On the other hand, it is not difficult to bring to mind examples of species for whom benefits from captivity are negligible, or completely pale in comparison to the harms that confinement brings for them. The film Blackfish (Oteyza et al. 2013), for instance, clearly shows how problematic it is to keep orcas in captivity. Orcas, as well as other cetaceans, are incredibly intelligent animals, with complex social relationships, and a need for immense space. Being confined in tanks means that they are almost guaranteed to suffer boredom and listlessness, and given the complex nature of orca social structures, keeping them in confinement severely restricts their ability to properly organise themselves in social groups and maintain their family
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For example, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association commissioned a literature review that investigated the efficacy of zoos and aquariums in terms of education which concluded that “little to no systematic research has been conducted on the impacts of visits to zoos and aquariums on visitor conservation knowledge, awareness, affect, or behaviour”. While the findings that are available have shown that zoo-goers hold the prejudices against animals that are consistent with the general public (Jamieson 2006: 135). Furthermore, research (Ludwig 1981) found that the average zoo-goer only really pauses to view baby animals, or those who capture their attention with a striking behaviour. Moreover, it was reported that the most commonly used words to describe animals being viewed were those such as “cute”, “dirty”, and “weird”, not utterances that spring to mind when one thinks about education and understanding. Consequently, we can reject the claims that zoos offer worthwhile benefits in relation to education that justify animal confinement, given that there is no real evidence in support of this claim, while there is evidence that suggests that zoos and aquariums do not succeed in significantly educating people. Weakening the justification further is the fact that alternatives to confinement exist, such as documentaries and books, that have great potential to educate …show more content…
Notwithstanding the fact that only half of these animals were actually endangered species (Jamieson 2006: 139). Taking into account this low success rate, the likelihood that many of those animals that did not survive the reintroduction process suffered immensely before death, and the fact that life in the wild is often brutal (Tomasik 2015), those who use that use breeding programs as an argument in favour of keeping animals in zoos and aquariums need to provide convincing evidence before we should start to seriously entertain the idea that the negatives of captivity could be outweighed by such programs. There is, however, a deeper problem in the assumption that bring animals into existence is a good thing. Apart from benefiting humans in terms of amusement, aesthetics, or economics, it is not clear that keeping a species in existence offers overwhelmingly positive consequences. In fact, some philosophers (Benatar 2006) have argued that coming into existence is always a harm for the individual who is made to exist. That is, if sentience is a pre-requisite for suffering, it can be argued that sentient entities would be better off if they were never brought into existence. Not existing
For example, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association commissioned a literature review that investigated the efficacy of zoos and aquariums in terms of education which concluded that “little to no systematic research has been conducted on the impacts of visits to zoos and aquariums on visitor conservation knowledge, awareness, affect, or behaviour”. While the findings that are available have shown that zoo-goers hold the prejudices against animals that are consistent with the general public (Jamieson 2006: 135). Furthermore, research (Ludwig 1981) found that the average zoo-goer only really pauses to view baby animals, or those who capture their attention with a striking behaviour. Moreover, it was reported that the most commonly used words to describe animals being viewed were those such as “cute”, “dirty”, and “weird”, not utterances that spring to mind when one thinks about education and understanding. Consequently, we can reject the claims that zoos offer worthwhile benefits in relation to education that justify animal confinement, given that there is no real evidence in support of this claim, while there is evidence that suggests that zoos and aquariums do not succeed in significantly educating people. Weakening the justification further is the fact that alternatives to confinement exist, such as documentaries and books, that have great potential to educate …show more content…
Notwithstanding the fact that only half of these animals were actually endangered species (Jamieson 2006: 139). Taking into account this low success rate, the likelihood that many of those animals that did not survive the reintroduction process suffered immensely before death, and the fact that life in the wild is often brutal (Tomasik 2015), those who use that use breeding programs as an argument in favour of keeping animals in zoos and aquariums need to provide convincing evidence before we should start to seriously entertain the idea that the negatives of captivity could be outweighed by such programs. There is, however, a deeper problem in the assumption that bring animals into existence is a good thing. Apart from benefiting humans in terms of amusement, aesthetics, or economics, it is not clear that keeping a species in existence offers overwhelmingly positive consequences. In fact, some philosophers (Benatar 2006) have argued that coming into existence is always a harm for the individual who is made to exist. That is, if sentience is a pre-requisite for suffering, it can be argued that sentient entities would be better off if they were never brought into existence. Not existing