Nature reserves, bird watching, going on a safari. Today, nearly every country in the world is a member of CITES. Climate change has become a very real threat for the next and even current generations. That's how animals living in captivity feel. Elephants arent the only species that try to flee a zoo life. It is not humane to keep large mammals like orcas, dolphins or elephants in zoos or theme parks. Reintroduced animals have a hard time coping with life in the wild after long periods away. William Randolph Hearst created his own private zoo with lions, tigers, leopards and more at Hearst Castle. I do not doubt that some people had their passion for a particular species, or wildlife in general, sparked by zoo experiences. There is an undeniable thrill, seeing animals in zoos, circuses, movies, television shows, and amusement parks. Animal rights activists argue that hunting, capturing, and putting animals on display is unethical. In 2014, the director of the E.A.Z.A. Writing at the end of 2020, Al Gore, the 45th vice president of the United States. They are removed from their natural habitats and confined to small limited spaces and often forced to perform tricks or entertain visitors. They normally find themselves locked in cages, and only released into an artificial habitat when there are visitors at the zoo. By playing dead, they would deceive predators into leaving them alone. But it's clear, say welfare specialists, that captivity can compromise orcas' health. Though the zoos business has grown from what it was over a century ago, there are still some things that can be improved. All of these options afford you a close view of nature exactly as it was intended. This alteration of the animals behavior will eventually do more harm than good. The AWA establishes only baseline standards of care for licensing exhibitors. In zoos, elephants are often given a small outside enclosure and an internal house. This is nowhere near enough space to provide an elephant with a life comparable to that of its wild counterparts. In normalizing captivity zoos, and teaching animals to perform tricks for human entertainment, zoos and animal sanctuaries are spreading the message that animal captivity to normal, healthy, and fully acceptable. In April, ethical tour operator Responsible Travel after consultation with wildlife charity Born Free Foundation axed trips that include zoo visits. Wild animals have certain behaviors that are uniquely influenced by their environments. Four of the zoos and the aquarium in New York City, for instance, are managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is involved in conservation efforts around the world. Local laws are often most effective in governing the private possession of exotic animals. The Dark Truth behind Bear Bile Uses: Hidden Costs of Traditional Medicine, The Untold Story of Factory-farmed Cows the Consequences for Animal and Human Health, Are Giraffes Endangered? WorldAnimalFoundation.org, Today's Deal: $300 Discount on Halo 2+ GPS Dog Collar. Eventually, the only animals on display would be a few ancient holdovers from the old menageries, animals in active conservation breeding programs and perhaps a few rescues. Kept in barren cages rarely larger than 20 by 20 feet, bears in roadside zoos spend their days pacing, sleeping abnormally long periods of time, and bobbing their head all indications of extreme psychological distress. Power-mad men from Henry III to Saddam Husseins son Uday to the drug kingpin Pablo Escobar to Charlemagne all tried to underscore their strength by keeping terrifying beasts captive. Their lives in captivity can be harsh especially when the animal has been completely removed from its social structures. The environment that these animals are kept in isnt natural to them more so the animals that are taken from the wilderness and kept in zoos. But that incident has triggered conversations on the negative impacts of marine parks and aquariums on wild animals. (707) 795-2533 |info@aldf.org Thats true, he said. The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) operates an accreditation system for sanctuaries, rescue centres and rehabilitation centres. Watching these is a much healthier and more educational way to learn about wild animals than visiting a local zoo. Being placed into a small tank, away from their family units, might not break existing animal protection laws. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. The Toledo Zoo has dosed zebras and wildebeest with the antipsychotic haloperidol to keep them calm and has put an orangutan on Prozac. Most zoos or animal sanctuaries dont have the space or the facilities to truly recreate the wild. Its protections are minimal as well. See Related: Endangered Species in Oklahoma. Gus, a polar bear at the Central Park Zoo, was given Prozac as part of an attempt to stop him from swimming endless figure-eight laps in his tiny pool. While zoos can definitely be exciting places for families to visit, the fact remains that they are bad for animals. Ms. Marris is an environmental writer and the author of the forthcoming book Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World.. However, they are really just teaching children about caring for animals in captivity. As a late Gen-Xer-cum-early-Millenial, my childhood was rich with trips to visit zoos. Read on to find out why animals should not be kept in zoos. Zoos have been around for thousands of yearsas far back as 3500 BC in Egypt. However, not all of them are suitable for captivity and are better left alone in the wild. Our EIN number is 94-2681680. The United Kingdom, for example, has announced a plan to phase out all circuses featuring wild animal performances by 2020. In most cases, animals in zoos lead very unhappy lives. Here are some tips. They learned from their parents to be mistrustful because they have no way of knowing whether people could be good or do them harm. Display would be incidental. They often display neurotic behaviour, like repetitive pacing, swaying, and bar biting. Keeping endangered animals in zoos infringes on those individuals' rights to freedom. The AWA only applies to some captive wild animals. "An even smaller proportion are part of captive breeding programmes and, of those, a tiny fraction have been released back into the wild. "Zoos are prisons for animals, camouflaging their cruelty with conservation claims," Mimi Bekhechi, director of international programmes at PETA, explains. Life expectancy for animals in captivity depends on a couple of things, such as their way of life, among other factors. Cons of zoos Animal cruelty in zoos continues to be extremely common. RELATED ARTICLE: Dolphin Attacks Trainer in Front of Horrified Families in Miami Seaquarium: How Often Do These Sea Creatures Attack Humans? Such a transformation might free up some space. Some surplus animals or injured animals are even fed to predators as a means of life-cycle maintenance. People are always attracted to exotic animals such as grizzlies, lions, wolves, tigers, and alligators among others. For example, Charles Harvey and Kurt House argue that subsidies for climate capture technologywill ultimately be a waste. However, it