservation of wild animals.

A.Z.A. facilities report spending approximately $231 million annually on conservation projects. For comparison, in 2018, they spent $4.9 billion on operations and construction. I find one statistic particularly telling about their priorities: A 2018 analysis of the scientific papers produced by association members between 1993 and 2013 showed that just about 7 percent of them annually were classified as being about “biodiversity conservation.”

Zoos accredited by the A.Z.A. or the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria have studbooks and genetic pedigrees and carefully breed their animals as if they might be called upon at any moment to release them, like Noah throwing open the doors to the ark, into a waiting wild habitat. But that day of release never quite seems to come.

There are a few exceptions. The Arabian oryx, an antelope native to the Arabian Peninsula, went extinct in the wild in the 1970s and then was reintroduced into the wild from zoo populations. The California condor breeding program, which almost certainly saved the species from extinction, includes five zoos as active partners. Black-footed ferrets and red wolves in the United States and golden lion tamarins in Brazil — all endangered, as well — have been bred at zoos for reintroduction into the wild. An estimated 20 red wolves are all that remain in the wild.

The A.Z.A. says that its members host “more than 50 reintroduction programs for species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.” Nevertheless, a vast majority of zoo animals (there are 800,000 animals of 6,000 species in the A.Z.A.’s zoos alone ) will spend their whole lives in captivity, either dying of old age after a lifetime of display or by being culled as “surplus.”

The practice of killing “surplus” animals is kept quiet by zoos, but it happens, especially in Europe. In 2014, the director of the E.A.Z.A. at the time estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 animals are euthanized in European zoos each year. (The culling of mammals specifically in E.A.Z.A. zoos is “usually not more than 200 animals per year,” the organization said.) Early in the pandemic, the Neumünster Zoo in northern Germany coolly announced an emergency plan to cope with lost revenue by feeding some animals to other animals, compressing the food chain at the zoo like an accordion, until in the worst-case scenario, only Vitus, a polar bear, would be left standing. The A.Z.A.’s policies allow for the euthanasia of animals, but the president of the association, Dan Ashe, told me, “it’s very rarely employed” by his member institutions.

Mr. Ashe, a former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, suggested that learning how to breed animals contributes to conservation in the long term, even if very few animals are being released now. A day may come, he said, when we need to breed elephants or tigers or polar bears in captivity to save them from extinction. “If you don’t have people that know how to care for them, know how to breed them successfully, know how to keep them in environments where their social and psychological needs can be met, then you won’t be able to do that,” he said.

The other argument zoos commonly make is that they educate the public about animals and develop in people a conservation ethic. Having seen a majestic leopard in the zoo, the visitor becomes more willing to pay for its conservation or vote for policies that will preserve it in the wild. What Mr. Ashe wants visitors to experience when they look at the animals is a “sense of empathy for the individual animal, as well as the wild populations of that animal.”

I do not doubt that some people had their passion for a particular species, or wildlife in general, sparked by zoo experiences. I’ve heard and read some of their stories. I once overheard two schoolchildren at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington confess to each other that they had assumed that elephants were mythical animals like unicorns before seeing them in the flesh. I remember well the awe and joy on their faces, 15 years later. I’d like to think these kids, now in their early 20s, are working for a conservation organization somewhere. But there’s no unambiguous evidence that zoos are making visitors care more about conservation or take any action to support it. After all, more than 700 million people visit zoos and aquariums worldwide every year, and biodiversity is still in decline.

In a 2011 study , researchers quizzed visitors at the Cleveland, Bronx, Prospect Park and Central Park zoos about their level of environmental concern and what they thought about the animals. Those who reported “a sense of connection to the animals at the zoo” also correlated positively with general environmental concern. On the other hand, the researchers reported, “there were no significant differences in survey responses before entering an exhibit compared with those obtained as visitors were exiting.”

A 2008 study of 206 zoo visitors by some members of the same team showed that while 42 percent said that the “main purpose” of the zoo was “to teach visitors about animals and conservation,” 66 percent said that their primary reason for going was “to have an outing with friends or family,” and just 12 percent said their intention was “to learn about animals.”

The researchers also spied on hundreds of visitors’ conversations at the Bronx Zoo, the Brookfield Zoo outside Chicago and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. They found that only 27 percent of people bothered to read the signs at exhibits. More than 6,000 comments made by the visitors were recorded, nearly half of which were “purely descriptive statements that asserted a fact about the exhibit or the animal.” The researchers wrote , “In all the statements collected, no one volunteered information that would lead us to believe that they had an intention to advocate for protection of the animal or an intention to change their own behavior.”

People don’t go to zoos to learn about the biodiversity crisis or how they can help. They go to get out of the house, to get their children some fresh air, to see interesting animals. They go for the same reason people went to zoos in the 19th century: to be entertained.

A fine day out with the family might itself be justification enough for the existence of zoos if the zoo animals are all happy to be there. Alas, there’s plenty of heartbreaking evidence that many are not.

In many modern zoos, animals are well cared for, healthy and probably, for many species, content. Zookeepers are not mustache-twirling villains. They are kind people, bonded to their charges and immersed in the culture of the zoo, in which they are the good guys.

But many animals clearly show us that they do not enjoy captivity. When confined they rock, pull their hair and engage in other tics. Captive tigers pace back and forth, and in a 2014 study, researchers found that “the time devoted to pacing by a species in captivity is best predicted by the daily distances traveled in nature by the wild specimens.” It is almost as if they feel driven to patrol their territory, to hunt, to move, to walk a certain number of steps, as if they have a Fitbit in their brains.

The researchers divided the odd behaviors of captive animals into two categories: “impulsive/compulsive behaviors,” including coprophagy (eating feces), regurgitation, self-biting and mutilation, exaggerated aggressiveness and infanticide, and “stereotypies,” which are endlessly repeated movements. Elephants bob their heads over and over. Chimps pull out their own hair. Giraffes endlessly flick their tongues. Bears and cats pace. Some studies have shown that as many as 80 percent of zoo carnivores, 64 percent of zoo chimps and 85 percent of zoo elephants have displayed compulsive behaviors or stereotypies.

Elephants are particularly unhappy in zoos, given their great size, social nature and cognitive complexity. Many suffer from arthritis and other joint problems from standing on hard surfaces; elephants kept alone become desperately lonely; and all zoo elephants suffer mentally from being cooped up in tiny yards while their free-ranging cousins walk up to 50 miles a day. Zoo elephants tend to die young. At least 20 zoos in the United States have already ended their elephant exhibits in part because of ethical concerns about keeping the species captive.

