Animal Captivity
Everyone has seen an animal behind glass or a wall. When you do, you think wow, that animal is incredible. But, have you ever thought what the animals is thinking or feeling? I bet not. Animals are very interesting beings. Animals are an interest to humans. They are in fact such an interest, that humans will hold them in captivity just for our entertainment and education. Yes, we may take an interest in them, but that does not mean we can capture them and confine them in containment. Animals should not be held in captivity not only because it causes severe damage physically to the animals, but because they do not respond normally being in the same environment all of the time, and it is not educational for humans to see an animal in
captivity.
As a matter of fact, zoo’s capture animals and take them into captivity. And most of the time, they get injured along the way. It would be horrible if we were taken and displayed in a zoo. Even worse, we could be injured while we are there. Well most animals go through that, especially Molly. A Barbary Sheep, Molly, had serious injuries mentally and physically in captivity. She was not able to use her tail and it had to be amputated, and after that, she was always on her toes. She would react to the littlest object (Schwartz). As shown, Molly the sheep was injured and traumatized while in containment because she was not used to the environment around her; therefore, this resulted in physical problems. In zoos, people throw things at animals and annoy them. It affects their wellbeing (Occupy Therapy). Animals have been reported injured by glass being thrown at them and cutting them and plastic in their stomach from the outside clogging their intestines. Animals should not suffer abuse from people their to view them. Remember they were brought here against their will, so they do not deserve to be treated unfairly. Lastly, “The damage [of the marine animals] is much more than cosmetic. When the orcas, bored by captivity, begin to chew on the hard parts of their tanks, they fracture their teeth. The fractures expose the dental pulp, the living tissue within their teeth” (Schelling). Overall, animals do not belong in captivity because they can be physically injured.
To start with, animals normally become pained in captivity. That would not normally happen in the  wild where they belong. Dr. Vint Virga who has been studying animal behavior for 25 years, “ has treated severely depressed snow leopards, brown bears with obsessive -compulsive disorder, and phobic zebras” (Schwartz). These animals become mentally unstable because of the stress of being held someplace that they are not familiar with. Also, the animals being in captivity results in, “abnormal behavior” and do things that it would not normally do (Occupy Therapy). Animals would develop a normal brain if they were born in the wild and developed in the wild, not in captivity. The animals that were developed in containment developed abnormal brains because they did not know how to act in the environment. Lastly, habitats for animals in most zoos are not big enough for the animals to thrive in, causing them to run into the walls. They do this because they want to escape... (CHFS). Animals will purposely hurt themselves because they realize that they are in a different environment. Overall, animals belong in their own habitats so they do not develop mental illnesses.

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Also, the last reason they are keeping animals in captivity is for humans to learn from them and to make a profit from them. Humans are learning nothing from them if they see an animals moping around in its cage. Zoos think that they are helping children and adults learn about the different species of animals, but they really are not if they do not see the animals in their natural habitats, or if they are not acting normal (CFHS). Normally, animals would act differently in captivity than in the wild, so really we are not learning anything about the animals in zoos if they behave differently. Being in captivity results in, “abnormal behavior” and do things that it would not normally do (Occupy Therapy). Therefore, humans can not learn from animals that do not behave normally. Furthermore, zoos only really keep animals in containment for the profit. Still, keeping animals in zoos for education and money is still not all that exceptional (Schwartz). Putting animals in misery for money is incredibly cruel. Lastly, animals should not be kept in captivity for education and profit.
Dr. Helene Fitzberg who studies animals and their wellbeings, believes animals should only be in zoos if they need to be. Furthermore, sometimes animals are taken into captivity because of a medical condition or a physical injury. Other people believe animals should be in captivity even if they have no injuries or a medical problem. They believe animals should be held in a zoo their whole lives because they can not survive without us pampering them. In fact, so many people believe that, so we are holding animals in zoo's against their will for the rest of their lives. The animals that are in those zoo's should be able to thrive in their own habitat. Dr. Vint Virga believes that having the animals in captivity is making the endangered species (Schwartz). Animals deserve to live where they were meant to live. All in all, healthy animals should be released from the zoo’s into their own habitats.
In conclusion, animals should not be held in captivity. Every day, more and more animals would become extinct because zoos keep taking animals from the wild and torturing them in captivity, which will result in death. Taking animals out of captivity will let the next generations see the extraordinary animals that we see. If we keep Tigers, Whales, Polar Bears, and so many other endangered species in captivity, no one will ever be able to see and learn from them like we do. While it might be a debate to keep animals in captivity, think about the future. Letting animals live in the wild will save the endangered species and educate our future children.