does not change the fundamental fact that as the world changes, we must also become more aware of the darker side of such animal sanctuaries. Animals also lose their genetic diversity especially due to inbreeding. This is only one of the Act's limitations. From there, it was an easy leap to protecting animal species. The Animal Welfare Act: The Animal Welfare Act, or AWA, is the primary piece of federal legislation regulating captive wild animals. In fact, while animals will have almost unlimited space in the wild, they are often caged in rather confined areas in zoos. Zoos are expensive to run, often have a very tight budget, and cannot afford to maintain and support animals that do not pull their weight in terms of attraction. Copyright 2015-2021 National Geographic Partners, LLC. For example, Orcas are migratory animals with a vast range. This gives the poor pets a home and creates a revenue stream for the zoos. The ESA outlines procedures for federal agencies to follow regarding listed species, as well as criminal and civil penalties for violations. Things like ensuring animals arent caged and treated less than they deserve. A 2000 survey of U.S. and Canadian zoos found that nearly half of respondents were giving their gorillas Haldol, Valium or another psychopharmaceutical drug. Not investing enough when designing a habitat for your animals to save money. A peer-reviewed 2017 study in the . On the other hand, the researchers reported, there were no significant differences in survey responses before entering an exhibit compared with those obtained as visitors were exiting., A 2008 study of 206 zoo visitors by some members of the same team showed that while 42 percent said that the main purpose of the zoo was to teach visitors about animals and conservation, 66 percent said that their primary reason for going was to have an outing with friends or family, and just 12 percent said their intention was to learn about animals., The researchers also spied on hundreds of visitors conversations at the Bronx Zoo, the Brookfield Zoo outside Chicago and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. See Related: Are Humans Animals? Most people visit the zoo to see the big draw animals. Boycott businesses that profit from cruelty to animals. There are 39 animal species currently listed by the IUCN as Extinct in the Wild. Regardless of the merits or ethics of zoos, one thing's for certain: they're going to be around for some years yet. In a study done on 40 chimpanzees in six different zoos, all of the chimps exhibited behavior their counterparts in nature did not. Marine mammals are best protected by cleaning up and protecting their habitats. Healthy animals in zoos are killed because they are not needed. The first zoos housed animals behind metal bars in spartan cages. Zoos protect against a species going extinct. Even the best zoological park cannot fully capture the wild, and many smaller zoos fail to take effective measures to ensure the health and well-being of their animals. They could either bite, peck, scratch, kick, or flap their wings. Another time, one of the orangutans, Kumang, learned how to use sticks to ground the current in the electrical wire around her enclosure. Many people consider zoos amoral and cruel while others have the notion . The truth is there is a vast difference between genuine conservation efforts and endangered species protection and running a zoo. I remember well the awe and joy on their faces, 15 years later. And Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo has an on-site Wildlife Hospital to save sick and injured native species. Breeders: How to Stop Puppy FarmsPermanently. As an avid fan of botanical gardens, I humbly suggest that as the captive animals retire and die off without being replaced, these biodiversity-worshiping institutions devote more and more space to the wonderful world of plants. He also found many examples of zoo elephants hurting or killing their keepers and evidence that zoos routinely downplayed or even lied about those incidents. That doesnt mean there havent been criticisms. They found that only 27 percent of people bothered to read the signs at exhibits. More tigers live in cages in this country, than exist in all the wild. Most people arent always comfortable seeing animals that are kept in zoos. Many animals in zoos are not used to confinement. However, in a zoo, the boundaries between the wild and captivity are rearranged. Its protections are minimal as well. Zoos can be productive when it comes to reviving an animal species on the brink of extinction. All Rights Reserved. Zoos often do more harm than good, creating unnatural environments that look realistic enough to make any potential return to the wild all but impossible. An orangutan at the Omaha Zoo kept wire for lock-picking hidden in his mouth. When an animal is not on the endangered list, capturing it doesnt serve any purpose to the animal. It is impossible to read these stories without concluding that these animals wanted out. Ive spent many memorable days in botanical gardens, completely swept away by the beauty of the design as well as the unending wonder of evolution and theres no uneasiness or guilt. The researchers divided the odd behaviors of captive animals into two categories: impulsive/compulsive behaviors, including coprophagy (eating feces), regurgitation, self-biting and mutilation, exaggerated aggressiveness and infanticide, and stereotypies, which are endlessly repeated movements. Keep on reading. Thousands of animals are captured and put in zoos and aquariums for tourist attractions every year. People dont go to zoos to learn about the biodiversity crisis or how they can help. says that its members host more than 50 reintroduction programs for species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Nevertheless, a vast majority of zoo animals (there are 800,000 animals of 6,000 species in the A.Z.A.s zoos alone) will spend their whole lives in captivity, either dying of old age after a lifetime of display or by being culled as surplus.. Alex started writing from the moment he could hold a pen. Animals are forced to live in artificial habitats that arent anywhere close to their former homes (the wild). Black-footed ferrets and red wolves in the United States and golden lion tamarins in Brazil all endangered, as well have been bred at zoos for reintroduction into the wild. Some studies have shown that as many as 80 percent of zoo carnivores, 64 percent of zoo chimps and 85 percent of zoo elephants have displayed compulsive behaviors or stereotypies. They are kind people, bonded to their charges and immersed in the culture of the zoo, in which they are the good guys. But whether recent events have triggered a profound shift in public consciousness is harder to quantify. All things considered, animals should not be kept in zoos or aquariums. Profits are also gained through the selling of animals to other zoos or circuses. This was the first time that the ESA has successfully been used to protect captive wild animals. Mr. Hribal documented many stories of elephants making a run for it in one case repairing to a nearby woods with a pond for a mud bath.