What sort of memories appears in your mind when you think of zoos? If we talk about our experiences, we have such fun and fond memories of going to the zoo. The anticipation of going in, waiting in the queues, watching those beautiful and wonderful animals do their thing, and letting our teachers tell us so much about every animal that we lay a finger on.
But did you know the animals we used to see on those visits didn’t feel the same thrill we felt? There is a great chance that all those beautiful animals were most likely either in pain or in anguish for being held against their will. All our lives, we have come to this belief that other creatures are there in this world for our entertainment and it is about time, we revaluate this belief and begin to see the other side of the picture.
It turns out; zoos have a drastically negative effect on the animals they are supposed to protect. You will most likely find a zoo management counterfeiting this argument, but the research that we have done on this matter tells us otherwise.
Table of Contents
1. Animals Are Tortured in Zoos
This might seem an alien concept to you, but animals are also tortured in zoos. If an animal misbehaves, there are several instances where they are tortured, starved, and beaten wildly.
There was a case of Siberian tigers where this species was starved to death in minus degree temperatures. Several other such examples also include tigers getting beaten because they won’t learn to jump through the hoops.
This is another one of the drawbacks of zoos because when an animal is kept there, it is expected of the caretaker that he will teach him how to entertain those who will come to see them. During that teaching process, a lot goes on and these animals are tortured beyond their patience.
2. Lack of Laws for Animal Protection
After reading all these maltreatments, you must be wondering if there aren’t any laws that would protect the animals but sadly, there aren’t many. Only a few of the countries in the entire world have taken animal safety seriously while most of the others do not care about these species.
One of the biggest reasons why zoos are bad is because there aren’t any proper laws to be followed when it comes to providing these animals with protection and as far as there isn’t any, zoos should be banned.
3. Zoos Do Not Offer Sufficient Space
Wild animals like lions, bears, tigers, leopards, and even elephants like to roam around in free spaces, spaces bigger than the entire zoos. In a zoo, a lion if kept in small confinement that would never allow him to roam freely as he desires. When the management is focusing on housing more and more animals in the zoos, space is given even shorter importance and the entire zoo is filled with animals within walking distances. Space should be a priority for keeping animals, but since it isn’t, it becomes tough for the animals to breathe.
4. All the Surplus Animals Are Killed
They might not mention that on the ticket, but it is true. A few years ago, an entire pack of wolves was killed in a UK zoo because they were just too much to handle and were more than their requirements. As harsh as it may, it is real and should be taken action against immediately. All the surplus animals that are killed raise a lot of questions, but the biggest of them all is that it is just not acceptable in any case.
Still, today, European and US zoo associations refused to tell the public how many animals are deliberately killed in their institutions due to “surplus” animals.
“As there are estimated to be around 2,000 zoos in Europe, this figure can be extrapolated to an estimate of as many as 10,000 large mammals killed each year in European zoos alone,” said Liz Tyson, Former Freedom for Animals Director.
5. Zoos Do Not Educate
Even though we have been raised with the concept that zoos are a place where we learn about animals, it has hardly any truth to that.
We have not seen any management put its time in learning the origins of the animals they are keeping in cages. They throw them in the confinements, and that is it. There is no learning curve for the kid which makes a zoo useless above and beyond.
6. They Capture Animals From the Wild
Even though most of the zoos claim that they have initiated well-preserved breeding programs, but that is not true at all. The fact is an animal breeds much more effectively in the wilderness. When they aren’t able to make the animals procreate, they capture new animals from the wilderness, and the cycle goes on and on.
7. They Are Not Preserved Instead Propagated
Many zoo managements initially gave the arguments that zoos have been established to protect the endangered species, but people have now come to realize that is not the case.
First of all, most of the animals that are kept in zoos are not endangered species. Additionally, most of the animals that are born in confinements have less chance of survival, so they face a threat if they are kept in the zoo.
Animals can only survive when in their natural habitats, and if zoo managements are serious about preserving these species, they need to do it in the wilderness.
8. They Are Traumatized
Would you want to live in a space where all other of your companions passed away, and you’re left alone? We don’t think so. It will be traumatizing for you, and you will most likely go insane, but won’t the same thing happen to an animal? Trust us when we say it will.
A few years ago, in Los Angeles, a 32-year old elephant was left alone after all his other companions passed away. The elephant showed grave signs of infection, abscesses, and stereotypy for an animal of his age. That mainly happened because he saw all his friends die in front of him, and he was left entirely alone only so that he could please those that came to see him.
When caged, animals lose their basic instinct to hunt for food and roam around, this is very traumatizing and leaves them in agony.
9. Sale of Animals That Were Born in Confinement
The business or trade of wild animals isn’t just restricted to zoos. They get violated above and beyond when they are sold to other traders. Even though the trade of wild animals is forbidden and illegal in many countries, yet traders do it anyway. And that is just not it; these baby animals are also taken away from their families at a very young age to make a few dollars, which is very inhumane.
10. It Is Very Dangerous for Animals
Even though all the animals in zoos are confined to their cages, yet they are still in danger. We are sure that many of you must have heard how a lion or a gorilla was shot dead when he was trying to escape from his confinement. Roaming freely and hunting food is the essential nature of animals. You cannot just change that. They will try to escape, and when they do, they are shot dead, which is far worse. This is another one of the biggest reasons why they need to be led free.
What Do You Think?
So, these were significant reasons why zoos are wrong and why they need to be banned all around the world. These animals are senseless, they need protection, and only humans can do that. But if we start putting them in danger ourselves, are we any better than those who are hurting the humans?
So, let us know what do you think about our take on this. We would highly appreciate your feedback below.