Allyson Veda

Professor Leonard

English 1201.513

29 March 2020

Wild Animals in Captivity

Going to the zoo can be an amazing experience for many individuals, especially kids, but

has there ever been a thought about how it makes the animals feel or how it affects their life?

The debate on if zoos and aquariums and other types of places that keep animals captive should

be allowed has been going on for years. Wild animals, whether it is a bird who flies miles high or

a cheetah that runs miles in every direction, do not get enough space when kept captive. For

instance, it can end up making animals depressed, hurting themselves or each other, not eating,

and eventually dying at a young age. Animals play an important role in earths ecosystem and

should not be allowed to be kept in captivity away from their true habitat.

Animals have been in the history books since the beginning of time. In fact, it is recorded

that the first type of zoo creation can date back all the way to Ancient Egypt, “Wall carvings

found in Egypt and Mesopotamia are evidence that rulers and aristocrats created menageries as

early as 2500 BCE.” (National Geographic Society 2012). From there on every society created

their own ways and reasons to hold animals in captivity. Some were used primarily for food,

entertainment, or to study the animals in a close environment. Animals being held in captivity

was first recorded in the 1800s (Phillips 2015). But, even back then the initial use was to study

the wild animals and as time went on, they became more of a use for entertainment for the

public. The debate has always been around on if they were a good idea but when the modern zoo
was more common it was beginning to be apparent that the human race did not know enough

about the animals to keep them alive for a normal life span.

Animals kept in captivity tend to live lower life spans than in the wild and there are many

reasons why. One of the main reasons why they die early is due to their depressed state. Wild

Animals are used to an enormous amount of room to roam and do as they please. But in a zoo or

an aquarium they do not have that capability. Which will lead them to lay around, “Many

animals held in captivity begin to form abnormal symptoms referred to as zoochosis.” (User).

Walking around a zoo it is noticed that animals will be biting the bars, circling, rolling, rocking,

licking, cleaning themselves, and other behaviors that would not usually be seen in the wild.

These behaviors are signs of “zoochosis” and often lead to an animal’s life ending sooner than

expected because they do not live a normal active life as they would in the wild (“scientific

Scribbles” 2013).

(“Zoos May Actually Hurt Conversation” 2016)

 Animals also often die in zoos due to accidents made by the visitors and staff. Taking

care of a zoo takes an excessive amount of attention to detail. In 2014, at the Como Park Zoo in

St. Paul, Minnesota, a baby gorilla was born and not even a week later the gorilla died. The baby

did not die because of medical conditions or anything of that sort but because of mistakes made

by the zoologists, “… they didn't intervene when they lost track of how much the baby was being

fed.” (Ossola 2014). Zookeepers have many duties to follow up on and constantly observing the

animal’s behaviors and making sure nothing unusual is going on is a main one. When the zoo

itself is low on staff it is a recipe for disaster. It allows there to be more errors to the animals

feeding schedule, medicine intake, and other needed care for the animals. Another tribute to

accidents is the visitors themselves. Often zoos or aquariums are setup in ways that the people

can drop things into the cages or tanks. In doing so, whether it is on purpose or not, can lead to

the animals hurting themselves by playing with or even eating the objects being dropped.

Animals are often brought into captivity for being injured or to breed. Breeding animals

in captivity can have negative effects on them though. Introducing a captive bred animal to the

wild can be very dangerous. These animals do not have the instinct that animals born in the wild

have, “Captive-bred animals that are reintroduced to the wild will mate with other previously

captive-bred animals, thereby reducing the integration of their genetic material into the wild

population.” (Lansdowne 2015). By releasing an animal that was bred in captivity to the wild it

will lower that animals’ chance of survival. That animal will not know how to hunt because it

will be used to having the food just given to them. Captive breeding has been going on for

generations, so they do not know how to reproduce, defend themselves or their territory and not

only can they not hunt but they would not know how to retrieve water (Lansdowne 2015).
Breeding in a zoo or aquarium does not just lower their chances in the wild but it also creates

issues inside as well.

Breeding in captivity creates issues with the zoos and aquariums becoming

overpopulated. This issue also can relate back to animals dying at an earlier age. Because zoos

are already shortening the lifespan of animals because of the size of their cages be extremely

small, putting multiple animals makes the space even smaller. Also, overpopulated cages can

lead to animals getting physically sick which is not good for the animal’s health. Wild animals

need to be outside of the cages and should be free in the wild. When animals are in their natural

habitat, whether it is in the water or on land, they act as they please. Being held in captivity does

not give them that chance because of a smaller space and they are sharing that small space which

limits the animal’s movements even more so.

Zoos and aquariums have been hot spots for entertainment for years now and there is an

issue with that to many people. People claim that they go to the exhibits to learn but they only

stay at most a few minutes at each exhibit, which does not allow any learning to take place (Zoos

2003). The zoos usually have very little information displayed about the animal’s wild behaviors

or important facts about the species, “signs often provide little more information than an

animal’s species, diet, and natural range” (Zoos 2003). Also, while animals are held in a small

space their behaviors change and their everyday life is not what it would be in the wild. In the

wild animals would be hunting, running from predators, caring for their young and many more

actions that do not take place in a smaller space. Having animals held in captivity puts stress on

them and goes back to them being depressed and showing signs of “zoochosis”.

