The Mistreatment Of Animals

Words: 1761
Pages: 8

When children are young, going to a zoo is an exciting trip to go see exotic animals close-up and personal. These parks can help keep these animals safe and protected. However the truth behind these parks is not as magical as it seems. These animals live in enclosures up to 1 millionth the size of their homes in the wild. Captive animals are kept in small enclosures for their whole lives. Animals are put in more danger in zoos rather than being protected due to the mistreatment they face in captivity from zookeepers, veterinarians, and even observers. There are both advantages and disadvantages to keeping animals in confinement.
The animals receive an ample amount of veterinary care because they are in confinement, keeping them healthy. Veterinarians
…show more content…
Activities such as having a tiger go and “hunt” for its food or having orangutans and monkeys climb trees and swing from tree tops are provided for the animals to try to bring out their natural instincts. “Other examples of animals enrichment include: providing live and artificial plants for shade and barriers, creating vertical dimensions using trees, ropes or rock work to increase and enhance living space, using puzzle feeders that offer a challenging and time-consuming method of obtaining food...” (Saint Louis Zoo). This can help to keep the animals busy so they are not sitting in their enclosure bored. It can also give the animals exercise and get them moving around as …show more content…
These foreign animals bring in publicity and crowds of people, causing zoos to make much more money than if they were to bring in regular or local wildlife, “The Chinese government, for example, “rents” pandas to zoos worldwide for fees of more than $1 million per year, but some question whether the profits are being directed toward panda-conservation efforts at all.13” (Peta). Ninety- five percent of animals in zoos are not endangered, meaning animals in zoos are either taken out of the wild or born there, showing no effort towards protecting them. Capturing these animals from the wild when they have grown up and been accustomed to being able to roam free and when they have adapted to their resources has been authorized in the past, “Zoos continue to capture animals from the wild to put them on public display. In 2016, the US Fish and Wildlife Service approved the capture and transfer of 18 African elephants, a species designated as threatened, from their natural habitats in Swaziland to zoos in Kansas, Nebraska and Texas.14” (Peta). Zoos are harming animals more than helping by taking them from natural instincts and living in the wild to being locked in a small cage with a small amount of space to