Zoos are thought to be places of joy, where you can witness toddlers running around, holding cotton candy, smiling at the site of a wild animal. The feeling, however, is not mutual for the animals. In fact, it is the complete opposite. For animals, zoos are prisons. Not only do they not provide enough space for the animals to thrive, but many of these creatures die prematurely. A zoo is not a destination for a picnic or a date, but rather a place where animals wither and languish.
Some people argue that one of main purposes of a zoo is to protect endangered species. If this is true, why are the mortality rates exceptionally higher in zoos than in the wild? Rather than keeping endangered animals in zoos, they should be brought to rescue centers or conservancies. Unlike a zoo, these centers provide more space for the animal and more nutritious food, without the added stress from human observers.
Others argue that zoos educate the young, and without them, children will not learn to love and protect animals. Although this may be partly true, we do not need zoos to show children that animals are astonishing creatures. Instead, we can use rescue centers and nature videos. In particular, rescue centers are superior to zoos, as described above. People can visit these centers and see animals that are happy, not those that are contained or being mistreated.
In addition, zoos do not provide enough space for the animals to roam. For example, a lone lion uses about 100,000 acres of land in its lifetime. In contrast, some zoos provide a mere 9,600 square-feet, or ⅕ of an acre, for multiple lions. This is barely enough space for a toddler, let alone a lion! Similarly, polar bears in captivity receive one million times less space than wild polar bears. This is about the same amount of space that cows receive in slaughterhouses. With so little land to roam, these animals suffer tremendously.
Animals in zoos suffer not only physically, but also emotionally. Many people will see zoo animals walking back and forth aimlessly in their habitats, or witness others laying on the ground with no intent of moving. While some may conclude that the animals are just “getting their exercise” or “sleeping,” this is not always the case. In 2015, Flint the Chimpanzee became depressed from his mother’s recent death. He stopped eating and became extremely weak within a few days. He died soon after.
Lastly, zoos kill animals when they are no longer needed or become too expensive to support. Marius the Giraffe is just one example. Marius was killed by the zoo authorities in Copenhagen because his genetics were not suitable for breeding with other giraffes in the future. Marius was completely healthy, but because he could not create offspring, he was killed. He was fed to the lions in front of elementary school students. Imagine if we did this to humans, killing a particular person just because they could not do something that we wanted. It is completely absurd. One of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria’s (EAZA’s) executive directors estimated that roughly 3,000 to 5,000 zoo animals are executed each year across Europe. These zoos claim to be killing off animals because they no longer serve a useful purpose. But by doing so, they are indirectly teaching the next generation that animals are disposable.
In brief, zoos should be banned. They are animal prisons with the worst possible conditions for these innocent creatures. Furthermore, zoos are not fulfilling their purpose of protecting endangered species and educating children. Rather, rescue centers should be the new and improved zoos, because they provide sufficient space and food and take extremely good care of endangered animals. We should give captive animals the life they deserve.
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