To get into a zoo or an aquarium, the people have to pay a good amount of money. That

money should be going to the animals to provide better care for them; but that does not seem to
always be the case. In fact, they often put the money towards more attractions with the animals.

The zoos will always want to keep their visitors entertained but this can cost the animals their

health. These new exhibits never allow the animals to rest, “setting up expensive exhibits to

encourage animals to be active and not sleep all the live long day and paying for the older

animal’s health costs while not being able to afford housing new ones.” (Kantamneni 2015).

They also will put their income to letting the workers having a higher salary than usual. Some

zoos have even gone under investigation because of where the money they make is placed and

being used for. Places that keep animals in captivity can always use money to improve their

spaces. By even just adding a simple swing or some sort of entertainment for the animal’s use

could improve an animal’s activeness and then that could lead to improving their health

conditions.

It was brought up earlier that animals kept in captivity have the likelihood to die at a

younger age than they would in the wild. This is due to many reasons, one being that they are in

a smaller space and tend to hurt themselves out of boredom or just not having enough room (Ian

Sample 2008). Zoos and aquariums instead of using their profit to improve living conditions they

spend it elsewhere. Which leads to animals living in pain and suffering with their injuries due to

their living conditions (Ian Sample 2008). Animals become ill and hurt for many reasons but no

matter the cause, the animal’s caretakers should be watching them closely enough to treat and fix

the problems they have. Instead of doing so though, the profits being made are just going

towards more entertainment for the visitors which leads to more negative outcomes and effects

on the animals being held captive.

Every type of species held in captivity suffer no matter the size or breed. One animal

though that is known to always have many problems in captivity are elephants. Elephants are
huge animals and can weigh up to seven tons (“Africa Elephant” 2020). They are very

intelligent animals and have basic needs, but no zoo or even circus can give the care that they

need. Elephants in the wild always travel and live in large packs, “Elephants in the wild live in

large family units- sometimes with as many as 100 members- and have constant

companionship.” (User). When these animals are held in captivity there are only a few in an area

or sometimes the elephants are all alone. Elephants are very dependent on companionship so

when they are taken out of the wild and put all alone it puts them into a depressed state.

Elephants in the wild can live up to be 70 years old but in zoos or circuses they barely can

usually make it to the age of 40 (User). This is not just do to being alone but also because of how

inactive they are in captivity. Elephants are not the only animals in captivity that are affected by

the conditions.

Marine animals also are held in captivity and suffer a great deal as well. Marine life is use

to being able to swim miles. So, being put in a tank has multiple negative effects on them as

well. One of the most famous marine animals to see are orcas, also known as the killer whale. A

well-known orca that was captured at the age of just two is Tilikum. Tilikum was held at

SeaWorld when it dragged an employee down to the bottom of his tank and killed that worker

(Cronin 2015). In aquariums, they will use the animals to put on shows to entertain the visitors.

During these shows’ dolphins, orcas, and other animals will perform tricks and to make the

animals do this, they will starve the animals and only give them food when they perform the way

the workers want them to.

A sign that orcas are not doing well is that their dorsal fin, the fin on the top of the

animal, will bend over. Sometimes this can be a sign that the animal’s life is soon to end. But at

places like SeaWorld or SeaLand they lie to their visitors and explain that it is natural thing to
happen, when it is in fact due to the poor living conditions (Cronin 2015). Tilikum did not just

injure one worker he actually has had several encounters with workers and even some other

orcas and he is not the only animal in captivity to do so. Animals can get frustrated and angry

being held because it is not natural. Wild animals are not just used to having open space, but they

are used to getting aggressive and hunting. When they are being held captive, especially when

they are taken from the wild, these instincts do not just disappear. So, zoo and aquariums are not

just endangering the animals, but they are also endangering the visitors at times. Wild animals

are indeed wild, no human being can predict the actions of the animals kept in captivity. People

cannot even predict the actions of animals in their natural habitat. Some of the captivity centers

allows their visitors to swim or pet the wildlife and that has created issues and comprised

people’s safety.

Not everyone is against holding animals’ captive. Some people think that zoos and

aquariums have more positives than negatives. Or people will claim the positives out way all the

negatives. Which in certain cases can be true but not all positives are worth letting these animals

suffer. Some examples of why people are for zoos are, healing animals, reproduction, education,

and saving animals from endangerment.

One reason some are supportive of zoos is because they will rescue species from being

extinct by capturing them and breeding more in captivity. Zoos and aquariums protect the

animals while they are in captivity then release them into the wild so they can still continue to

exist not only in zoos but also in their natural habitats. Many believe that without the

contribution of zoos and them breeding endangered species that certain species would not still be

on earth today.
 Helping endangered animals reproduce then sending them back into the wild seems like

an amazing idea. But releasing an animal that was born and practically raised in captivity has

some error to it. Even in the top zoos around the world there are still problems created by them

that affects the captive animal. Being raised in a captive world they lack the natural instincts they

need for the wild. Animals raised in captivity or rescued and healed in captivity often get

attached and feel the need to be around human care which can make life in the unsustainable.

