Should zoos be abolished
Arguments for zoos abolition
As mentioned in the introduction, zoos are prisons for the animals since they deny them the right to free movement and interaction with each other as it happens in the natural habitat. The confined animals never live a normal animal life since they are forced to live according to the prevailing conditions in a zoo. The natural environment of any living organism is the one that offers it with the best living conditions and thus denying the animals the right to live in a natural environment is a great injustice to the animals. It is also unethical for the human beings to confine animals in small cages so that they can get an opportunity of watching them at a close distance. Zoos should be abolished since one of the main reasons for their establishment has already been over taken by events. Zoos were initially established to make scientific research easier since by then, the level of technology was quite low and it was not possible to conduct any meaningful research on wild animals while in the wild and they therefore had to be confined in a zoo for research purposes. However, with modern technology, it is possible to conduct any type of research on the wild animals while they are in their natural habitats. This therefore implies that it is no longer necessary to enclose animals in zoos as it is possible to carryout research on animals while in their natural habits.
Most opponents of the abolition of zoos argue that it is easier for people to come close to wild animals especially the more dangerous ones such as predators. Apart from this view being selfish on the part of human beings, it also denies them an opportunity of watching the wild animals while in their natural habitats which is by far more enjoyable than watching them while in a cage or other enclosed places. When the animals are in the wild, they usually portray their true characters and therefore when someone is watching such animals in the wild, he or she will have a much better opportunity of watching the true nature of wild animals as compared to an individual who watches them from a zoo. This therefore means that human beings confines animals in a zoo in order to derive less utility from watching them in such an artificial ecosystem, whereas they can free them watch them in a better manner while in their natural environment. Zoos should thus be abolished to make animal and bird watching more enjoyable and full of fun.
Just like humans, animals also have their favorite meals which they enjoy most and are thus more likely to feed on them whenever they are available. For the animals that are lucky enough for not being confined in a zoo, they spend much of their time looking for their favorite meals and this makes their lives more fulfilling and adventurous. However, for their counterparts who are very unfortunate and are enclosed in a zoo, getting such a chance is completely out of reach and they can therefore only feed on the food they are provided with in the zoos. Whether or not they dislike them, they have to feed on them as they have no alternative. They also form movement and migration patterns that are very natural as they search for food. The movement of the herbivores is controlled by the weather since they will move to the regions with more rainfall where they will get pastures in plenty. The predators will follow them since they constitute their meals and so on. Some of these patterns are very unique and they can be studied to determine the movement of various movements of animals in the wild. In fact, the seventh wonder of the modern world was derived from the movement of wildebeests across Serengeti and Masai Mara national parks in East Africa. Confining animals in a zoo denies them the chance of forming such spectacular patterns and therefore the value they can add to tourism is much limited. By abolishing zoos, it will be much easier for animals to feed on their favorite meals and at the same time form some patterns that are very attractive.
The food chain and the food web are very essential aspects in the feeding habits of animals as well as controlling their populations. The animals form food chains and webs whereby some animals feed on the pastures and other plants available within their natural habitats, at the same time, those that feed on the plants are fed on by the predators that also have their enemies in the food chain. This therefore means that when the herbivores are many within an ecosystem, they will feed on more pastures and thereby reduce the amount of available pastures within their ecosystem. Since they will be fed on by the predators and they will have less food available for them, their populations will decrease significantly. As their populations reduce, the predators will also die due to starvation as their source of food decreases. Eventually, the pastures will increase since they are being fed on by fewer herbivores. Their increase will lead to an increase in the number of herbivores that will be followed by the carnivores. This is a good example of how a food chain or a food web within a natural ecosystem can control the population of various species that are found within it and therefore ensure that the population does not grow beyond the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. By putting animals in a zoo, such control mechanisms are greatly distorted as the food chains are artificially controlled. It is therefore very easy to exceed the carrying capacity of an ecosystem and thus stretch the available food resources of maintaining it together with all its inhabitants.
Mating is a very important aspect of most animal species since it is through it they are able to reproduce and increase their populations. This process is usually much better for animals when it takes place naturally and not through some artificially induced means. For the animals that are lucky enough to live in their natural habitats, mating occurs naturally and they are not either forced into it or denied whenever they need it. However, the same case is not applicable when it comes to unfortunate animals that are usually enclosed in a zoo. Such natural processes are usually controlled by the zoo managements and they can therefore mate only when such management deems it fit. At times, the animals that are enclosed in a zoo are forced to reproduce more frequently than they could while in the natural set up and this might eventually have serious complications on the animals. It is therefore wise for the zoos to be abolished so as to give the animals living in them a chance of living a normal life that is free from human interference.
The process of animals getting adapted to a certain ecosystem as well as getting used to various changes that are taking place is very essential for the survival of their species in the long run. In fact, adaptability of a certain species in a given ecosystem is one of the greatest factors that determine whether it will survive or not. In a natural set up, animals adapt with much ease to the changing environmental conditions. Animals in a natural set up develop much faster, the required traits to survive in a certain environment as compared to the animals that are enclosed in a zoo. This makes it possible for such animals together with their generations to thrive in such ecosystems and do much better. Furthermore, only the animals that are strong enough and are much adapted to the ecosystem can survive from being eliminated naturally and therefore their generations that follow the ones that have already survived are usually much better and stronger. Such is not possible with the animals that are usually enclosed in a zoo since the care they are provided with makes it possible for even the weak ones to survive and thus pass on the weak traits that are not suitable for an ecosystem to their off springs. Such a process can easily lead to massive deaths of animals in future since there will come a time when the artificial efforts to support them will not be enough and thus they will not survive to the harsh environmental conditions. Since zoos give room for the propagation of undesired traits, then they should be abolished in order to allow the process of natural selection to determine the traits to enable a species of animals to survive or die.