Many zoos use Prozac and other psychoactive drugs on at least some of their animals to deal with the mental effects of captivity. The Los Angeles Zoo has used Celexa, an antidepressant, to control aggression in one of its chimps. Gus, a polar bear at the Central Park Zoo, was given Prozac as part of an attempt to stop him from swimming endless figure-eight laps in his tiny pool. The Toledo Zoo has dosed zebras and wildebeest with the antipsychotic haloperidol to keep them calm and has put an orangutan on Prozac. When a female gorilla named Johari kept fighting off the male she was placed with, the zoo dosed her with Prozac until she allowed him to mate with her. A 2000 survey of U.S. and Canadian zoos found that nearly half of respondents were giving their gorillas Haldol, Valium or another psychopharmaceutical drug.

Some zoo animals try to escape. Jason Hribal’s 2010 book, “Fear of the Animal Planet,” chronicles dozens of attempts. Elephants figure prominently in his book, in part because they are so big that when they escape it generally makes the news.

Mr. Hribal documented many stories of elephants making a run for it — in one case repairing to a nearby woods with a pond for a mud bath. He also found many examples of zoo elephants hurting or killing their keepers and evidence that zoos routinely downplayed or even lied about those incidents.

Elephants aren’t the only species that try to flee a zoo life. Tatiana the tiger, kept in the San Francisco Zoo, snapped one day in 2007 after three teenage boys had been taunting her. She somehow got over the 12-foot wall surrounding her 1,000-square-foot enclosure and attacked one of the teenagers, killing him. The others ran, and she pursued them, ignoring all other humans in her path. When she caught up with the boys at the cafe, she mauled them before she was shot to death by the police. Investigators found sticks and pine cones inside the exhibit, most likely thrown by the boys.

Apes are excellent at escaping. Little Joe, a gorilla, escaped from the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston twice in 2003. At the Los Angeles Zoo, a gorilla named Evelyn escaped seven times in 20 years. Apes are known for picking locks and keeping a beady eye on their captors, waiting for the day someone forgets to lock the door. An orangutan at the Omaha Zoo kept wire for lock-picking hidden in his mouth. A gorilla named Togo at the Toledo Zoo used his incredible strength to bend the bars of his cage. When the zoo replaced the bars with thick glass, he started methodically removing the putty holding it in. In the 1980s, a group of orangutans escaped several times at the San Diego Zoo. In one escape, they worked together: One held a mop handle steady while her sister climbed it to freedom. Another time, one of the orangutans, Kumang, learned how to use sticks to ground the current in the electrical wire around her enclosure. She could then climb the wire without being shocked. It is impossible to read these stories without concluding that these animals wanted out .

“I don’t see any problem with holding animals for display,” Mr. Ashe told me. “People assume that because an animal can move great distances that they would choose to do that.” If they have everything they need nearby, he argued, they would be happy with smaller territories. And it is true that the territory size of an animal like a wolf depends greatly on the density of resources and other wolves. But then there’s the pacing, the rocking. I pointed out that we can’t ask animals whether they are happy with their enclosure size. “That’s true,” he said. “There is always that element of choice that gets removed from them in a captive environment. That’s undeniable.” His justification was philosophical. In the end, he said, “we live with our own constraints.” He added, “We are all captive in some regards to social and ethical and religious and other constraints on our life and our activities.”

What if zoos stopped breeding all their animals, with the possible exception of any endangered species with a real chance of being released back into the wild? What if they sent all the animals that need really large areas or lots of freedom and socialization to refuges? With their apes, elephants, big cats, and other large and smart species gone, they could expand enclosures for the rest of the animals, concentrating on keeping them lavishly happy until their natural deaths. Eventually, the only animals on display would be a few ancient holdovers from the old menageries, animals in active conservation breeding programs and perhaps a few rescues.

Such zoos might even be merged with sanctuaries, places that take wild animals that because of injury or a lifetime of captivity cannot live in the wild. Existing refuges often do allow visitors, but their facilities are really arranged for the animals, not for the people. These refuge-zoos could become places where animals live. Display would be incidental.

Such a transformation might free up some space. What could these zoos do with it, besides enlarging enclosures? As an avid fan of botanical gardens, I humbly suggest that as the captive animals retire and die off without being replaced, these biodiversity-worshiping institutions devote more and more space to the wonderful world of plants. Properly curated and interpreted, a well-run garden can be a site for a rewarding “outing with friends or family,” a source of education for the 27 percent of people who read signs and a point of civic pride.

I’ve spent many memorable days in botanical gardens, completely swept away by the beauty of the design as well as the unending wonder of evolution — and there’s no uneasiness or guilt. When there’s a surplus, you can just have a plant sale.

Emma Marris is an environmental writer and the author of the forthcoming book “Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World.”

Photographs by Peter Fisher. Mr. Fisher is a photographer based in New York.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Why Are Zoos Bad? Why Animals Should not be Kept in Zoos?

Alexander Laybourne

March 7, 2023.

WorldAnimalFoundation.org is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More

To many people, a trip to the zoo is a fun day out for the family. Visiting a zoo is a chance for many people to see exotic animals they would otherwise be unable to see.

However, few people stop and actively consider why zoos are bad.

In this article, we will take a look at why zoos teach children the wrong lesson about captive animals.

As a late Gen-Xer-cum-early-Millenial, my childhood was rich with trips to visit zoos. However, looking back as an adult with a world-savvy eye, there is far more to animal captivity than meets the eye.

So Why are Zoos Bad?

While zoos can definitely be exciting places for families to visit, the fact remains that they are bad for animals. In most cases, animals in zoos lead very unhappy lives.

We say zoos are bad because animals are forced to live in unnatural, stressful, boring environments, leading to a lack of mental and physical stimulation. They are removed from their natural habitats and confined to small limited spaces and often forced to perform tricks or entertain visitors.

Zookeepers also often may neglect their healthcare needs. As a result, many animals at zoos may die prematurely from stress or illness.

You can surely help these animals by refusing to visit zoos and instead supporting sanctuaries where animals live in natural habitats.

What Are the Negative Effects of Zoos on Animals?

There are a great many negative effects of zoos on animals.When we visit zoos, we can see they often go to great lengths in order to recreate the animals’ natural habitats.

However, this is often not much more than an illusion for the customer. A small exhibit is never going to truly capture the vastness of the open world.

The common negative effects of zoos on animals are listed below.

• Animals often suffer in captivity
• Animals are removed from their natural habitats.
• Many zoos fail to provide the required minimum standard of care
• Healthy animals are killed
• Zoos don’t replicate animals’ natural habitats
• Zoos teach children the wrong lessons
• Zoos teach people that animal captivity is acceptable
• Animal protection laws are not strong enough
• Zoos are largely unethical
• Many visitors disturb and disrespect the animals
• Zoo animals are often drugged to be kept calm
• Euthanasia practices
• Zoos often have insufficient knowledge of animals.
• Increased risk of disease
• Zoos contribute to the exotic pet trade

What’s Bad About Zoos Overall?

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty details of why keeping animals in zoos is bad:

Animals Often Suffer in Captivity

Wild animals often suffer in captivity because they were meant to be free. Zoo owners go to great lengths to build enclosures that have a wild aesthetic and give paying visitors a taste of the wild world.

