Zoos

[trillobyite]

Should we ban the keeping of animals in zoos?

I am taking an objective stance on this and will supply both sides’ arguments.

Arguments against zoos

1. Animals belong in a natural wild. To take them out of the wilderness would be violating natural rights for artificial, human purposes.
2. Animals in zoos suffer by being separated from the outside world. Abnormal behavior results. Fish have little water, and birds are kept from flying, which is disgusting and inhumane.
3. Children will be affected by it subliminally and believe it alright to use force against animals. Rather than being educated on animal life, kids are entertained, and the misleading view of its habitat system corrupts the mind of people who regularly visit zoos.
4. Animals are slowly going extinct because of zoos. Inter breeding and birth defects run rampant.
5. Research of animals does not need to be done while animals are suffering in zoos. Watching animals in a natural habitat is the only way to understand and learn more about an animal's characteristics.

Arguments for zoos

1. Animals do not have any natural rights. In their natural habitat they are threatened by other animals, and are kept safe within zoos.
2. There are bad zoos with cruel treatment, but there are many good ones where animals are well-kept and fed. Therefore not all zoos should be shut down/reformed.
3. Zoos help to educate. They teach about environment, physiology, and conservation of species. Direct contact with animals stimulates children to learn more and increase awareness of ecology.
4. If humans have made an animal's own habitat threatening then it is better for captivated breeding to continue. Problems happen when conserving animals and we should just accept them, since it is better that they are conserved anyway. As long as the animals are treated nicely and conserved properly, why should zoos be abolished?
5. Animals could be studied in their natural habitat but they can be studied in a much more detailed and rigorous manner in zoos. It will bring valuable info and should be done in a cruelty-free zoo.

Which side do you guys take? Which points do you disagree with from each side and why?

[msbrunnettemickey]

RE: Zoos

[quote="trillobyite"]Should we ban the keeping of animals in zoos?

I am taking an objective stance on this and will supply both sides’ arguments.

Arguments against zoos

1. Animals belong in a natural wild. To take them out of the wilderness would be violating natural rights for artificial, human purposes.
2. Animals in zoos suffer by being separated from the outside world. Abnormal behavior results. Fish have little water, and birds are kept from flying, which is disgusting and inhumane.
3. Children will be affected by it subliminally and believe it alright to use force against animals. Rather than being educated on animal life, kids are entertained, and the misleading view of its habitat system corrupts the mind of people who regularly visit zoos.
4. Animals are slowly going extinct because of zoos. Inter breeding and birth defects run rampant.
5. Research of animals does not need to be done while animals are suffering in zoos. Watching animals in a natural habitat is the only way to understand and learn more about an animal1. Animals do not have any natural rights. In their natural habitat they are threatened by other animals, and are kept safe within zoos.

you and your natural rights.. i thought 8th grade was already over... GO THOMAS JEFFERSON!! WOO!!! מיכל
Mickey

[psychic25]

RE: Zoos

2. Animals in zoos suffer by being separated from the outside world. Abnormal behavior results. Fish have little water, and birds are kept from flying, which is disgusting and inhumane.
3. Children will be affected by it subliminally and believe it alright to use force against animals. Rather than being educated on animal life, kids are entertained, and the misleading view of its habitat system corrupts the mind of people who regularly visit zoos.

2. Well, sure, if you go to a smaller zoo. But remember, not all zoos are like that- there are larger zoos with bigger facilities for the animals (Aquarium of the Pacific, San Diego Zoo, etc.) That kind of stuff depends on the zoo's budget.

3. What force do people use against animals? The only thing I can think of is that fencing them in might be construed as force.. But still. If the kids go regularly, they probably see the caretakers feeding the animals, no? And from that, wouldn't they learn that you should care for animals?

3. Zoos help to educate. They teach about environment, physiology, and conservation of species. Direct contact with animals stimulates children to learn more and increase awareness of ecology.

Yes. Agree.

