Quigley 1

​ Inquiry Paper
​https://remiquigleyenglish130portfolio.weebly.com/
​https://www.renderforest.com/watch-22598733

SIGNIFICANCE

Are my micro and macro examples correct?

Animals are kept in captivity just to be used to entertain people. This problem known as

animal exploitation, which rose awareness on social media because of trending hashtags such as

#animalrights and #captivitykills. Some related words such as show animals, abuse and mental

illnesses are what these hashtags target . This problem affects society on a macro level because

large corporations are losing money. When the corporation has a bad reputation, they will most

likely lose customers and that results in losing money. For example, in 2013 there was a

documentary called BlackFish which caused SeaWorld “the loss of $1.7 billion in market

capitalization.” (Hassan. 2018) People who are against keeping animals in captivity will stop

going to these places. This problem affects society on a micro level because individuals will stop

going to places that keep animals in captivity and use them for entertainment, people will start

making protests against keeping animals in captivity and they will donate to charities that help

with this problem.

This problem continues to exist because the animals that were born in captivity cannot

survive in the wild, so people cannot take them fully out of captivity and continuing to use these

animals will bring in money for the corporation. The company will benefit from this because
 Quigley 1

they will continue to make money. The individuals/groups that do not see this as a problem are

the employees that train the animals, the people who sell the animals to these corporations or the

founders of the corporations. Awareness needs to be raised because these animals are being

abused to a point where some develop mental illnesses or eventually die. There as “been

estimated that there are 900 to 2000new cases every year of animal hoarding.”

(DoSomething.org) So without bringing awareness to this problem there will still be 900 to 2000

cases a year. And they animals will continue to be in an environment that causes them to develop

mental illnesses and the animals will continue to be abused.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Keeping animals in captivity began in “the 18th and 19th century, what were known as

menagaries,” (Phillips. 2015) during this time people kept animals as a sense of power. This idea

of keeping collections of animals and showing them to the public is what we call zoos, circuses

and theme parks today. Many people do not agree with this idea of putting animals in captivity

and using them for entertainment, so there are many protests and arguments against the idea. For

example, in 2013 there was a documentary called Blackfish which focused on the “notorious

killer whale, Tilikum, [that was] responsible for the deaths of three indivisuals.” After this

documentary came out, the public realize why Tilikum lashed out. Tilikum was captured from

the wild in 1982, so he was used to being free in the open water and not captive in a tank. While

Tilikum was captive he was treated inhumanely and was forced to do abnormal tricks for the

audience. This caused him the lash out because he was isolated and “suffered from major
 Quigley 1

psychological trauma.”(Bekoff. 2011) 4 years after this documentary came out, Tilikum had

died from “a lung infection due to bacterial pneumonia.” (wikipedia) ​As a result of animals in

Wildlife conservationists like ​Kartick Satyanarayan, realise how big this problem is and created

sanctuaries to help save abused animals from captivity. Satyanarayan has created a program to

save wild animals being used as entertainment and as a result of his proptivity being treated

badly, gram he saved over 550 animals from India such as sloth bears, lions, tigers. ect..There

were laws made such as the Endangered Species Act and The Animal Welfare Act. The

Endangered Species Act provides a program to save endangered plants and animals. The Animal

Welfare Act is to regulate the treatment of animals in research and exhibition.

ARGUMENTS

When animals are in captivity there will be different opinions from the public.There are

People who are against keeping animals in captivity and people who are for keeping animals in

captivity. Some people such as David Masci, the author of “Zoos in the 21st Century”, may

impose that ​“wild animals have a right to roam, feed themselves, mate and otherwise fulfill their

biological destinies -- which can't happen when they are cooped up in a zoo.” ​Those who are

against keeping animals in captivity say that the animals’ behavior changes, they are not really

living and they can develop mental health conditions. When animals live in zoos their hunting

behavior will change because they no longer have to go out and hunt for their food. By keeping

animals in captivity “we are changing their natural behaviors in some way.” By being captive all

day, these animals are not enjoying life. Animals should “have the right to roam, feed
 Quigley 1

themselves, mate and otherwise fulfill their biological destinies,” and they are not able to do

these being captive. When animals are kept in captivity, they can develop mental illnesses that

they wouldn't normally get in the wild.

The people who are for keeping animals in captivity claim that researchers will learn

more about the animals, they will live in a protected environment and they get medical attention.

By learning more about the animals, we can learn more about their environment and how they

live, so keeping animals in captivity gives ​"Doctors and scientists an opportunity to study the

animals with whom we share our planet with greater effectiveness when they are in captivity.”

Animals will live in a protected environment by living in captivity, which may cause

them to live longer than those in the wild. Animals in captivity will gain medical attention,

“​Many zoos have what is referred to as a ‘treatment room,’ This is a place where any animal can

be brought in for an examination so that its good health can be maintained.”

SOLUTIONS

Animals should not be kept in captivity and shown off to humans for entertainment.

When animals are in captivity, they are most likely to form illnesses and most of these animals

are treated badly.As the public, we can help these captive animals by pushing for local bans

towards animals in captivity, visiting animal sanitaries instead of zoos or creating clubs that will

go over this problem. By bringing awareness to people with higher power, they may listen to the

public and create a local ban. The local ban will cause a decrease with animals kept in captivity
 Quigley 1

because it will be legally prohibited.The second solution we can do is visit animal sanitaries

instead of zoos. Animal sanctuaries help animals that were abused or abandoned and they do not

exploit their animals to the public. Animal sanctuaries do not make a profit off their animals.

Many of these places help the animal get back on their feet and set them free in the wild. You

can visit some animal sanctuaries on​ ​https://www.sanctuaryfederation.org/​ and

https://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org/​ .The third solution is that we can create clubs that helps

with this problem. By having these types of clubs it will inform people what happens when

animals are in captivity. This will bring awareness to a larger amount of people. During the club

meetings they can help animals in captivity by protesting organizations or informing people

about this problem. An example of this is In California state university of Chico, there is a club

called Chico for Animal Rights Club, this is where students can gather together to talk more

about how they can protect animals.

 Quigley 1

​Work Cited

Bekoff, Marc. “Do Wild Animals Suffer From PTSD and Other Psychological

Disorders?” ​Psychology Today,​ Sussex Publishers, 2011,

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-emotions/201111/do-wild-animals-suffer-ptsd-and-o

ther-psychological-disorders​.

Chief, Editor in. “17 Pros and Cons of Keeping Animals in Captivity.” ​ConnectUS​, 3 July

2019, connectusfund.org/17-pros-and-cons-of-keeping-animals-in-captivity.

Masci, David. “Zoos in the 21st Century.” ​Meriam Library- CQ Researcher​, 2000,

library.cqpress.com.mantis.csuchico.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2000042800&t

ype=hitlist&num=15.

Phillips, Keri. “The Ethical Evolution of Zoos.” ​Radio National​, 21 Oct. 2015,

www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/the-ethical-history-of-zoos/6869776​.

Prideaux, Margi. “Zoos Are the Problem, Not the Solution to Animal Conservation.”

OpenDemocracy​, 22 June 2016,

www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/zoos-are-problem-not-solution-to-animal-conservati

on/​.
 Quigley 1

Satyanarayan, Kartick. “Kartick Satyanarayan.” ​TED,​ 2010,

www.ted.com/speakers/kartick_satyanarayan.