Going to the zoo may be a fun family trip, but have you ever thought about the animals’ perspective? Many animals in zoos get mistreated in situations such as forced captivity and forced breeding.
Animals should not be in zoos, unless they need special care.
A large number of animals are either abused in zoos or do not receive the proper care that they need. Taking animals and putting them somewhere that they do not belong can cause abnormalities in their behavior, such as mental stress, eating disorders, and even abandoning or killing their young. According to the article “Why Wild Animals in Captivity Isn’t True Conservation,” it states, “Captive-bred animals generally lack the survival skills necessary to be released into the wild and often have developed such severe zoochosis—psychological trauma brought on by captivity—that they would not survive.” This shows that when animals are forcefully put into zoos, it has a severe negative mental effect on them.
Many people may believe that zoos aren’t bad at all, and that animals are taken care 0f while being in captivity. While this may be true sometimes, this is not the case all of the time. Many animals are actually depressed in zoos. According to the article, “Animal Depression: Does it exist?”, it states, “An estimate of 80 percent of zoo animals experience zoochosis.” This shows that a large amount of animals in zoos have zoochosis, a repetitive behavior that serves no purpose or benefit towards the animals life.
Animals that do not need to be held in captivity should not be held in captivity. They deserve to be let free out in the wild, where they belong. They have a right to their survival skills, and their purpose of life, as they are living beings as well.
Therefore, animals in custody of humans should be let back where they belong. While what we call captivity, for them, it is more so imprisonment.