4. Animals are slowly going extinct because of zoos. Interbreeding and birth defects run rampant.
4. If humans have made an animal's own habitat threatening then it is better for captivated breeding to continue. Problems happen when conserving animals and we should just accept them, since it is better that they are conserved anyway. As long as the animals are treated nicely and conserved properly, why should zoos be abolished?

So... you're saying that animals are slowly going extinct because of zoos.
But you're also saying that zoos also help save endangered animals, no?. I don't follow.

[slimshdy425]

RE: Zoos

Zoos aren't bad- they're like homes for animals. They do the same thing our own homes do- bring everything we need together in a comfortable environment. In a large zoo, animals have a natural habitat, food when they need it, and safety from predators. It's the same thing our houses do- keep us sheltered, store our food we get from a conveniently near location, and keep us safe from predators (this may sound odd, but if there is no civilization, humans would probably still be hunted.) We don't know if animals really want this, but we have to assume they do. Any creature with some sense at all would prefer being safe and having food given to them over struggling for food in an unsafe environment.

[Cenright]

RE: Zoos

You forget. Some zoos are created from rescue animals, animals that would have already been dead, and had to be nursed back to health by human hands. This means that those animals already have a human printing on them, meaning that most of them would not survive in the wild afterwards.

[CypherToorima]

RE: Zoos

psychic, he said he was arguing both points.

I believe that zoos are good. Like cenright said, some zoos are created for rescuing animals. Also, I believe exposure to exotic animals may spark an interest in animals thay may have never been explored.

[Layla-Day]

RE: Zoos

Yes...The zoo does keep them on display in some funky cage all day...but behind all that, they take care of the animals, and some animals that are in there are mostly abandoned babies, so they couldnt be released back into the wild because there chance of living is like 1 in 1000, and thats because they dont have the right type of knowledge to be able to defend themselves against other animals, so they actually take care of them really great, because ive worked at the zoo before, and I see them take care of them animals as if they were humans. the animals have nice, well balanced meals, and they have a better chance of living than if they were in the zoo.

And in other cases, they take care of endangered animals too. there are a lot of endagered animals out there, and if they dont care about it, they could become instinct so, they dont just put animals up for pleasure, but they get the good care, good nutritious meals, and thats better than that what you can get in some places where those animals might have came from.

[Tps222]

RE: Zoos

I am against zoo's. Many animals have survived thousands of years before us, and some haven't, but that is all mother nature's course. The whole food chain. If we take in hurt, alone, and sick animals, then the predators pay for it. They don't get as much food. Animals are supposed to die, that's how it works, survival of the fittest. Instead, we are turning animals into shows for our own profit. We should just leave then alone, and let them eat each other. I don't know, my stupid rants.

My point is that animals have been around long before us, and will last long after us, we shouldn't take them out of their natural lifestyle, even if they are in danger of death, because that is how other animals survive.

[alainbryden]

RE: Zoos

Notice that these animals that we are saving from extinction in zoos, are only going extinct because humans are invading on their space. Zoos try to compensate from the damage humans have allready done to the ecosystem. Most zoos aren't just an area where humans stare at animals in their cages all the time. This would be a dead wrong concept and I would see the zoo burned (without the animals inside.) What most zoos do, and what makes them good, is the study of ecosystem, behavior, and the reestablishment and breeding of these animals that are becoming rare, in an attempt to understand and repare the precious niches of these animals that have been taken over.

[M-A-C]

It really depends if it is a good zoo or not. If the animals look very clean, healthy, and happy. This shows you that they are happy where they are. However, not all zoos handle their animals so nicely.

I remember when I went to a zoo in Rochester( I'm not lying about this)I almost cried. All the animals were tired, hungry, dirty, and rolling around in their own crap. I thought mabey if I saw the monkey it would cheer me up. On my way there I heard an elephant in pain. So I followed the noise, and what I saw was horrible. They were whipping the poor thing constintly, and LAUGHING while doing it. That's when I had enough. I went straight home. Luckily other people saw what I saw that day, and many other days before that. Some inspectors saw what they were doing and shut the zoo down.

Yea, so I think I sorta go both ways on this. If the zoo is nice, keep them in. If not, take them out. Simple as that.