The orca from Free Willy, was a real-life orca that people attempted to release back into the

ocean. The scientist on the project had been tracking a pod of orcas so the orca would not be

alone because since Willy, the orca, was captured a young age it did not know how to track and

find a pod (Cormier 2018). After releasing him he had ended up back into a harbor in Norway

and eventually ended up passing away.

Another reason people argue that zoos are beneficial is for research and education. The

animals that are in zoos are usual ones that you do not see on an everyday basis. Especially

people who live in busy cities, the only animals they would really see are birds, cats, or dogs. So,

zoos and aquariums allow people from any type of community to see these wild animals and

observe their behavior. Also, it allows for people to observe them up close. They can see and feel

the animal in person. Now, it might be said that people can watch documentaries on these

animals or go to museums and see fake ones. But seeing them fake and seeing them in person are

not the same thing. Letting a person actually see and feel the animal can bring more education to

the person learning.

Education is an important aspect in everyone’s life no matter what age you are. Wild

animals are unique in many ways and even scientists are still learning new facts about them. But

learning at a zoo is not the correct way to do so. Observing animals in zoos, a person is looking
at animals who have adapted to their new environment. In the wild they are not going to pace,

walk in circles, continuously lay around and lick their paws. In the wild they would be hunting,

playing, running, and more so observing and learning from zoos is not giving and person

learning a correct education.

Scientists are still learning new facts about every species every single day. Holding them

in captivity lets them observe their behaviors and instincts. Some places even perform tests on

animals while holding them captive. Zoos and aquariums will hold endangered animals’ captive

so they can also improve their natural habitat or even move them to a new area after researching

them and seeing what type of ecosystem they need (Hone 2014). Also watching animals can

help manage their populations in the wild and can let scientists move around animals to help the

wild animals not only be in one certain spot. Which this can improve their rates of survival.

Zoos do not only need animals, but they also need workers, which can be seen as a

benefit. Some zoos employ over eight thousand people (Thomas 2011). Bigger cities also will

use zoos as entertainment for tourists (LG). Zoos and aquariums can make over $884.2 million

(Thomas 2011). This money can be put towards road work and other economic work. To use

animals to pay for cities needs is not humane. There are other ways for cities to pay for their

roadwork and other needs.

Zoos and aquariums can be very beneficial, but it is hard to know which zoo has the

animals’ best interest and which ones are just in it for the money. Well, one way to know if it is a

safe zoo is if it involved with the AZA, The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, this is a non-

profit organization that carefully look over their zoos and continue to improve the conditions as

often as possible (About AZA). AZA has been around since 1971 and they made a set of rules

and requirements that help the animals are in the best places. They evaluate zoos and aquariums
to make sure all regulations are being followed and the animals are not in any type of harm.

Organizations like this one help improve the quality and safety of zoos and are great ways to

ensure safety. But it is still not a solution because not all zoos and aquariums have a non-profit

like AZA.

People think that zoos and aquariums are the only answers to many issues there are with

animal extinction, recovery, and learning. That is not the case though, there is nothing ethical by

locking up a wild animal to answer questions people may be asking when there are others ways

of getting the answers. There are other ways to help save animals from extinction and to help

them heal when they are wounded and unable to take care of themselves. For instance, instead of

zoos and aquariums there should simply just be sanctuaries. These would allow the animals to

get better much like a human would in a hospital. They should not be used for public entrainment

or allowed to be open to the public eye at all. Opening these animals to the public can be

dangerous on both ends. If the sanctuaries just focus on healing the animals, then their return to

the wild would be quicker and be more focused on.

Sanctuaries could also help with reproduction of endangered species. But instead of them

being held in cages and in close quarters they would be able to be released into the wild and their

natural environment and raised there. Sanctuaries have been already made but they are not very

popular. People still would rather place an animal in a zoo rather than a sanctuary. The difference

between the two would be that zoos are not only about the animals healing processes and safety

but also for entertainment to the public. The educational benefit of zoos can be found elsewhere

for example, a safari. Sanctuaries are more beneficial for all species of animals and should be

more popular around the world because the focus of healing the animals and caring for them is

the priority, not entertainment.

 The debate on if zoos and aquariums should be allowed has been going on for many

years. There are negatives and positives to having them and should be carefully considered when

choosing a side. Zoos and aquariums remove large, wild animals from their natural habitat. A

habitat that allows them miles of range to do what they want and need to do. Removing them

from that space can lead them to harm themselves or other animals and even sometimes they can

hurt the visitors they are supposed to be entertaining. Trying to research and learn from a captive

animal can be hard as well because their behaviors change when they are held due to the smaller

space. Animals have always been a part of the earth and their role to the environment is crucial.

There are many other answers when it comes to the question on how the human race can help

endangered species and help hurt animals who cannot take care of themselves. Taking an animal

out of their natural habitat is unethical and should not be allowed.

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