Zoos Should be Banned | Teen Ink

Zoos Should be Banned

March 5, 2014
By Anonymous

Someone goes into your house, kidnaps you, tears you from your family, and jails you for life. How would you feel if that were you? Zoos should be illegal because humans do not have the right to capture animals, tear them from their families, and jail them, even if the animal is endangered.

Animals are abused, not given enough space and exercise, and they suffer from stress, boredom, and depression. Many animals die prematurely because of a bad diet, not enough exercise, and bad living conditions. Some polar bears get only ten meters of space when in their natural habitat they walk hundreds of kilometers. In Woburn Safari park in Bedfordshire, England admitted to killing excess monkeys.
Animals will no longer be able to survive in the wild. Animals born into to zoos will no longer know how to hunt and do other things that are necessary to survive in the wild. Two lynxes released into the wild were found dead from starvation even though the area was full of hares, the lynx’s natural prey. People for zoos say they are preventing extinction, but what is the point if they will be captive forever. They would be better off if we just kept them in their natural environment. If we keep on building zoos and keep taking animals captive, they will be dependent on the human race when the human race is having enough of its own problems.

Zoos are morally wrong. For animal rights we do not have the right to capture, confine, and breed other animals. Humans are animals too. What if other humans started putting other humans in zoos? There would be an outrage. What if other animals got smart and started keeping us in zoos? We would probably euthanize them for being dangerous. Supporters of zoos say that they are preventing extinction. Then we should protect their natural habitats instead of creating animal prisons. The real reason people have zoos is because they make them tons of money. Zoos spend most of their money on concession stands, gift shops, and other improvements, not for the good of the animals. The zookeepers don’t care the animals like they say they do, they care about all the money their animals make them. True sanctuaries rehabilitate animals until they ready to go back to the wild. They do not breed animals, jail them, and trade them to other zoos and circuses. Living things do not have the right to put other living things in zoos.

Imagine yourself as an animal. Your stuck in the same room for maybe the rest of your life. You have been torn from your family. People stare at you the entire day like you're not even a living thing with feelings. You think about why you were the one that had to be thrown into a cage away from your family and natural environment. What did you do wrong anyway to get such a punishment? Why isn’t this animal cruelty? Zoos should be illegal because humans do not have the right to capture animals, tear them from their families, and jail them, even if the animal is endangered.


The author's comments:
I hope people will change their mind about zoos by reading my paper.

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This article has 2 comments.


Scorpio SILVER said...
on Nov. 10 2018 at 6:44 pm
Scorpio SILVER, Marietta, Georgia
5 articles 1 photo 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
In the end, we will only conserve what we love, we will only love what we understand, we will only understand what we are taught.
-Baba Dioum

Some parts of this article are correct. The governments of the world do need to work more on protecting threatened animals and their natural habitats. However, many of the opinions in this article are no longer true. Most zoos no longer take animals directly from the wild. While they did this about 50 years ago, there are enough animals to keep a population of captive-bred animals. It was wrong of them to take the animals from their habitats, but in some cases, it turned out for the best. Because they took animals and gave them to zoological facilities, they are only extinct in the wild instead of being completely extinct. Also. you say that zookeepers do not care about their animals, only the money their animals make them. This could not be more wrong. Zookeepers are actually only paid around $35,000 a year, which is really not that much. Most of the money that zoos make goes right back to the animals and conservation. While some of the money does go to concession stands and gift shops, that is only because they are another big source of a zoos income. Also, some animals are in zoos because they are not able to be released into the wild. Many of what you call true sanctuaries will keep animals that are to injured to be released back into the wild. In conclusion, while some zoos are bad and need to be shut down, most zoos and zookeepers are truly devoted to their animals.

on Oct. 10 2017 at 5:28 pm
WritingAddict03 SILVER, Saint Peters , Missouri
5 articles 0 photos 67 comments

Favorite Quote:
Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing it is stupid. - Albert Einstein

Very interesting perspective, and the quality of your writing is very good. Though I can't say I agree 100% with all of the points you made, I do see the benefits of protecting endangered animals in their native habitats. Also, I would encourage you to be more careful with some of the claims you make. I have met many zookeepers and have been a witness to how much they love the animals they work with. While it may be true that some are in it for only the money, I do think that the majority of zookeepers genuinely care about and enjoy working with animals in the zoo they work at.