Is Keeping Animals in Zoos Cruel

310 Words2 Pages
Is keeping animals in zoos cruel? Background: zoos, endangered animals, roaming around their habitat Disagree: safe, enough food, protected poachers, Agree: natural habitat, no socializing Nowadays, in zoos all over the world, zookeepers are trying to protect endangered animals, by keeping them in captivity. The question is by doing so, do they really protect the animals or are they harming them. Some people claim that keeping animals in the zoo is not cruel as animals can get plenty to eat without having to worry about scarcity of food. Some people argue that keeping animals in zoos is cruel as animals are kept away from their natural habitat and there would be no chance for animals to socialize with each other. Before we come to a conclusion perhaps we can examine what cruelty means. In Wikipedia, ‘cruelty to animals is the human infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense or survival.’ Keeping animals in the zoo may not be ideal, but that does not mean that zookeepers in zoos are treating animal cruelly. For example, many zoos try to provide animals with an environment that is closest to their natural habitat. Zookeepers give the animals their food, while vets will provide the animals preventive medicine, quarantine and many more. Furthermore, many zoos share the mission of educating the public, protecting endangered species and breeding them. However, there are some zoos that might be purely profit-driven. The zookeepers treat the animals very cruelly, by hitting the animals if they misbehave, by keeping them in small cages and forcing them to perform in front of the audience. Animals in zoos feel that no habitat can beat their natural habitat. More animals would like to be kept in the wild, so we can use advanced technology, to build virtual zoos. Sounds great isn’t

More about Is Keeping Animals in Zoos Cruel

Open Document