Animal Captivity

Ever since the creation of this first “zoo”, people have kept animals is captivity for many uses. Today, animals are kept captive through: circuses, zoos, marine parks, pseudo-sanctuaries, etc. Animals can be kept captive for entertainment, research, rehabilitation, and even companionship. Animal captivity can be an argumental subject for some people. There are many reasons why or why not animals should be kept in captivity. Some people believe all animals should have rights and are better off in the wild than behind bars. Others believe that these captive animals provide valid scientific research and are being helped more than harmed.

The first known “zoo” was believed to be created in Egypt around 3500 B.C. Excavators found the buried remains

Children learn about these animals and see pictures of them in books and on the internet. When a child goes to a zoo they get to actually see these animals first hand. Not only children, but everyone can gain more knowledge about these animals by going to the zoo. There are plaques placed before each of the animals that give information about where they are found, what they eat, and the variety of the species, etc. When someone goes to the zoo and reads about an endangered species, it raises awareness for that animal. The more people know about these animals the more they aware they are of protecting

By capturing these animals it destroys their way of life in the wild. Because animals don’t have a voice it doesn’t mean they don’t have rights. People for animal rights argue that animals should be treated like people not property. These animals also suffer from negative psychological effects from confinement. In Africa, chimpanzees and are sold as pets or to keep as hotels to attract the visitors. Dr. Stacy Lopresti-Goodman, a psychology professor at Marymount University, claims, “As a result of being separated from their mothers and other chimpanzees at an early age, and spending years in impoverished captive conditions, some of these individuals engage in abnormal behaviors, including stereotypically scratching at their flesh and repetitively rocking back and forth.” After not being in the wild for awhile, or never at all in some cases, it begins to take a toll on these animals. Abnormal behaviors begin to form in these animals that are a result of confinement. Like humans, chimpanzees can develop CPTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). CPTSD is a result from early onset trauma. “This might occur when the victim is held captive and under the control of a perpetrator, as in the case of prisoners of war, hostage survivors, or victims of physical domestic abuse.” Individuals who have been diagnosed with CPTSD have been known to self-harm themselves as a way of