An issue that has sparked debate in recent years is the care of wild animals in captivity. Peoples main concerns align with the belief that wild animals belong in their natural habitat not confined to cages. To ease civil unrest, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) was created to hold Zoos accountable for the care of their animals by requiring them to develop enrichment programs to simulate the natural environment of animals that cannot be released back into the wild. Although polices have been put in place to protect the welfare of captive animals there is evidence that proves that the social and biological behaviors of wild animals are altered due to captivity.
In a study conducted by a group of post graduate students at The Autonomous …show more content…
The arguments that encourage the placement of wild animals in captivity don’t necessarily talk about behavior. Their defense centers around how zoos and other places that house captive animals are important places to teach the public about wildlife conservation and rehabilitating animals to release back into the wild (Lin 2017). They believe that as long as these places follow AZA regulations that call for enrichment programs and maintenance techniques that closely mimics how should be in the wild (Lin 2017). However, this solution does not negate the fact that captivity alters the social and biological behaviors of wild animals. In a study conducted by M Elsbeth McPhee; a conservation biologist, researchers were looking at the long term effects that captivity had on a whole species (Mcphee 2004). They removed groups of wild rats from the national Ocala forest. One group was 35 generations removed from the wild, another 14 generations removed, and the last group was 2 generations removed (Mcphee 2004). They discovered that there was a gradual loss of behaviors across generations. They lost certain reproductive behaviors, also when captive animals were reintroduced to the wild they often died due to behavioral deficiencies (Mcphee
In a study conducted by a group of post graduate students at The Autonomous …show more content…
The arguments that encourage the placement of wild animals in captivity don’t necessarily talk about behavior. Their defense centers around how zoos and other places that house captive animals are important places to teach the public about wildlife conservation and rehabilitating animals to release back into the wild (Lin 2017). They believe that as long as these places follow AZA regulations that call for enrichment programs and maintenance techniques that closely mimics how should be in the wild (Lin 2017). However, this solution does not negate the fact that captivity alters the social and biological behaviors of wild animals. In a study conducted by M Elsbeth McPhee; a conservation biologist, researchers were looking at the long term effects that captivity had on a whole species (Mcphee 2004). They removed groups of wild rats from the national Ocala forest. One group was 35 generations removed from the wild, another 14 generations removed, and the last group was 2 generations removed (Mcphee 2004). They discovered that there was a gradual loss of behaviors across generations. They lost certain reproductive behaviors, also when captive animals were reintroduced to the wild they often died due to behavioral deficiencies (Mcphee