Why zoos should be shut down

Why Zoos Should be Shut Down

Emma Maloney

English12

Ms. Acosta

March 5th 2021

Each year about 700 million people go to a zoo and aquarium , but how many of those
people walking into that zoo or aquarium know that 75% of those animals end up
abused. One of the many family activities are going to the zoo or going to an
aquarium which have both been around for quite some time now. Things have been
around since the 1800's. It has always been something amusing to humans. Normally
parents bring young children too aquariums and zoos for amusement for the kids to
see all the types of animals they would normally not be able to see. But most of
these families do not know that zoos and aquariums don't treat their animals the
best. Instead of bringing your kids to the zoo or Aquarium they should start
bringing their kids to WildLife sanctuaries whose goal is to keep endangered
animals safe and given the best life they can give to them. They are also way more
information and better for childern and others.Although some might say zoos cause
zero harm,animal cruelty happends alot in zoos and is why the should be shut down.
Because animals are taken away from their habitat, animals also tend to get
depressed after being removed from their natural habitat and zoos have no
regulation to keep animals safe and healthy.
When an animal is moved into a zoo it is removed from its natural environment and
social structures.They are being put into an artificial environment and they are
confined to smaller environments than they are used to. When they are moved into a
zoo its like moving them to a completely different home away from everything they
know just to sit in a cage for children to point at. Typically when they are moved
into a new environment in the zoos they do not match the environment they need to
be in. “Polar bears can travel 60 miles in a day, he said, while even extensive zoo
exhibits measure less than an acre.” Animals are used to acres of land to explore
and live freely. Animals such as Polar Bears and Penguins are also used to cold
weather and their habitats but now or in a much warmer environment a polar bear can
die if it gets too hot. Tigers and lions are used to large areas to roam around but
a required size for cage is 240 sq ft gone from acres to square feet we aren't put
into the proper habitats needed.Many animals are put into zoos due to their
environmental problems like polar bears environment is suffering due to global
warming, but they are being put into a worse environment for them. Which can cause
mental and physical damage to the animals which isnt ideal for them.
“Animals in captivity across the globe have been documented displaying signs of
anxiety and depression.” for most animals the move into a zoo can cause depression
due to the change in environment and separation from the pack. It's been shown that
animals raised in improvised conditions compared to natural habitat can cause
changes like depression to the animal. This causes mental damage to the animals
which is not ideal at all. It would do the opposite effects of having children come
to the zoo for cute animals because it looks sad and unhealthy which isn't
appealing to the eye. Also mental illness can cause suffering to the animals and
the animals can later on cause harm to other animals. It also affects the train
performances they are made to do like dolphins and sea lions cannot perform at
their highest when they are not mentally there. That can cause the trainers to
abuse the animals because they are not performing at their highest. Once again it's
pulling an animal away from an environment in trouble to a worse environment not
good for the mental or physical health for the animal.
Zoos are secured during the day very well but at night they only have few
nightkeepers to feed the animals on time and many security cameras among the park.
But it is still low on security and zoos and aquariums still get broken into quite
often.”In July 2015 thieves broke into Zoo Krefeld, in Germany, and stole a
breeding pair of golden lion tamarins and their offspring.”Zoos are broken into
World Wide from stealing animals to abusing animals. These things can be prevented
with higher security during night. In August 2020 in New Jersey a petting zoo was
broken into by 6 teenagers, even though nothing too drastic happened. If six
teenagers can break into a zoo so can many other people this time only lipstick was
put onto a pony next time it can be something way worse. In the wild all they have
to worry about is Hunters but they talked to that and they find many places to hide
and get away from, but in a zoo there stuck in a cage they can't run away from it.
No you can't just close a zoo and put the animals back into the wild, because
they've adapted to domestic life or never live in the wild and would die if you
sent them back into the wild so my solution is animal sanctuaries.”The biggest
difference between a sanctuary and a zoo is that the animals that reside there were
rescued rather than bred” another difference between the two is that animals aren't
kept in a big glass cage there cabs in large acres of land for them to explore and
live happily. Animal sanctuaries are meant to rescue that are found in unfortunate
situations and make sure they live the rest of their lives in the most comfortable
and natural situations. Even though only a very low percentage of people go to zoos
for informational reasons and they go just to look at the cute animals. they can go
to a sanctuary which is better for the animals and they aren't forced to do silly
little shows and they can see animals generally healthier and happier then in a
zoo. Centuries also offer natural habitats to make them feel more comfortable then
they wood in a zoo and make them feel more at home. If these are just banned all
animals should go to sanctuary to live out their life the way they're supposed to
and in a healthier environment for them.
Zoos have been around for a long time and have always been a family entertainment.
But most of them don't understand what those animals go through. Zoos take animals
away from endangered environments into a worst environment for them. Ripping
animals from their natural habitats putting them into artificial habitats can cause
great damage to the animals.If zoos are disbanded and closed they cannot release
them back into the wild because they wouldn't survive. So they should be released
into wild sanctuaries to live the rest of their lives in Comfort.
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2015/02/24/Captivity-may-cause-
stress-for-polar-bears-but-Arctic-also-poses-problems-for-them/stories/201502220047
https://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/things-we-need-to-stop-telling-ourselves-
about-zoos.php
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/121004-animals-depression-
health-science#:~:text=One%20problem%20is%20that%20many,can%20cause%20depression
%2Dlike%20changes.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/wildlife-watch-zoo-thefts-
european-zoos
https://people.com/crime/new-jersey-petting-zoo-alleged-crime-spree/