However, the truth is that no enclosure can come close to matching the vastness of an animal’s natural environment. Animals in zoos can sense this, and over time their confinement can lead to worrying behavioral changes.

Animals Are Removed From Their Natural Habitats

Many zoo animals are forcefully removed from their natural habitat. This relocation alone can come as a large shock and wreak havoc on the animals’ mental health. For some animals in zoos, the shock of their relocation alone can be fatal.

In addition, when animals are removed from their natural habitats, they are also removed from their family structure and social hierarchy. For many wild animals, this is a vital part of their life, and they can struggle to redefine their footing.

Once again, a change of this magnitude can cause captive animals to exhibit changing behaviors, which include self-destructive acts and unrelenting restlessness.

Many Zoos Fail To Provide the Required Minimum Standard of Care

The required standard of care for wild animals, such as those held by zoos, is wide-ranging and nigh on impossible for zoos to provide.

Outside of providing sufficient space to allow natural behaviors to develop, issues such as climate, diet, and the formation of a social hierarchy – where appropriate – make running a zoo a difficult task.

Even the best zoological park cannot fully capture the wild, and many smaller zoos fail to take effective measures to ensure the health and well-being of their animals.

A study by Bristol University found that many British zoos fail to provide animals with the required minimum standard of care.

Healthy Animals Are Killed

Running a successful zoo is about drawing in visitors as much as it is caring for animals. As a result, many zoos breed animals. Unfortunately, this is done under the guise of conservation and to protect endangered species .

However, only a certain number of each species are really needed, and so should breeding result in a sharp increase, these numbers are reduced via various methods.

Healthy animals in zoos are killed because they are not needed. In addition, baby animals that are deemed excess to requirements find their way into black market sales. This support of the exotic pet trade also results in a lot of preventable animal deaths .

Zoos Don’t Replicate Animals’ Natural Habitats

Many zoos create attractive enclosures to attract visitors. However, the vast majority don’t do enough to accurately replace an animal’s natural habitat. There is more to natural environments than just looks.

Most zoos or animal sanctuaries don’t have the space or the facilities to truly recreate the wild. Especially not for the broad spectrum of species they have in their park.

Animals need physical stimulation and a level of interaction with nature that we, as humans, cannot understand, let alone interpret and recreate.

Zoos Teach Children the Wrong Lessons

Many zoos give children the wrong lessons about wild animals and how to protect animals. Many zoos and aquariums offer behind-the-scenes tours and informative talks on animal welfare.

These tours often pretend to talk about their animals’ natural habitat and inclinations. However, they are really just teaching children about caring for animals in captivity.

Children leave most zoos with a misconception about how animals behave in the wild and what it takes to truly care for endangered animals.

Zoos Teach People That Animal Captivity Is Acceptable

In normalizing captivity zoos, and teaching animals to perform tricks for human entertainment, zoos and animal sanctuaries are spreading the message that animal captivity to normal, healthy, and fully acceptable.

The truth is there is a vast difference between genuine conservation efforts and endangered species protection and running a zoo. Many zoos claim to be helping preserve dwindling populations.

This may be true to some extent; however, many zoos are running breeding programs for their own benefit and have no interest in releasing their animals back into the wild.

Animal Protection Laws Are Not Strong Enough

Existing animal protection laws do not actually consider the true ramifications of captivity. Many animals in zoos are not used to confinement. Their natural habitat extends far beyond anything captivity zoos could provide.

For example, Orcas are migratory animals with a vast range. Being placed into a small tank, away from their family units, might not break existing animal protection laws.

The same applies to elephants. In zoos, elephants are often given a small outside enclosure and an internal ‘house.’ This is nowhere near enough space to provide an elephant with a life comparable to that of its wild counterparts.

However, that does not stop the silent damage that captivity delivers to such roaming animal species.

Zoos Are Largely Unethical

At the end of the day, Zoos are largely unethical places that are built under the pretense of habitat conservation but really are there to earn money and entertain people who want to be able to say they saw real-life wild animals.

The truth is that zoos are a prison for animals. They are contained in small spaces, often made docile through drugs and other medications, and slowly strip away all autonomy and freedom from all animals.

Most animals are taught to perform tricks and go against the grain of nature purely for human entertainment.

Zoos often do more harm than good, creating unnatural environments that look realistic enough to make any potential return to the wild all but impossible.

Many Visitors Disturb and Disrespect the Animals

Many visitors will disturb and disrespect the animals in a zoo simply because they feel as though they are owed a performance of some sort. They bought tickets, and the wild creatures should behave accordingly.

When in their natural environments, wild animals are not used to being confronted by humans. However, in a zoo, the boundaries between the wild and captivity are rearranged.

Visitors will hammer on the glass or clamor around an animal enclosure, calling and shouting for the creature to perform for their pleasure.

Zoo Animals Are Often Drugged To Be Kept Calm

Animals in captivity can struggle to adapt to their new environment. Animals begin to display erratic behaviors, self-mutilation, and an inability to settle.

Many zoos will then resort to drugging animals in order to keep them docile and ‘normal’ for the pleasure of the viewing public. Drugs given to animals include sedatives and antipsychotic drugs.

Euthanasia Practices

An animal’s worth is only equal to the attraction it offers to visitors. Zoos are expensive to run, often have a very tight budget, and cannot afford to maintain and support animals that do not ‘pull their weight’ in terms of attraction.

Once an animal has served its purpose, many zoos will either sell them or euthanize them.

Zoos also have the power to euthanize their animals when they themselves deem it permissible.

If an animal cannot be given sufficient space or is suffering from stress and not behaving as expected, the zoo is within its right to kill the animal(s).

Zoos Often Have Insufficient Knowledge of Animals

Zoo keepers are often trained and specialize in a particular breed or species. However, the truth remains that zoos often have insufficient knowledge of the animals they are housing.

It is not possible to have zookeepers versed in a detailed understanding of every single species.

Instead, they will hire generalists with a degree of knowledge specificity and run with that. This goes to the detriment of the animals in zoos and puts them at risk of receiving inadequate care.

Increased Risk of Disease

Zoos are home to many animals. Non-native animals are held in conditions that vary greatly from what they are used to living in. This alone increases the risk of disease, as animals are exposed to viruses they have never encountered before.

When factoring in the number of zoos breeding animals and the risk posed to baby animals, the change of disease skyrockets further.

There have also been reported cases of zoos not properly disposing of dead bodies when animals die on their premises. Some surplus animals or injured animals are even fed to predators as a means of life-cycle maintenance.

There is no end to the risk of cross-contamination and disease spread, especially when considering the fact that lots of zoos fail to provide the correct standard of care.

Zoos Contribute to the Exotic Pet Trade

When zoos find themselves with surplus animals, they need to find ways to reduce their numbers. One way that is rarely documented is the sale of other animals into the exotic pet trade.

Private individuals with the financial means use their money to procure rare or exotic animals from zoos to add to their own private collections. The sale of excess animals to traveling roadside zoos is another big problem.

