Advantages And Disadvantages Of Captive Breeding

Many animals facing extinction are put through breeding programs. These programs, otherwise know as captive breeding is the process of breeding in which animals from outside their habitats are bred in restricted and controlled habitats such as farms, zoos, wild life sanctuaries or other enclosed facilities. Animals that are facing extinction are the ones that are bred in such a manner to make sure the species does not go extinct. However, animals are also bred in captivity to produce animals for commercial purposes such as for the domestic pet industry, for medical research and other human activities. These animals are used for research institutions and are also placed in zoos as well aquariums. In breeding centers, captive breeding is not

A big problem that arises with captive breeding programs is the high number of animals in captivity. Most centers where captive breeding takes place don’t have the resources or the space to support a larger breeding program. Also captive breeding programs have a high cost to support and properly care for each animal so they consist of few animals that can’t sustain a proper breeding population. Another major disadvantage of captive breeding programs depends on the behavior of the animals that are placed under these breeding programs. People who are in charge of these centers as well at the employees who work as care takers try their best to recreate the natural habitats of these animals but sadly that cannot be accomplished completely, so due to this change in environment, the behavior of the animals also change and it has proven to be difficult to overcome these changes. Some of the major changes in behavior are a decrease in the ability to know how to avoid predators, an increase in sleeping patterns, decrease in overall activity, and some problems in social behaviors as well as the self efficiency of the animal as they would lose the ability to hunt because in many captive breeding centers, the animals are provided with food and have no need to hunt. Some captive species even have problems in reproduction such as the endangered rhino populations for

Many captive breeding centers put animals in small enclosures and take complete control over their lives. These animals lose all freedom that they would have had if they were still in the wild and in their own natural habitats. This has a negative impact on these animal as being in a controlled environment and not being able to roam freely causes animals unwanted stress and sometimes can even lead to depression. Furthermore, ‘ A 2015 study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology concluded that unless animals in the wild are protected, captive breeding won’t make a