8/18/2019 Banning Zoos

1/1

The claim that animals have rights has been the subject of much debate since

the 1970s. Are zoos helping or hurting our animals? Should zoos be banned? o

 !ou agree or disagree?

Zoos argue that they save endangered species, but animalists assert the

violation of the rights of these captive animals is unjustiable. The mistreatment

of animals in the zoos has created controversies over this matter. To me, all

animals should have the same basic rights as human beings, the most important

of which is living freely in their own habitats.

Proponents of zoos claim that these animal attractions have improved in the past

years. Cages have mostly been replaced with moats and glass, and the majority

now employ fulltime vets to administer medication and restrict diets. Positive

reinforcement is also the norm, and titillating animals is no longer an ethical way

to get them to reproduce. !art guns, too, are on the wane, after years of causing

animals a great deal of stress. "nother lauded justication for the #eeping of wild

animals in captivity is to ensure a secure population that could be used to return

a species to the wild.

$evertheless, animals are unable to thrive in any type of enclosures, especially

with unnatural weather and climates. "lso, wildanimal par#s and zoos almost

always favour large and easily noticeable animals which draw large crowds of 

visitors, but they neglect less popular species that also need to be protected.

%ost animals in zoos are not endangered, and while conning animals to zoos

#eeps them alive, it does nothing to protect wild populations and their natural

habitats. &n addition, returning captivebred animals to the wild is, in most cases,

impossible because animals who are reared in zoos are denied the opportunity to

learn survival s#ills, can transmit diseases to their wild counterparts, and often

have no natural habitat left to return to because of human encroachment.

'arehousing animals for life is not the way to save them from e(tinction and

does not support their rights. &nstead of patronizing zoos, individuals can help

animals by supporting organisations that wor# to protect and preserve natural

habitats, without creating animal prisons.