What Are the Better Alternatives to Zoos?

The better alternatives to zoos are the options that don’t result in animals being held in conditions that are unsuitable and forced to live in natural environments.

Most people visit the zoo to see the big draw animals. Elephants, lions , tigers, rhinos, and such. All of these animals are well studied and have a plethora of documentaries and video footage of them in the wild.

Watching these is a much healthier and more educational way to learn about wild animals than visiting a local zoo.

In addition, a costlier but more educational option is to make arrangements to view animals in the wild. Nature reserves, bird watching, going on a safari. All of these options afford you a close view of nature exactly as it was intended.

Final Thoughts

We’ve discussed the reasons and can surely all now answer the question of why are zoos bad. The real question is, how can we change things?

Zoos are a part of culture across the world. If you go on holiday to any major destination, the chances are high that there will be at least one zoo and/or one aquarium nearby.

Personally speaking, I’ve been to zoos in Sydney, Australia, and all over the UK. I’ve been to zoos and aquariums in Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island, not to mention those in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

However, it does not change the fundamental fact that as the world changes, we must also become more aware of the darker side of such animal sanctuaries.

Will we ever see all zoos closed down? No, most likely not. However, through education and informative motions for change, we can make change the way zoos are run.

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Essay on Why Animals Should Not Kept in Zoo

Students are often asked to write an essay on Why Animals Should Not Kept in Zoo in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Why Animals Should Not Kept in Zoo

Loss of natural habitat.

Zoos confine animals to artificial environments, depriving them of their natural habitats. Animals are meant to live in the wild, not in cages.

Impacts on Animal Health

Zoos can cause physical and psychological stress to animals, leading to abnormal behavior and shorter lifespans.

Education vs Entertainment

While zoos claim to educate people, they often prioritize entertainment over animal welfare.

A Call for Change

Instead of zoos, we should support wildlife conservation efforts that protect animals in their natural habitats.

250 Words Essay on Why Animals Should Not Kept in Zoo

Introduction.

The concept of zoos has been a part of human culture for centuries. However, the ethical implications of keeping animals in captivity have become a topic of intense debate in recent years.

The Inherent Cruelty of Captivity

Zoos, regardless of their intentions, inherently deprive animals of their fundamental rights. Animals in zoos are confined to artificial habitats, which are often considerably smaller than their natural habitats. This confinement may lead to physical and psychological distress, as well as abnormal behavior, commonly referred to as zoochosis.

Animal Rights and Freedom

Every living being has a right to live freely in its natural habitat. Animals, like humans, have intrinsic value, and their lives should not be commodified for entertainment or educational purposes. Zoos often fail to provide the complexity of the wild, leading to a diminished quality of life for the animals.

Conservation Efforts

While zoos often justify their existence with conservation efforts, the reality is that a small percentage of zoo animals are endangered or threatened species. The money spent on maintaining zoos could instead be invested in protecting natural habitats and implementing conservation strategies in the wild.

In conclusion, the practice of keeping animals in zoos raises significant ethical concerns. The physical and psychological distress experienced by animals, the violation of their rights, and the questionable effectiveness of zoos in conservation efforts, all suggest that we need to rethink the concept and purpose of zoos. Instead, we should focus on preserving natural habitats and promoting coexistence with wildlife.

500 Words Essay on Why Animals Should Not Kept in Zoo

Zoos have been a part of human history since ancient times, acting as a source of entertainment, education, and research. However, as our understanding of animal behavior and welfare has advanced, the ethics of keeping animals in captivity have come under scrutiny. This essay argues that animals should not be kept in zoos due to reasons such as the infringement on their natural rights, the adverse effects on their physical and psychological health, and the inadequacy of conservation efforts.

Ethical Considerations

The first argument against zoos is based on the principle of animal rights. Animals, like humans, are sentient beings with their own interests. They have a fundamental right to freedom, which is violated when they are captured and confined in zoos. Just as we consider it unethical to deprive humans of their freedom without just cause, we should extend the same consideration to animals.

Physical and Psychological Health

Zoos can have detrimental impacts on the physical and psychological health of animals. Animals in zoos often exhibit symptoms of stress and boredom, such as pacing, overgrooming, and self-harm. These behaviors, collectively known as ‘zoochosis’, are rarely observed in the wild and are indicative of poor mental health. Furthermore, the limited space and lack of environmental complexity in zoos can lead to physical health problems. Animals in captivity often suffer from obesity, arthritis, and other diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

Zoos often justify their existence by claiming to contribute to conservation efforts. However, the reality is that only a small fraction of zoo animals are endangered species. Furthermore, the money spent on maintaining animals in captivity could be more effectively used to protect their natural habitats. Conservation should focus on preserving ecosystems, not just individual species.

Education and Alternatives

Zoos are often touted as educational institutions. However, the lessons they teach are questionable. Observing animals in artificial environments does not provide a realistic understanding of their natural behaviors or habitats. Alternatives, such as documentaries and virtual reality experiences, can provide a more accurate and ethical way to learn about wildlife. Sanctuaries and reserves, where animals live in more natural conditions and are not subjected to the stresses of public display, offer a more humane alternative to zoos.

In conclusion, the practice of keeping animals in zoos raises serious ethical, health, and conservation concerns. As a society, we need to rethink our relationship with animals and explore alternatives that respect their rights and promote their well-being. The end of zoos does not mean the end of our fascination with wildlife, but rather the beginning of a more respectful and sustainable way to appreciate and protect the natural world.

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Perspective

Zoos Cause Animals Far More Harm Than Good

While zoos masquerade as prime exemplars of wildlife conservation efforts, when closely examined they cause the captive animals in modern zoos significantly more suffering and deprivation than well-being and life enrichment.

Perspective • Entertainment • Policy

Words by Zoe Rosenberger

Even though zoos are non-profits, they still focus on the bottom line. The ethical implications of wildlife conservation efforts have gone unexamined.

The American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AWA) has accredited 233 zoos and aquariums. Including the 233, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has given licenses to about 2,400 “animal exhibitors.” Animal exhibitors use their licenses to operate roadside zoos and petting zoos , which are both notorious for animal abuse.

Zoos claim to save wild animals, but wild animals in zoos are reduced to commodities and given inadequate habitats. Many animals in zoos are “ charismatic megafauna ,” such as lions and elephants, because they attract visitors. Charismatic megafauna are wild animals that interest humans, such as giraffes and tigers. And on the whole, at an institutional level, zoos paint overly simplistic views of biodiversity and ecosystems by only promoting exotic animals that are well-known, and are often at the apex of their particular food chain.

Zoos engage in animal exploitation by profiting from the visitor attention and conservation grants they garner while providing the captive animals with a poor quality of life . Since 1995, zoos have turned to antidepressants, tranquilizers, and antipsychotic drugs to alleviate depression and aggression among zoo animals across America.

