"There were six to seven bears in concrete cubicles. Their fur was hanging off, they were begging for food, and an employee was tossing one bear cub around by the scruff of his neck." (Bob Barker). This what Bob Barker described what he witnessed, when he visited a roadside zoo in Cherokee, North Carolina. Many children, adults and families go to zoos for enjoyment, wanting to see animals do something exciting. What these people do not know is what goes on behind that glass and how the animals really feel. Zoos may seem like a happy environment, but in reality these animals are depressed because of where they are living. There are experts that say zoos are educational and are saving the animals. Others disagree and believe zoos are what is
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For example, the article “Last Chance For Animals”, states as much as the zoo keepers try to duplicate the animal's natural environment, they will never be able to properly recreate the animal’s habitat. Now the animals have to adapt to a new environment in captivity. They will now roam in an environment where food, shelter and protection from their predators is provided for them, and they will not live properly. In addition, “The Reality Of Zoos” explains elephants are used to walking up to thirty miles a day but aren’t able to walk as much when they are locked up in a cage, as a result, they develop arthritis. This is very painful and can cause stress to the animals. In zoos across America, people see elephants in their cages; not moving at lot, if at all. This is because it hurts for them to move. Lastly, Karen Peart points out, zoos are moving toward a biopark concept, where the animals are not enclosed and people observe from a distance. This is moving in the right direction because the animals live in their original environment. However, these are very rare and people usually pick zoos over bioparks. Although animals live in environments that are not good for them, there are other reasons zoos are unhealthy for these living …show more content…
For example, the article “The Reality Of Zoos” points out when the animals develop zoochosis, zookeepers will give them a mood-altering drug because the public has started to notice the animal’s depression. The zoos know how depressed the animals get, but they do not want the vistors finding out about the animals being unhappy. This happens in zoos all over the world but many people do not know about the staff’s actions. In addition, animals eat things like batteries and sweets because the public will throw things into their cages, as stated by the article “Should Animals Be Kept in Zoos?” This can be extremely unhealthy to the animals, because the zoo keepers might not notice that the animals have eaten these things. Many young children do not have the knowledge that the animals cannot eat these things, or they might drop an inedible item when looking at the animals over the edge. Furthermore, the online article “The Reality Of Zoos” reports that “animals do not get to choose their mates, they are sometimes artificially inseminated so that their babies can be sold or traded to zoos.” This is one of the reason the mothers reject their young in these zoos. When they do not get to choose their mates, the animals try to escape because they are not happy with who they are locked in with. In a zoo environment, the public and zookeepers do not treat the animals the way they
For example, the article “Last Chance For Animals”, states as much as the zoo keepers try to duplicate the animal's natural environment, they will never be able to properly recreate the animal’s habitat. Now the animals have to adapt to a new environment in captivity. They will now roam in an environment where food, shelter and protection from their predators is provided for them, and they will not live properly. In addition, “The Reality Of Zoos” explains elephants are used to walking up to thirty miles a day but aren’t able to walk as much when they are locked up in a cage, as a result, they develop arthritis. This is very painful and can cause stress to the animals. In zoos across America, people see elephants in their cages; not moving at lot, if at all. This is because it hurts for them to move. Lastly, Karen Peart points out, zoos are moving toward a biopark concept, where the animals are not enclosed and people observe from a distance. This is moving in the right direction because the animals live in their original environment. However, these are very rare and people usually pick zoos over bioparks. Although animals live in environments that are not good for them, there are other reasons zoos are unhealthy for these living …show more content…
For example, the article “The Reality Of Zoos” points out when the animals develop zoochosis, zookeepers will give them a mood-altering drug because the public has started to notice the animal’s depression. The zoos know how depressed the animals get, but they do not want the vistors finding out about the animals being unhappy. This happens in zoos all over the world but many people do not know about the staff’s actions. In addition, animals eat things like batteries and sweets because the public will throw things into their cages, as stated by the article “Should Animals Be Kept in Zoos?” This can be extremely unhealthy to the animals, because the zoo keepers might not notice that the animals have eaten these things. Many young children do not have the knowledge that the animals cannot eat these things, or they might drop an inedible item when looking at the animals over the edge. Furthermore, the online article “The Reality Of Zoos” reports that “animals do not get to choose their mates, they are sometimes artificially inseminated so that their babies can be sold or traded to zoos.” This is one of the reason the mothers reject their young in these zoos. When they do not get to choose their mates, the animals try to escape because they are not happy with who they are locked in with. In a zoo environment, the public and zookeepers do not treat the animals the way they