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The Tiger, king of the jungle, is a statue of elegance, beauty, and power. Captured from his kingdom pacing back and forth along his enclosed cage with a constant loop of shrieking newborns, camera flashes, and the thunder of children hammering on the glass; with running noses and drooling mouths. The king was taken as a prisoner, a crown jewel for all to admire. Animals like these are living a life of undeserved punishment with poor living conditions, forced breeding programs, and transport of endangered animals all over the world for profit. These creatures are a beautiful part of nature being tortured and abused. This is our modern world, and our zoos need to be surrendered to the past. A collection of endangered and exotic animals in their care in order to protect species, secure their survival, and to developing knowledge of animal behavior through research and observation. This is what zoos promote to the public as their main purpose, however, this is not the full picture. They have publicized a false image covering their hidden financial agendas and the poor living conditions in their establishments. Funds that should be put towards the well-being and care of their animals are often abandoned in order to attract more visitors for greater profits such as landscaping, restaurants, and gift shops. This puts the animals themselves at risk as they require medical treatment, the correct diet, and well-kept enclosures. “According to research made by Bristol University, more than three-quarters of zoos in Britain failed to meet all the minimum animal-welfare standards”. In 2017 South Lake Safari Zoo in Cumbria discovered that around 500 animals died under three years in their care from causes ranging from hypothermia, malnourishment, and a severe shortage of veterinary care to utter neglect. A squirrel monkey became trapped behind a radiator and died, Lemurs and birds were run over and killed by the miniature train, and an African spurred tortoise was electrocuted as it became entangled in electric fencing. Stories of horror continually occur in this country and all over the world because of the conditions animals face in captivity. This reflects the point that wild animals do not belong in our suburban environment, they are at greater danger locked up in unfit enclosures than roaming free where they belong. The next time you visit the zoo, be sure to know when observing the sea of gifts that stuffed animals are not just cuddly toys, they reflect the true beings living in suffering at our greed, in the cash budget cages of our profit fuelled system of so-called rehabilitation. The preservation of species remains a main focus for zoos, captive breeding programs consist of animals being bred in enclosures to produce future generations of their species. However, the intentions of these programs are questionable as these animals will never be reintegrated back into the wild, it is an effort to increase animals in captivity and does not preserve conservation. They will favor the most beloved creatures that guarantee visitors and media attention rather than threatened or endangered wildlife. The number of animals in the wild is continuing to fall at a rapid rate to near extinction, whilst polar bears are living behind bars in the scorching heat of Florida where snow will never fall. Breeding programs also aim to produce animals of the highest quality possible that will benefit the zoo the most in trading and variety. Copenhagen Zoo is an example of this as the establishment killed four lions to improve its breeding program shortly after they killed a young and active giraffe with a gun as its genetics did not add to the dissimilarity of the zoo. David Hancocks, the internationally renowned zoo director stated “The killing in Copenhagen was unnecessary and arrogant, brought about by a continued need to breed animals to be housed in improper circumstances, that would never be returned to the wild”. This process of man-made natural selection results in the murdering of helpless animals, due to there being no program for reintroducing them to their natural habitat those that cannot breed are unwanted and often killed. These killings can be proven pointless as research has concluded captive breeding seems to select for genetic traits that are damaging in the wild like low sperm volume count, thus harming the next generation and damaging conservation. How could anybody possibly support the act of taking a baby away from her mother and family, being transported to the other side of the world alone, and being kept as a prisoner for the rest of the individual’s life? This is a process that still occurs to this day to fill zoos with exotic animals from abroad. Many believe these acts are no longer common practice in our modern-day zoos, but the trade continues to thrive as the demand from private collections and governments has not decreased. It has been reported by Freedom for Animals that 70% of elephants from European zoos were taken from the wild. This shocking statistic reflects the thousands of animals captured from their homes and ripped from their families, transported from days to weeks around the globe. Many will die from these horrific transfers and those that survive will lose any freedom they once had, The stress and fear of the process will leave an emotional wound to last the animal's lifetime. A report from the Express Tribune explained that “five spotted deer had died as they were transported from the Nizampur Wildlife Park in Nowshera to the zoo in the heart of Peshawar.” The tragedy did not end there, shortly after the incident several deaths occurred including a snow leopard, an extremely rare animal with only 3,500 left of its kind in the wild and a black bull and three gazelles during transportation. This shows the serious risk of zoo transportation and the lives lost as a result of our greed. Violence is also common in the act of stealing these animals as a report from Peta stated “To obtain one infant chimpanzee from the wild, it is estimated that an additional ten chimpanzees are likely to be killed” Mankind will stop for nothing with the means of gaining wealth and this is a prime example of this, our ancestors are being murdered, stolen, tortured, abused and humiliated. The dirty cycle of zoo transportation is soaking in blood. An animal’s mental health is severely damaged when in captivity. An artificial habitat does not allow animals to perform natural behaviors that they would demonstrate in the wild. Animals will typically develop mental health issues such as depression in similar circumstances that may trigger it in humans like stress, trauma, abuse, and loss of family and freedom. This is easily observed in animals that are in captivity for example Elephants in the wild will walk from 18 to 50 miles each day in families of up to 100, in captivity elephants will be weak and stressed from a severe lack of exercise and engagement. Oxford University found that 40% of elephants in zoos display repetitive behaviors. This is demonstrated by swaying on the spot for hours at a time or pacing around in circles. This abnormal behavior is shown by many species suggesting the animals in captivity are seriously unhappy. Along with mental health problems an animal's physical health will also deteriorate. Life expectancy is far lower for animals in captivity; “75% of primates held in captivity die within the first 20 months, many due to depression and psychological problems.” And from National Geographic “For African elephants, the median lifespan is 17 years for zoo-born females, compared to 56 years in the Amboseli National Park population.” It is clear to see zoo’s cause great stress and crippling depression in many species leaving no opportunity for quality of life. They fail to meet animals' basic needs with inadequate space, habitat, and phycological nurturing. Zoos are a plague of mental torture and death, ingrained in their very walls and ignored by society. The human race has a moral responsibility to deliver rights not just to ourselves but to the animals that share our planet with us, to give them the respect they rightfully deserve. They are similar to us in many ways with their ability to love and to feel loss, pain, and distress. With no voice to be heard but the silent cries of despair and the clouded eyes of isolation it is our duty to give them a voice to create change. The money we spend on ticket purchases as a nation pays for animals to be traded and imprisoned, not rescued and not rehabilitated. The position of zoos in our society reflects the inner animal in us all, or more realistically the cruel and cold-hearted creature that has inhabited a complete disregard for life other than our own. You can help reverse the damage we have caused; donate to wildlife reserves to keep our tigers and more from poachers, make changes to your lifestyle by becoming more eco-friendly help to preserve our forests, and educate others on the darker side of the trip to the zoo. The battle does not stop here. I will fight for their freedom, I will fight for their rights and I will fight for the collapse of the zoo enterprise. Will you?
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