Only baby chimpanzees are taken from the wild. And when captured, baby chimps experience unforgettable trauma since their mothers are shot to death in front of them. Many infant chimps are wounded while captured and die before they reach market.

Breeding captive animals is the only alternative to capturing wild animals. Yet, successful captive breeding programs produce what zoos deem “surplus animals.” A surplus animal has “made its genetic contribution to a managed population and is not essential for future scientific studies or to maintain social-group stability or traditions.” When selling them to other zoos or private collectors, zoos don’t consider the trauma of separating the animals from their families and communities. The existence of surplus zoo animals perpetuates canned hunting ranches , which facilitate wealthy clients shooting drugged animals and having them stuffed as trophies.

Serious conservation efforts begin with humans’ commitment to stop encroaching on and destroying wild animals’ habitats because we are pushing many species to extinction. According to the World Wildlife Fund’s 2018 Living Planet Report , between 1970 and 2014, humanity has been responsible for wiping out 60 percent of the global wildlife population, which encompasses mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles. This report corroborates that the planet is undergoing its sixth mass extinction , which scientists warn will have grave consequences for humans.

Why is it admirable to “save” animals whose natural habitats are disappearing due to humans? Because in a sense, we are playing God by keeping wild animals captive and forcing them to reproduce, in the hope that our children will be able to see them alive, in-person. There is an irony that in conservationists’ pursuit to save a species, individual animals suffer in captivity in zoos, and are forced to use their reproductive systems to bring new wild animals into existence to add to zoos’ populations. This debate can be framed as the conservation versus rights approach.

Even if zoos have become experts at keeping captive animals alive, and forcing them to reproduce, the ethics of keeping wild animals is problematic . Granted, zoos, on occasion, have successfully reintroduced animal species into the wild, but this does not justify the grounds of their captivity. Zoos’ commitment to wildlife conservation is called into question since many are guilty of profiting from the sale of extra animals to third parties instead of returning surplus animals to their environment.

A 2008 study from researchers at the University of Exeter in the U.K. found that most captive-bred carnivores released into the wild do not survive the transition, which raises questions about the efficacy of captive-based conservation efforts for carnivores, such as tigers, cheetahs, and brown bears. The study reviewed 45 carnivore reintroductions worldwide and found that only 33 percent survived. Their low survival rates have been attributed to their lacking fear toward humans and crucial hunting skills.

Visiting zoos doesn’t send the right message to children about wildlife conservation and animal ethics. Most children visit zoos for entertainment, while some focus on education. Americans can learn more about wild animals from National Geographic than zoos, which often entertain children with playgrounds and videos anyway. Zoos teach children to value animals as property, rather than individuals that deserve compassion and fundamental rights, such as the right to bodily integrity and dignity. And the right to bodily integrity and dignity are both violated through zoos’ implementation of forced breeding programs and selling “surplus” animals to canned hunts.

Zoos exploit captive animals by causing them more harm than good. And their wildlife conservation efforts are misguided at best, and pernicious at worst. While zoos claim to champion conservation efforts, they sell surplus animals, such as male lions, to roadside zoos or private collectors. Concentrating on anti-poaching efforts would greatly help wild animals facing extinction. Another solution is international policy efforts to conscientiously end the encroachment and appropriation of these animals’ habitats in the wild. These solutions can meet the conservation needs that zoos are trying to meet, without zoos.

Boycotting zoos, and other exhibits that display captive animals is a powerful way to stand up to a system more concerned with profits than the animals under their care. If a species is unfortunately unable to survive in the wild, either because of poaching or the destruction of habitats, are we really giving individuals of the species a fair chance at survival in captivity? Even if basic needs are met, zoos force wild animals to endure the psychological trauma of unnatural and unstimulating confinement. In an environment completely determined by humans, e.g., community members, food, habitat, it’s no wonder zoo animals will never have a chance to thrive.

Independent Journalism Needs You

Zoe Rosenberger holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Legal Theory from Hampshire College, and is an incoming M.A. student in philosophy at Columbia University.

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Are Zoos Good or Bad for Animals?

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Zoos are great, right? You get to be up close and personal with some amazing animals that you’d pretty much never get to see in the wild. Clearly, zoos are a win for people. But when it comes to the animals, zoos might cause more harm than good. Should zoos exist?

TEACHERS: Guide your students to practice civil discourse about current topics and get practice writing CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) responses. Explore lesson supports.

How did zoos become a thing? Humans have been capturing and displaying exotic animals for thousands of years. The earliest known collections date back to 3500 BCE in Egypt, where rulers kept hippos, elephants, baboons, and different species of large cats. Now back then, that didn’t mean that your average Egyptian could go check any of that awesomeness out. These early zoos were really just a way for kings to flex on other kings. Modern zoos, where the public can come and watch animals exhibiting their natural behavior, didn’t really become a thing until the early 1800s. The longest continuously operating zoo in the world is the Vienna Zoo, which has been going strong for more than 260 years.

What are the arguments in favor of having zoos? Zoos may be great entertainment, but their big goal is to educate the public about wildlife and what we can do to protect them. Zoo animals are sort of like ambassadors for their counterparts in the wild. Zoos also contribute to scientific research. “Zoo” is short for zoological park, and zoology is the scientific study of animal biology and behavior. In addition, zoos work really hard to save animals that are threatened in the wild. Zoos can take at-risk animals, breed them in captivity, and then reintroduce them back into the wild.

What are the arguments for NOT having zoos? Zoos have their problems. Not all zoos are created equal. Some are clean and well staffed, others aren’t. There are some in the richest cities in the world, and there are some in conflict zones. What this means is that not all zoos have the resources to properly care for the animals they house. And for many critics, no amount of education or research justifies keeping animals captive. That captivity can be REALLY bad for both physical AND psychological health. And while zoos have been really helpful is saving endangered animals, it doesn’t work out for certain species. For example, most large carnivores like lions and tigers that are bred in captivity die when released into the wild. It turns out that they haven’t developed the natural behaviors they need when they’re out on their own and have to fend for themselves.

SOURCES: Do we need zoos? (The Atlantic) https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/harambe-zoo/485084/

Why zoos are good (The Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/science/lost-worlds/2014/aug/19/why-zoos-are-good

The case for the end of the modern zoo (New York Magazine) http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2014/07/case-for-the-end-of-the-modern-zoo.html?gtm=bottom

Zoos and their discontents (New York Times Magazine) https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/06/magazine/zoo-animals-and-their-discontents.html

Stress and lack of exercise are killing elephants, zoos warned (The Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/dec/12/elephants-animal-welfa re

Most Captive-Born Predators Die If Released (National Geographic) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2008/01/predators-captivity-habitat-animals/

Captive Breeding Success Stories (PBS) https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/the-loneliest-animals-captive-breeding-success-stories/4920/

Quantifying the contribution of zoos and aquariums to peer-reviewed scientific research (Facets Journal) https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/facets-2017-0083

Evaluating the contribution of zoos and aquariums (Conservation Biology) https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/sociology/staff/jensen/ericjensen/moss_jensen_and_gusset_2015-evaluating_the_contribution_of_zoos_and_aquariums_to_aichi_biodiversity_target_1_final_published_version.pdf

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12 Reasons Why Animals Should Not Be Kept in Zoos

By: Author Our Endangered World

Posted on Last updated: February 18, 2024

Taking your family for a day out at the zoo has been a sort of tradition for a very long time, and given recent statistics, the number of visitors is growing. Here’s why animals should not be kept in zoos or captivity.

