Zoos And Cruelty of Wild Animals
When you visit the zoo to see wild animals, you are usually caught up with excitement at this rare ability to view such exotic animals and endangered species. However, animal rights activists argue that you are contributing to the suffering of animals by supporting these cruel facilities. A lifetime in captivity is similar to prisons, some say, and the animals that are held there can’t communicate their discontent. Occasionally, an animal gets fed up and strikes a zoo keeper or attempts a daring escape only to be shot down later. These are the few who tried to say “Stop,” but we simply didn’t listen.
Organizations like Animal Liberation Victoria rigorously debate zoos as positive forces of change. They argue that only 120 out of 5,926 endangered species are in breeding programs in zoos, not to mention animals like elephants and pandas are difficult to breed in captivity. Small populations may resort to inbreeding, which produces weaker offspring. The lack of survival instincts, poaching and habitat destruction threatens the survival of re-introduced wild animals anyway. Therefore, the argument that these animal exhibits promote conservation of exotic animals is a myth, ALV of Australia argues.
Another claim by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is that their programs provide an opportunity for people to see, learn and contribute to the preservation of wild animals. However, ALV members believe that keeping animals locked up is no way to create an animal exhibit! This unfair captivity even distorts the animals’ behavior and doesn’t really give humans a realistic glimpse of these animals’ true natures. Arguably, a nature documentary or a book would give people the most accurate portrayal of a wild animal’s life.
Wild animals trapped in zoos often meet cruel deaths, PETA argues, pointing to several noteworthy examples. The Virginia zoological facilities saw the deaths of 10 prairie dogs from a tunnel collapse, a rhino that drowned in her moat and a zebra who perished from a broken neck when she bolted from her pen. In St. Louis, two polar bears died after one ingested objects that had been thrown into their animal exhibit and the other was found to have two dead fetuses in her womb. Gorillas in Dallas and Siberian tigers in San Francisco were shot to death after escaping their pens. Undoubtedly, animals are suffering in the wild too; but the argument is that if we can’t take care of these animals properly in captivity, then we shouldn’t be subjecting them to this cruelty.
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