The conditions that are offered to animals in a zoo are basically ideal and do not assist the animal in coping with life outside the zoo which is very essential for their survival. They are denied the chance of developing various survival tactics that are very essential to each and every animal. The animals living outside zoos usually have a better chance of developing very crucial tactics and are therefore capable of surviving in any given environment. This is a natural process that is very important to all animals and denying some is a great injustice to them since they will one day require them. There is therefore no need of keeping animals in a zoo so that people can have a chance of seeing them when they wish while the animals are denied the chance of living a normal life to the fullest.
It is unethical for human beings to imprison innocent animals for their own selfish needs. Despite the fact that the animals cannot speak and defend themselves, no injustice should be perpetrated on them for any reason by anyone. Even though the animals constitute the natural resources that are found in a country, they should be exploited in a manner that their rights as animals are preserved and clearly this does not happen in a zoo where their freedom to movement and interaction is denied to them. People should as much as possible exploit this resource without perpetrating any form of injustice on the animals. In this case, both humans and animals will benefit. Since the zoos constitute oppression on the part of the animals leading to animal abuse, they should be done away with and all the animals given a chance of living a normal natural life.
Arguments against zoos abolition
There are no longer cases where animals are being obtained from the wild and taken into the zoos. This therefore means that all the animals that are found in zoos across the world were actually born in the zoos. Such animals are therefore only used to the zoo life and if for any reason they are taken away from the zoos into the wild, then they would have minimal chances of surviving. This is mainly because the zoo life is usually much simpler for the animals since they do not have to hunt and look for food as they are provided with enough food. Zoos should therefore not be abolished as abolishing them would basically mean that most of the animals previously used to the zoo life would eventually die as a result of the hardships that are found outside the zoos.
Animals living in the zoos are usually provided with a lot of care and security and they can therefore not be attacked easily by anyone. These conditions are particularly important for the endangered species that might eventually become extinct in the near future if proper care is not taken. The endangered species can only receive the much needed care and protection from the zoos. In fact, the zoos can be very essential for such animals when they are used as breeding grounds and thus reverse their dwindling populations. If the endangered species are left alone in the wild, they might become extinct and thus the benefits that are derived from them will not be realized in the future. Due to the fact that the zoos are the only places where such animals can receive the care and protection they need, then the zoos should not be abolished at all.
Zoos offer the best facilities from which people can be educated on various aspects of animals. The level of training that can take place in a zoo cannot be achieved in a natural habitat or if it has to be attained, a lot of resources would have to be employed. People are educated on the various aspects of the wildlife such as the need to conserve them and the numerous benefits that can only be obtained from the animals. Should all the zoos be closed, then it would be very difficult and in fact impossible for people to undergo such training. This would imply that the level of awareness of the importance of animals among the public would be very low and they could thus over exploit them in a manner that is not sustainable. There is therefore no need to abolish zoos since they are very crucial in creating awareness among people.
There are some animals that are maintained in the zoos because their natural habitats have already been fully destroyed as a result of the mans activities. The zoos that house such animals are usually tailored to meet conditions necessary to provide such animals with habitats that closely resemble their natural habitats. To such animals, the zoos are the only place they can call home and without the zoos, they are likely to become extinct. It is therefore not necessary to abolish zoos since such a move would greatly jeopardize the survival chances of such animals. While carrying out scientific research, there are some tests that cannot be carried on animals while in their natural habitats. Some of the tests demand that they be carried on a particular animal for a long period of time. Again, it is much easier for the behavior of animals to be monitored while in a zoo as opposed to when it is in a natural habitat. The zoos should therefore not be abolished so that they can be used for such purposes and therefore assist in understanding further their behaviors.
Zoos are a source of revenue to several governments people have to pay some money whenever they visit the zoos. Such revenues form a very important part of the income that is received by the government since they are used to provide various services to the people. Abolishing zoos would essentially mean that all the revenues that are received from them are lost and thus the governments would have to operate on reduced budgets or would have to look for other sources of revenue. The zoos should thus not be abolished so that the governments can be assured of more revenues.
Conclusion
As it is evident from the discussions provided in this paper, the zoos should be abolished since they deny the animals the freedom of movement and interact with each other. Animals living in zoos are denied the chance of living a normal life which is the best any animal can live in. The natural habitats of animals usually provide them with all their needs and no matter how good are the conditions provided for animals that are living in a zoo they can never match the ones that are offered for the animals in the natural environment. By abolishing the zoos, the wild animals that are currently confined in the zoos will finally find their way to freedom and they will be in a position of living their lives to the fullest just their counterparts currently living freely in the wild. There is therefore no need to continue having zoos and imprisoning innocent animals, they should all be abolished and all animals given back their freedom.
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