There are many zoos, 421 zoological gardens and aquariums, and a 2.9% business growth this year. In the past five years, the number of zoos has gradually increased. But is there a reason why animals should not be kept in zoos? Keep on reading.

Table of Contents

Reasons why zoos are bad for animals

Most people aren’t always comfortable seeing animals that are kept in zoos. This is due to the inhumane conditions that these animals are forced to endure. Below are a dozen reasons why zoos can be bad for animals:

1. Lack of Sufficient Space

No matter how dedicated a zoo is, it can’t meet the space requirements for most of its animals. Animals such as lions, elephants , and tigers don’t get even close to one percent of the area they roam in the wild.

They normally find themselves locked in cages and only released into an artificial habitat when visitors visit the zoo. On top of that, the animals don’t have much freedom, even in these tiny spaces they are forced to live in. Even if the animals are being fed well, the lack of freedom can cause them to be stressed.

For example, the typical enclosure designed for a polar bear is about a million times smaller than its former natural habitat and roaming grounds. This can make the animals neurotic, causing them to start biting bars, pacing repetitively, and swaying.

See Related : War and the Effect on Wildlife

2. Unnatural Environments

Some animals are quite intelligent, so keeping them captive should never be an option. The environment that these animals are kept in isn’t natural to them –more so, the animals that are taken from the wilderness and kept in zoos.

Though some zoos plan on reintroducing the animals into the wild after a while, living in zoos makes it impossible for some animals. For example, a lion might have difficulty adjusting to hunting for its meals after spending years being fed and lazing around.

Here’s a table illustrating the different types of animals and the corresponding impact of lack of space or non-proper environments:

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3. Altered Behavior

Wild animals have certain behaviors that are uniquely influenced by their environments. Taking an animal –a big cat- into an enclosed habitat when she can’t hunt for herself can harm her life skills.

When big predators are brought up on dead meat and never have to hunt for themselves, mingle with the prey they can’t hunt, and entertain humans with tricks, they get further from their natural behaviors.

Lack of learning valuable animal life skills such as hunting and social structures eventually alters the animal’s behavior.

This alteration of the animals’ behavior will eventually do more harm than good. Reintroduced animals have a hard time coping with life in the wild after long periods away.

See Related : What Is The Hunter’s Role in Wildlife Conservation?

4. Poor Living Conditions

Though the zoo’s business has grown from what it was over a century ago, there are still some things that can be improved. Animals are forced to live in artificial habitats that aren’t anywhere close to their former homes (the wild). Their sleeping quarters can get overcrowded, leading to the animals harming each other.

Their lives in captivity can be harsh, especially when the animal has been completely removed from its social structures. The confined living areas are a big contributor to animal stress and lack of physical stimulation, which would be gained from a nice sprint.

See Related : Most Comfortable Animals in The World

5. Short Lifespan

Life expectancy for animals in captivity depends on a couple of things, such as their way of life and habitat conservation, among other factors. For example, smaller and faster animals with many predators in the wild tend to thrive in zoos. Slow animals with minimal to zero predators, like elephants, have brief life spans in captivity.

Life expectancy is controlled by most animals’ mental and physical health. Even though they might be getting enough food, if your animals are not okay mentally, they might still not live to their full potential.

See Related : Best Wildlife Conservation Jobs

6. Zoos are Unethical

Humans have no right to hunt and lock up animals for our enjoyment. Animal rights activists argue that hunting, capturing, and putting animals on display is unethical.

The animals, too, have rights, and they shouldn’t be subjected to half the things they undergo. Animals are stressed when they get separated from their packs or herds, especially when they end up as the only one of their kind in their new homes.

When an animal is not on the endangered list, capturing it doesn’t serve any purpose to the animal. Capturing animals –even smart ones like apes, for amusement shouldn’t be happening anywhere. Even though animals behave themselves without a consciousness (we know of), animals are alive and should be treated as such.

See Related: Are Humans Animals? Things to Know

7. Insufficient Knowledge of animals

Some sad facts about zoos are that, at times, the people hired to care for and protect these animals aren’t qualified. Cleaners and feeders spend a lot of time with the animals, and understanding the situation one is getting into can be very helpful.

It can be problematic when the caretakers are not well-informed about the animals they will care for. This is how animals get physical and psychological scars from abuse. If an untrained zookeeper comes across a stubborn animal, they might hurt it if they are impatient.

See Related : Endangered Species in Oklahoma

8. Cruel Treatment by Zookeepers

Zoo animals sustain both physical and psychological scars from harsh zookeepers. However, suffering doesn’t have to be physical; boredom, confinement, and stress can cause an animal a lot of suffering.

Even when properly fed and “well” housed, captive animals can never fully relax in confined spaces—especially animals like lions that are used to roaming vast distances in the wild in search of food.

Caring for animals full-time requires someone who is informed about treating animals well and cares about them. It’s zookeepers who aren’t fond of animals that go around hurting animals even when they haven’t been provoked. The worst ones are the malicious keepers who enjoy hurting animals in captivity.

See Related : Best Books on Endangered Species

9. Surplus Animals Killed and Sold Off

Breeding programs in zoos eventually lead to some animals being sold to other zoos or circuses. The allure of baby animals and the crowds they pull can lead a zoological garden director to increase the number of them to keep attracting customers.

Sadly, once the small animals outgrow their “cute” phase, the zoo has to eliminate them since feeding and housing them all can get expensive.

The surpluses are then sold to zoos, aquariums, or circuses. However, they might face death when the animals being culled aren’t in demand. This is a cheaper option than moving them back into the wild.

See Related : Importance of Wildlife Conservation

10. Working with Circuses

For the unlucky ones that end up in the circuses, they are always in for a wide awakening. The process of training an animal is a long and brutal one.

It gets even worse for the animal if the trainer is impatient. The poor beast will endure beatings over commands they don’t understand. Here is an example of how harsh it can get when an animal is trained to perform tricks.

The statistics on the number of big cats alone that have died in captivity between 1990 and 2021 is 126. And this is not a definite number of victims; there is probably a good number that hasn’t been documented.

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11. Breeding

Though breeding endangered animals to help increase their numbers back in the wild is great, some problems come with it. Understanding the optimal requirements for the reproduction of certain animals can be difficult. This could cause problems for the animal.

Animals also lose their genetic diversity, especially due to inbreeding. Genes evolved to help the animal adjust to a man-made habitat , which can be a downside to the populations of the species in the wild.

