Keep animals in zoos! We don't think so. There is documented research that many animals removed from their natural habitat and kept in captivity have developed a kind of mental illness known as zoochosis.
Animals with this disease often pace back and forth, twist their necks, bob their heads up and down, turn in never-ending circles, and even tear holes in their own skin. Can you imagine being so miserable that you would want to inflict harm on yourself?
Once, when we visited a zoo, we noticed that some of the animals kept in cages were grabbing onto the bars and shaking them. If you could have looked into these animals' eyes like we did, you would have seen deep sadness. It is this sadness that continues to haunt us to this day.
It has been documented that Junior, a killer whale, was removed from his natural habitat in Iceland and placed in a tank in Niagara Falls. He died four years later, deprived of outside air, sunlight, and companionship.
Junior is not alone. There are many aquatic animals that are taken from their natural habitats and placed in water tanks in aquariums around the world. These animals are separated from their families and are forced to live in groups that are nothing like their own families. As thought that isn't enough, animals like whales and dolphins, who are accustomed to swimming up to 100 miles in one day and diving hundreds of feet, are forced to live in confined spaces. Do you think they can get this type of exercise in a water tank? We don't think so.
Wait! There's more. Aquatic animals have a special way of talking to one another and finding their prey. They use sound patterns, or echolocation. This natural process is sometimes non-existent in aquariums because of the noise level and the glass enclosures. This type of confinement is unacceptable for any animal, anywhere.
The Born Free Foundation performed a worldwide study of zoos which revealed that zoochosis is rampant in confined animals around the globe. Another study found that elephants in zoos spend 22 percent of their time engaging in abnormal behaviors, such as repeated head bobbing or biting cage bars, and bears spend about 30 percent of their time pacing, a sign of distress.
Although zoos claim that their main purpose is to help prevent animals from becoming extinct and to help educate people about animals, we think the only thing zoos do is make animals crazy!
Note from nlsstuff--
Hey guys! It's me, Natalie-- the owner of this website. I wanted to let you guys know that this is NOT an article by me. The authors are Stephanie Santana and Shauwn Lukose. They took the time making this, and I don't want to take any credit for it at all.
Also, if you have any extra reasons that we should eliminate zoos, please explain it in the comments. For example: "It's torture that the animals have to live their whole lives there! Imagine how they feel with everyone banging their grubby hands against their cages!"
Thanks!
--nlsstuff
(P.S. The next article is written by me.)
Here is my (Natalie's) essay:
Should We Have Zoos?
Should we have zoos? Zoos are supposed to help animals, but I think that they sometimes do otherwise. So many things that zoos do are wrong to me! I think that these animals we take from their worlds of freedom ought to be let go. Human entertainment is not as important as an organism's health!
First of all, animals in zoos spend 20-30+ percent of their time engaging in "abnormal behaviors." According to the article Zoochosis, the animals "bob their heads, turn in never-ending circles, pace, shake the bars of their cages, and even tear holes in their own skin." Animals are supposed to get better at zoos. If they're inflicting harm on themselves because of their distressing situation, I don't think that's very possible.
Second, it's true that endangered species can get re-populated. This is considering that Fox News traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to see the new, healthy groups of Arabian oryx. But in Tom French's book Zoo Story, African elephants are sent to reserves to re-populate, and they end up overrunning their new homes. There were too many elephants! Sometimes, re-populating isn't the best idea... When they sent big groups of elephants to zoos, it was pointed out by scientists that the elephants lived 20-40 more years in the wild than in zoos. Also, a killer whale named Junior was moved from his home in Iceland to a tank at Niagara Falls. He died four years later.
Lastly, animals may not always like their new homes. In a book I once read called The One and Only Ivan, Ivan was a gorilla who had to move to a zoo. He had been caught by humans long ago, and his family had died in the process. The gorillas he met were nothing like his family, and his home was nothing like his old home. He had been separated from his family and his memories. Even though the book wasn't a true story, it could have happened to any animal, even you.
Zoos should be changed. They should be things of the past, letting the animals out carefully and making room for reserves. Some animals who go to zoos go because they're injured. They could stay in the reserves so they don't die in the wild. Also, if they let the animals out, they'll have to do it carefully so that the animals who don't know anything about the real world will be safe from the terrors they don't know about.
If zoos are gone, humans won't get the same education and entertainment. But if we think about it, the health of a living organism is more important than everything. It's the number one rule of the world. That's why we have doctors, therapists, even dentists. Other animals don't have all that. They need our help to free them from their misery. We're the ones that started this, and now it's our job to finish it!
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