Pros and Cons of Zoos

One of the many pros to keeping animals in captivity is breeding programs to help endangered species "Many zoos have breeding programs in place to help eliminate genetic bottlenecks, especially when dealing with an endangered species."  It is also a way to engage young children in science and to learn more about nature. However they do have a few cons such as a shorter lifep for instance, on average an orca lives a much shorter life in captivity vs. in the wild, "In captivity, the average lifep of an orca is one-third the lifep of a wild orca." Animals may also succumb to zoochosis which is the display of repetitive behavior because of being trapped unable to roam free.

This causes stress for them wishing they were able to go where their hearts desire. On the other side of this argument the pros of animals in the wild way a lot higher. There are some but few exceptions to the rule that all animals need large natural spaces to thrive and be healthy. The economic pros of wild species are tremendous such as the economical benefits shift to outdoor recreational activities. Hunting and fishing are two major sources of economic revenues generating a cash flow in the wildlife industry.

"The recreational pros to wild life is the ecotourism it attracts annually to generate larger revenue for the state funding."  Most importantly animals in the wild are a part of the ecosystem and help out a lot, " animals are an integral part of the environment and without them we ourselves would struggle to exist. Animals in the wild also help disperse seeds that grow into plants giving us oxygen. They also provide a good source of food for us if left alone and many clothing accessories that we need as well. Animals all have a special purpose in the wild. I believe the only major con of animals in the wild are those that are illegally imported. They cause threats to other wildlife and humans, they spread many diseases to us all "Zoonotic diseases  those that jump to humans  account for three quarters of all emerging infectious threats".

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This is the cause only of the animals that are imported which leads to my statement that if animals are kept unbothered in nature they will cause no harm or visible threat to us all world wide. The overall census between animals in the wild and in captivity is that they intertwine and overlap, we need to manage wildlife which in its long term approach will benefit us people for many generations to come. So if you were to ask my opinion on if animals are better off in the wild or placed in captivity my answer would be left in the wild. The reason for this is very simple in the data, animals naturally will live longer healthier lives in the wild. This in turn will help our environment and will not interrupt the food chain. Animals should not be caged because it is cruel and against nature, in zoos they are treated very badly as seen from this article "Animal cruelty in zoos continues to be extremely common. There are continuous cases of animals abused by visitors and zoo workers.

Many of them are reported every week in the media, however, the large majority are kept secret and those responsible are never held accountable or punished." Animals also contract many diseases from other zoo animals and sicken. The animals in my opinion aren't treated fairly and the ethical reasons are questionable. To put us in their shoes it would be like jail, we get fed, we sleep, and use the play ground for a certain period of time.

Then get locked into a cell overnight until someone is ready to let you out. The bottom line is that all living organisms including humans depend on other living things for survival, the main benefit wild species provide in the wild are economic, medical and scientific, aesthetic and recreational, and lastly ecological. We need to let our animals be free and only use them for research and not amusement. If we keep capturing our wildlife and messing with nature it will come back to haunt us all ecologically. There is a specific balance in nature that causes chain reactions, we need to keep everything in balance.

References

1. https://vittana.org/21-pros-and-cons-of-zoos(Animal legal defense fund, 1/15/16).
2. http://aldf.org/resources/advocating-for-animals/captive-animals-and-the-law/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Palt6Xi2gIVAySGCh1YNQ2aEAAYASAAEgIgyvD_BwE (Bobula, 3/3/17)
3. https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-of-animals-for-the-economy-environment-and-medicine (Alfano, 11/28/06)
4. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/imported-animals-pose-major-health-threat/(Netivist, 4/26/18)
5. https://netivist.org/debate/pros-and-cons-of-zoos (8/22/14 Nitin Bhamvani ) http://stingraybobs.weebly.com

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