When you breed animals in captivity, some cannot sustain themselves in the wild and their natural habitats. This could pass on these genes –dooming the whole species in that region.

See Related : Endangered Species in California

12. Profits and lack of Regulations

Zoos are built as a source of income for some. The owners of such zoos are focused on maximizing profits even at the animals’ expense. They are not investing enough to save money when designing a habitat for their animals. Zoos spend millions on building stages and extravagant facilities rather than investing in creating a realistic natural habitat for their young animals.

Since most countries don’t have any regulations on handling animals in zoos, these business people can do whatever it takes to make the most profits possible. Profits are also gained by selling captive animals to other zoos or circuses.

See Related: Different Animals That Can’t Jump

Do zoos have any negative effects on the environment?

Zoos can be productive when reviving an animal species on the brink of extinction. This isn’t always guaranteed since the breeding practices could be insufficient or even produce animals unsuitable for survival in the wild.

When it works out, breeding endangered animals has positive results that can be felt even in the human kingdom. However, zoos have some environmental disadvantages, ranging from species overpopulation to global warming.

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Negative Environmental Complications

People are always attracted to exotic animals such as grizzlies, lions, wolves, tigers, and alligators. The problem is that these large predators control the vast majority of the population of herbivorous animals in their domain. This can have huge negative effects on the environment in many ways. For example, if the number of lions is drastically reduced in an area, their prey will thrive.

An increase in the populations of herbivorous animals such as deer and buffalos isn’t good, especially not for the vegetation and ground cover.

Deforestation will be the next problem when animals such as moose, elks, and deer start eating everything, even young trees. This becomes a major blow to the biodiversity of the affected region.

Once the ground has no coverage, soil erosion will be the next step. When it rains, the topsoil gets washed away, exposing the land.

Lack of trees to rain will then lead to less and less vegetation and eventually draught in the area which will force the surviving animals to migrate to areas with better conditions.

The lack of enough vegetation will lead to global warming due to less carbon in the atmosphere. Climate change has become a very real threat for the next and even current generations.

See Related : Animals That Have Become Extinct in the Last 100 Years

W hat is a Zoo?

A zoological park is designed for conservation, study, and public display. The first modern one was opened in Paris, France, in 1793. Older menageries existed in Mesopotamia as far back as 2500 BCE.

The idea of conserving and breeding animals at risk of going extinct is great; the problem is that not all zoos live up to it. Most zoos don’t focus on the educational aspect of zoos; the animals are mainly kept for amusement.

What are some benefits of having zoos?

Animals have been going extinct for as long as there has been life on earth–any weakling or disadvantageous animals get wiped out. Zoological gardens have been working to help ensure that endangered species are given another chance to thrive over time.

Caring for the said animals, away from their predator, will protect them and give their species a chance to repopulate. Unlike in the wild, where these endangered species worry about staying safe, they get cared for in these breeding programs.

Students and the general public get to learn about different species of animals . This can lead to appreciating other animals and seeing them treated much better.

They are used to collect exotic pets from owners who are looking to get rid of them. This gives the poor pets a home and creates a revenue stream for the zoos.

See Related : Animals With the Best Sense of Smell

Is there hope for animals in zoos?

Zoological park associations were formed to keep zoo owners on their toes. Zoos are held to their word of conserving animals and releasing them back into the wild when ready.

An example of these associations is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) which represents over 240 businesses across the globe. The Zoological Association of America also operates in the United States .

These associations ensure that members treat their animals with a high standard of care and follow any guidelines they provide. Such as ensuring animals aren’t caged and treated less than they deserve. Sadly, most of these associations end up protecting the interests of their members and not the animals they should be protecting.

What animals should not be kept in zoos?

Keeping wild animals in zoos is controversial, and there is no definitive answer about which animals should or should not be kept in captivity. It is generally known that animals that require large territories to roam are highly intelligent and have complex social structures.

They should not be kept in zoos but should be in their natural habitats. For example, elephants, big cats, and primates are often cited as animals that do not thrive in zoo environments due to their need for space, social interaction, and mental stimulation.

What are the negative effects of zoos on animals?

Zoos are facilities that keep animals in captivity for public display and entertainment. The negative effects of zoos on animals include physical and psychological harm, limited space and social interaction, and increased risk of disease and premature death.

Studies have shown that zoo animals often exhibit abnormal behaviors such as pacing, self-mutilation, and aggression, which indicate stress and frustration caused by their confinement.

Is it morally wrong to keep animals in zoos?

Keeping animals in zoos is a topic that raises ethical concerns. While some argue that zoos help protect endangered species, others believe it is morally wrong to keep animals in captivity for human entertainment.

Additionally, studies have shown that zoo animals often suffer from stress, lack of proper care, and restricted living conditions.

Why should animals not be kept in zoos?

Keeping animals in zoos is confining wild animals in captivity for public exhibition. Animals should not be kept in zoos because it can lead to physical and psychological problems for the animals, such as increased stress and aggression, as well as decreased life expectancy.

Additionally, zoos often fail to provide animals with adequate space, nutrition, and socialization, which can further contribute to their poor health and well-being.

Why zoos should exist?

Zoos should exist because they are vital in conservation efforts and education. Zoos provide a haven for endangered species and help to prevent their extinction. Additionally, zoos offer a unique opportunity to learn about animals and there, promoting conservation and awareness.

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Why Zoos Are Bad

Introduction.

Since the beginning of human history documentation, zoos have significantly had a crucial role. For example, the 2009 discovery in Egypt greatly illustrates the existence of zoos dating back to 3,500 BC due to the discovery of baboons, elephants, and wildcats in that very location (Gaille, 2017). The most significant benefit of having a zoo is that it allows people to learn about animals and protect them. Regardless, zoos attract several disadvantages to animals and surrounding people. Gaille (2017) asserts that zoos are susceptible to abuse for individual political and personal gains. Gaille states that some of the earliest Western Hemisphere zoos featured people with different physical traits. Noteworthy, even churches previously had zoos with several collections of people from various tribes and races (Gaille, 2017). Thus, it is crucial to assert that zoos are bad because of several disadvantages surrounding their settings.

Zoos Deny Animals Access to Natural Habitat

Animals are usually taken from their original natural habitat and put into zoos. Other wild animals are kidnapped and killed to supply them to specific zoos (In Defense of Animals, 2016). Gaille (2017) argues that animals usually find themselves in zoos after being kidnaped from surrounding nature since most zoos prefer capturing and displaying young animals. Circumstances that involve parents standing between young animals might always conclude with the animal’s death. Sometimes, zoos hire specialized hunters to kill parent animals (‌ Editor in Chief, 2019). After killing the guardian, the baby animals are put in shipping containers and shipped to other destinations. Transportation of the animals further involves many animals dying before arriving at their final destination. It is also brutal that zoos restrict animals’ socialization boundaries because they separate them from friends and families. Thus, zoos are bad as they can significantly affect animals’ mental well-being and health.

