The Pros And Cons Of Captive Breeding

and lack the sagacity required for the tough job. Supporters of captive breeding, along with zoos, proclaim that the released animals are actually acclimating well and that zoos have saved certain animals from extinction (“Captive Breeding” 69). Even though captive breeding is actually a failing system, in some cases it has worked. Native in Africa, Bongos are a threatened forest antelope that have been reintroduced back into its natural habitat with help of the AZA Bongo Species Survival Plan. Although this has worked, the plan only focuses on bongos and fails to help any other species (“Captive Breeding” 71). Conversely, giant pandas in an international rescue programme failed. Only five out of the 400 pandas born by captive breeding were released into the wild and subsequently, two of them died (Gillespie and Burgess). Considering it all, animals need to be left in proper care yet in reality are often neglected. Along with zookeepers having to learn how to teach animals skills, they rarely have enough animals to support reintroduction and the animals’ social lives. The captive breeding programs …show more content…
Animals are treated unethically in zoos around the world, especially when it comes to captive breeding programs that ultimately do not help with reintroduction into the wild. Zoos may claim that their methods are ethical and are beneficial to the environment and the species in question, but their practices end up hurting the animal in the long run. These problems in the system lead to the suffering of many animals in the pursuit of the perfect animal to release. Not only created for entertainment as they claim, zoos have been breeding animals and sending them back into the wild to die. Maybe one day, the typical scene at a zoo will be a tour showing animals in a wildlife preserve- safe, happy, and