Christian Guzman

Professor Lundgren

Composition I

11/11

 

Animals in Captivity

 

Animals who live in captivity are being thrown back into the wild as if they are used to living there and it is ending up causing more harm than having them captive. If animals are to be released back into the wild, it should be a well-thought-out process that doesn’t end up harming the animal in the long run. Lots of animals who live in captivity end up getting used to that life and conforming to zoos or aquariums. Then once they’re released back into the wild they have trouble hunting food, protecting themselves, or even mating with animals of their species. And even before having these animals released back into the wild, there is still the issue of the living spaces and conditions to which these animals are confined to.

 

Waples and Stagoll argue that animals once put in captivity, “The welfare of the animal then becomes the responsibility of the caretaker, analogous to the responsibility of a parent toward his or her children” (Waples & Stagoll 1). This responsibility is the truth as capturing this animal and putting it in a zoo or aquarium makes you the supervisor over a said animal. Not taking care of this animal is ethically incorrect and wouldn’t fulfill the role gained once the animal was taken into custody. So zoos and aquariums have to take care of their animals as if they were their children. In many cases, this isn’t happening as animals in zoos are confined to small spaces whereas in the wild they would roam as freely as their hearts desired. These animals also aren’t doing what they would do in the wild i.e., hunt, roam, run away from predators, etc. As a result of this some animals “develop “zoochosis,” a condition that can cause them to sway or pace continually, chew on their own limbs until they bleed, or pull out their own fur or feathers” (Holmberg 1). Taking animals away from their natural habitats and confining them to a certain space can hurt the animal and make them unwell both mentally and physically, to the point of inflicting damage on themselves.

 

To add more to the unethicality of zoos/aquariums, zoos/aquariums are built upon the idea to entertain the people who visit, and so animals don’t have a choice to go and be the entertainment for the visitors (Holmberg 1). Sometimes animals are even forced to learn tricks to entertain guests which aren’t fair to the animals. They are “rewarded” with food or a treat, but in reality, after all the guests are gone they just go back to being miserable in their confined spaces. Having them be in their natural wild habitats is where they can be truly happy and live out their normal lives. “In Animal Rights and Human Morality, Rollin (1992) argues that the key to creating a consensus ethical ideal for the treatment of animals lies in the existence of a consensus social ethical ideal for the treatment of humans in society. Humans readily extend moral consideration to other humans, and they consequently recognize and abide by the associated responsibilities and duties” (Waples & stall 1). We wouldn’t put a human into captivity and make them put on shows for treats then send them to live in a small enclosure. It’s unethical and shouldn’t be put into practice especially since it is for the entertainment of others. Some can argue that lots of studies and research go on in zoos but why can’t those studies be taken into the wild instead of stealing an animal from their home just to study them. Another point that is brought up by Holmberg is that “Many people report that they’ve learned nothing after seeing the exhibits. And how much can anyone learn about the natural behavior of animals who are forced to live in an unnatural setting? (Holmberg 1). The question posed is very important since these animals are in a setting that they aren’t used to since it’s not their environment, and so this can cause animals to act differently from how they would if they were in their natural habitats. Then because of this, the data given off from the animals would be wrong and visitors wouldn’t be learning true things.

 

Aside from the zoos/aquariums themselves, the release back into the wild that happens in lots of zoos/aquariums is messed up as animals aren’t prepared for the wild since they settled in the zoos/aquariums their entire lives. Putting them back in the wild would quite literally be throwing them to the wolves in some cases. Not having hunted in the wild for food, animals may starve after being thrown into the wild. Some animals also aren’t as fit for running away from predators since they don’t have any predators in the zoos/aquariums, resulting in them being at a disadvantage and closer to death (Waples & Stagoll 1). So Waples and Stagoll realized that since humans are responsible for these captive animals then they have to see to their release back into the wild. Giving these animals the resources they need and monitoring them to see if they are doing well, and preparing them beforehand to be able to survive in the wild. If these animals were under the care of humans then it is only right for humans to supervise their release back into the wild. It is important that the animal is carefully reviewed before sending it back out into the wild because it needs to have all its survival skills intact as it’s thrown into a different environment from which it was used to.

 

In conclusion, it is unethical to keep animals for entertainment in zoos/aquariums as they live in poor conditions and are confined to small spaces to which they were never used to. In capturing these animals we take away their freedom and force them to do tricks to entertain others, which is not right in any shape or form. Then we send them back out into the wild once were done with them and leave them to fend for themselves without them knowing how to. So in order to release an animal back in to the wild research should be done beforehand to see if they are able to survive. The confinement of animals to zoos/aquariums can be cruel as animals were meant to roam this earth freely, and we as humans do not have the right to strip them of this freedom and use them to entertain an audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

 

“Are zoos ethical?” Junior Scholastic/Current Events, vol. 119, no. 5, 21 Nov. 2016, pp. 22+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A473845498/ITOF?u=nysl_se_sojotru&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=36fafd5c. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.

 

Waples, Kelly A., and Clifford S. Stagoll. “Ethical issues in the release of animals from captivity.” BioScience, vol. 47, no. 2, Feb. 1997, pp. 115+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A19279637/ITOF?u=nysl_se_sojotru&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3614dd3e. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.