Essay On Animal Captivity

Quinlan, Chelsea
Animal Captivity is Unnecessary
There are many mixed emotions that spring to mind when the word “zoo” is brought into conversation. Many people correlate the word zoo with cute little animals in exhibits that mock the animals’ natural environment. Some of these animals may also be forced to participate in shows for the entertainment and amusement of the humans watching at the zoo; after all this is what the people paid money for. There is no other way to put it besides stating that zoos are in fact internment camps for the animals residing in them. Zoos put up a façade to make people believe the animals are happy, also forcing animals to perform is unsafe for the animals, and lastly animals are supposed to be in the wild, not in
An animal living in containment may suffer detrimental psychological issues that many people are not aware of. “… caged animals, driven by instinct to roam free, often suffer from boredom, disorientation and self-mutilation” (Brady). The animals in captivity are so bored they resort to hurting themselves and the other animals around them. Veterinarian Ken Langelier states that he has seen malnourished tigers, monkeys with their fingers bitten off and elephants biting one another or pacing nervously. Elephants are typically very docile social creatures and the fact that being in captivity makes the elephants resort to being violent sheds light on the cruelty of what is going on in the habitats. Some animals in captivity are able to live longer than they would in the wild but it’s not what nature intended. Nature intended for the animal to live in their natural environment so it comes down to quality not quantity. The animal will essentially live longer in captivity but the quality of life is not as satisfactory that a life that would be lived out in