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Would you like it if you were locked up in a cage and to be laughed at by humans? Well, this is exactly what animals in zoos suffer from every day. Approximately 800,000 animals are taken to zoos which makes them deprived of their natural habitat and can make them develop a condition known as zoochosis, a mental illness that is characterized by repetitive behaviors such as swaying, pacing, or self-mutilation, and for what, just so us humans can get amusement from it? Zoos are like a prison for animals and making them develop medical problems, and make them suffer for a lifetime. Should animals really be kept in zoos?
Can you imagine the life of an animal in a zoo? The mental and physical pain that they feel from not getting the experience of their habitat in the wild. Animals love being in their natural habitat, as it meets all the environmental conditions they need for them to survive. So many animals lose their natural instincts and then if they are returned to the wild for any reason they will not know how to hunt or act. Zoos cannot provide the amount of space for the animals that they need on an everyday basis. This is particularly the case for those species that roam larger distances in their natural habitat. For example, Tigers and Lions have around 18,000 less space than they would normally have they would in the wild, therefore they could develop behavioral problems such as repetitive pacing or bar biting. It has been shown that Lions spend 48% of their time pacing around in zoos. They are forced to be kept in a cage all day and night, a cage that isn't even big enough for them. How are these standards good enough for the animals for a lifetime?
Captivity can be really bad for the animals' health. They get depressed, and psychologically disturbed and can even harm other animals or themselves. They are forced to endure temperatures that they are not used to when they live in the wild which is really not good for them. Up to 5,000 zoo animals have been killed each year, mind you that is only in Europe, and it has been proven that elephants that are kept in zoos tend not to live as long as elephants that are in the wild. Conditions in zoos are poor as many of them are found with a small budget. The cages can be dirty and make the animals ill. Who would want to be kept in an unclean cage? Therefore, animals that live in zoos suffer from many types of illnesses or diseases and die earlier than they would if they were in the wild. The animals may not even experience the sky overhead and the space in zoos is far too crowded for the animals to live in there for a lifetime.
Some baby animals are taken from their parents in the wild, and they can experience a lifetime of unforgettable trauma since their mother or father is shot to death right in front of them. Would you like it if your parents were shot right to death in front of your very own eyes? It is an awful experience for the animals, especially at a young age and they should not have to go through that pain. Baby animals that are taken from the wild die prematurely in zoos. In 2018, 40% of lion cubs die before one month of age. In the wild, only 30% of lion cubs are thought to die before they are six months old and at least a third of those deaths are due to factors that do not exist in zoos, like predation. Therefore, more baby animals in zoos die quicker than they would if they were in the wild. This is why they should not be taken from their habitat.
Certainly, zoos have their own reasons for keeping animals. One reason is to protect animals from dwindling and extinction. Since some animals have been keenly hunted in recent years, the longer they are kept in zoos, the longer they will flourish. Besides, several animals have forgotten either how to survive in the wild or how to breed as they have lived in zoos for generations. Especially the pandas in China, which through breeding captivity, have flourished and are no longer an endangered species. Zoos can be important for researchers and can also raise awareness of our environmental problems. According to researchers, mammals from zoo populations generally live longer than in the wild. Zoos also may protect animals from poaching, which is the illegal hunting that is driving many species to the brink of extinction. For example, Rhinos are one of the animals which are most likely to be poached. Around 100 rhinos are illegally killed each month. This can be stopped by taking Rhinos into care by zoos.
In conclusion, Most zoos take away the experience of many animals' habitats in the wild and keep them locked in a cage that isn't even big enough for them to be in. The conditions there are very poor and can make the animals ill. Animals can suffer a lifetime of trauma and can die prematurely. Zoos do have their pros like keeping the animals from going extinct and from getting poached but zoos do more harm than good to animals, and they frantically need to be protected. There is no point in just debating if zoos are harmful to them but not taking action on it. In my opinion, I think animals in zoos should be returned to the wild to live in their natural habitat.
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