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    Are Zoos A Good Thing

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    quoc anh nguyen
    Zoos are popular attractions but critics argue they can cause animals stress and shorten their lifespans due to being in unnatural environments that deprive them of space, diversity and freedom. However, zoos counter that they educate the public on conservation and support breeding programs for endangered species. While zoos enable endangered animals to breed securely, opponents note most captive-bred animals are not released and some are sold to circuses or hunting ranches. Whether zoos are good depends on how well each zoo is managed, but some believe keeping animals captive is simply wrong.

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    Are Zoos A Good Thing

    Uploaded by

    quoc anh nguyen
    94 views2 pages
    Zoos are popular attractions but critics argue they can cause animals stress and shorten their lifespans due to being in unnatural environments that deprive them of space, diversity and freedom. However, zoos counter that they educate the public on conservation and support breeding programs for endangered species. While zoos enable endangered animals to breed securely, opponents note most captive-bred animals are not released and some are sold to circuses or hunting ranches. Whether zoos are good depends on how well each zoo is managed, but some believe keeping animals captive is simply wrong.

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    Are zoos a good thing

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    Zoos are popular attractions but critics argue they can cause animals stress and shorten their lifespans due to being in unnatural environments that deprive them of space, diversity and freedom. However, zoos counter that they educate the public on conservation and support breeding programs for endangered species. While zoos enable endangered animals to breed securely, opponents note most captive-bred animals are not released and some are sold to circuses or hunting ranches. Whether zoos are good depends on how well each zoo is managed, but some believe keeping animals captive is simply wrong.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    94 views2 pages

    Are Zoos A Good Thing

    Uploaded by

    quoc anh nguyen
    Zoos are popular attractions but critics argue they can cause animals stress and shorten their lifespans due to being in unnatural environments that deprive them of space, diversity and freedom. However, zoos counter that they educate the public on conservation and support breeding programs for endangered species. While zoos enable endangered animals to breed securely, opponents note most captive-bred animals are not released and some are sold to circuses or hunting ranches. Whether zoos are good depends on how well each zoo is managed, but some believe keeping animals captive is simply wrong.

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    Are zoos a good thing?

    Zoos are hugely popular


    at attractions for adults
    and children alike. But are
    they actually a good
    thing?

    Critics of zoos would


    argue that animals often
    suffer physically and
    mentally by being
    enclosed. Even the best
    artificial environments
    can’t come close to
    matching the space,
    diversity, and freedom that animals have in their natural habitats. This deprivation
    causes many zoo animals to become stressed or mentally ill. Capturing animals in the
    wild also causes much suffering by splitting up families. Some zoos make animals behave
    unnaturally: for example, marine parks often force dolphins and whales to perform
    tricks. These mammals may die decades earlier than their wild relatives and some even
    try to commit suicide.

    On the other hand by bringing people and animals together, zoos have the potential to
    educate the public about conservation issues and inspire people to protect animals and
    their habitats. Some zoos provide a safe environment for animals which have been
    mistreated in circuses, or pets which have been abandoned. Zoos also carry out
    important research into subjects like animal behavior and how to treat illnesses.

    One of the most important modern functions of zoos is supporting international


    breeding programmers, particularly for endangered species. In the wild, some of the
    rarest species have difficulty in finding mates and breeding, and they might also be
    threatened by poachers loss of their habitat and predators. A good zoo will enable these
    species to live and breed in a secure environment. In addition, as numbers of some wild
    species drop, there is an increased danger of populations becoming too genetically
    similar. Breeding programmers provide a safeguard: zoo-bred animals can be released
    into the wild to increase genetic diversity.

    However, opponents of zoos say that the vast majority of captive breeding
    programmers do not release animals back into the wild. Surplus animals are sold not
    only to other zoos but also to circuses or hunting ranches in the US or South Africa,
    where some people are willing to pay a lot of money for the chance to kill an animal in a
    fenced enclosure. Often, these animals are familiar with humans and have very little
    chance of escaping.

    So, are zoos good for animals or not? Perhaps it all depends in how well individual zoos
    are managed, and the benefits of zoos can surely outweigh their harmful effects.
    However, it is understandable that many people believe imprisoning animals for any
    reason is simply wrong.

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