Brutal Semen Collection Techniques

Similarly, zoo life for animals is never a walk in the park. The assertion stems from various techniques used in collecting semen from male animals. The entire artificial insemination process in zoos involves invasive techniques (‌ Editor in Chief, 2019). For example, zoos use captive breeding programs in producing younger animals. Most animals are in solitary confinement, a strategy that can affect the animal’s mental conditions. Further, sometimes animals in zoos are kept in solitary confinement for their entire life (In Defense of Animals, 2016). The hostile settings also affect the animal’s ability to mate with members of the opposite sex due to the increasing cases of captive animals refusing to mate in hostile settings. It is also arguable that zoos sexually violate the bodies of animals through their invasive techniques. Zoos deny animals the right to choose their mates and friends. Zoos also decide for animals their preferred mates (‌ Editor in Chief, 2019). Noteworthy, zoos deny the animals access to a mate as they encourage artificially inducing pregnancy.

Unethical Perspectives of Zoos

Ethical debate surrounding holding animals in captivity also makes zoos bad. Editor in Chief (2019) claims that keeping animals in captivity raises ethical dilemma questions. For example, animals such as orcas always perform poorly in captivity, especially in zoos. In the wild, the same orca can live up to 100 years and live about 30 years in captivity (Gaille, 2017). It is further unethical to make decisions for animals concerning how they spend their time. It involves questioning the ethical surrounding allowing the animals to make individual decisions. It is further unethical to influence the animals’ desires to live autonomously in realizing their higher-order needs. It is also unethical to deny animals the existence of their real individual experiences. Treating the lives of animals as secondary to those of human beings is also unethical (In Defense of Animals, 2016). People are intruding into an animal enclosure, putting animal life at risk. For example, the 2016 incident involving a 3-year old boy and the gorilla also raise ethical questions. The boy crawls into a nearby gorilla enclosure, only for the gorilla to shoot dead to save the boy. The event raises ethical questions because human life is superior to other animals’ lives. Thus, zoos invoke several ethical questions because of their settings.

Effects of Zoos on Animal Behavior

Zoos also affect animal behavior because they alter several factors available in natural habitats. Animals such as elephants often are migratory animals. Restricting them makes them more aggressive (Editor in Chief, 2019). For example, studies indicate that more than 75 elephants undergo euthanization before attaining 40 years. Noteworthy, restricting their migratory instinct makes them susceptible to death before reaching their 70 years lifespan. Becoming more aggressive always puts zookeepers and visitors at higher risk (‌ Editor in Chief, 2019). The animals can easily attack and harm anyone in their personal space. The animals are susceptible to contracting zoochosis. Zoochosis refers to the mental illness usually that develops in animals held captive in zoos. The condition is further evident through an animal’s stereotypical behaviors that obsessively serve no purpose. Animal captivity extension for a lifetime also changes animal behavior.

Financial Issues

Further, zoos are bad because their financial structure focuses on profits as other business entities. Thus, zoos tend to care more about maximizing their profits than caring for the animals (‌ Editor in Chief, 2019). The business perspectives surrounding zoos invoke several disadvantages on the animals. First, the animals have access to veterinary care since most zoos are majoring in maximizing individual profits. Secondly, zoos tend to deny animals the adequate companionship that they need to be happy in their surroundings (In Defense of Animals, 2016). Several zoos in the world tend to use antidepressants and tranquilizers in reducing depression and aggression in animals. It is vital to note that several zoos are financially struggling to take care of their animals. For example, the Woodland Park Zoo in 2015 spent expenses over $2 million above their annual revenue (Gaille, 2017). The zoo experienced significant losses despite being one of the best in the United States. Other zoos that lack great status also lack adequate measures to buffer increased losses. Thus, most zoos usually euthanize their healthy animals, as they cannot preserve them (In Defense of Animals, 2016). For example, Agate zoo recently euthanized about 11 animals, as they could not relocate their facilities. The zoo lacked resources to relocate animals because of the ongoing flooding in the area.

Effects of Conservation and the Future Generation

Conservation is another goal that most zoos rarely attain. Zoos align with one crucial goal of conserving various animal species (‌ Editor in Chief, 2019). Zoos rarely work towards their actual mission statement. For example, stories about certain offspring created in one zoo and moved to another are rampant. The strategy majors in raising money through selling certain animal species to other zoos. The Giant Panda story used as a financial resource in a particular country was is another example. Zoos are bad because they generally send the wrong message to people and children. Zoos majorly educate children that animals exist majorly for human entertainment. Children view the situation as acceptable to take animals from their natural habitats (Gaille, 2017). It enumerates that society accepts keeping animals locked in cages. Speciesist thinking is immensely harmful to children despite being outdated. Children tend to learn that imprisonment is entertaining in the world (In Defense of Animals, 2016). Zoos are bad because they rarely reintroduce the endangered animal species back to the wild. Several zoos always emphasize protecting endangered animal species but rarely reintroduces the animals back to the wild. Studies also indicate that elephants die quicker than zoos’ ability to breed them (‌ Editor in Chief, 2019). The assertion compares with the rate at which zoos are kidnapping elephants from the wild.

Health Effects on Animals

Lastly, zoos are bad because they can trigger animals in captivity to develop severe health problems (‌ Editor in Chief, 2019). Susceptibility to various health problems is high despite the quality treatment offered in zoos. For example, Alaska Zoo was recently in the limelight because it struggled to care for an Elephant. The surrounding weather conditions forced the Elephant to stay inside the zoos’ enclosure. The feet of the Elephant eventually started degrading, making it difficult to walk. It is also evident that animals living in zoos for a longer period tend to lose their knowledge of living in the wild (In Defense of Animals, 2016). The other health risk that zoos trigger surrounds the animal’s mental well-being.

Regardless of their advantages, zoos also trigger several disadvantages in protecting animal life. Besides, zoos are bad because they invoke several questionable drawbacks on animal life. Zoos take animals from their natural habitat and enslave them in cages for their economic advantage. Additionally, zoos are bad because of the surrounding ethical questions and other health issues animals face. Thus, conservation needs to emphasize protecting flora and fauna in their natural habitats.

In Defense of Animals. (2016).  Experts Agree: Zoos Do More Harm Than Good . IDA USA. https://www.idausa.org/experts-agree-zoos-harm-good/

Gaille, L‌. (2017, June 4).  21 Pros and Cons of Zoos . Vittana.org. https://vittana.org/21-pros-and-cons-of-zoos

Editor in Chief. (2019, May 29).  16 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Zoos . ConnectUS. https://connectusfund.org/16-biggest-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-zoos‌

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Home — Essay Samples — Environment — Conservation — Pros And Cons Of Zoos

Pros and Cons of Zoos

• Categories: Animal Welfare Conservation Zoo

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Published: Mar 16, 2024

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Pros of zoos, cons of zoos.

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