Kept In Zoos

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit association made to save wildlife, reported, “There are approximately 800,000 animals in the care of AZA-accredited zoo and aquarium professionals.” Zoos are organizations that work to protect wildlife, learn knowledge, and serve their community. Animals that are not living in zoos live in the wild which means no captivity. Animals should be kept in zoos because of entertainment, health, and research purposes.

It can be argued that animals should not be kept in zoos for entertainment. Rachel Foodman, an author, stated to Teen Ink., “Animals are not just brought to the zoo to protect their species, but also to provide entertainment. Many animals’ lives will include performing for visitors. Four

KQED also explained,“In a study done on 40 chimpanzees in six different zoos, all of the chimps exhibited behavior their counterparts in nature did not. Some of these behaviors included rocking back and forth, tearing out their hair, self-mutilation, and the drinking of their urine. This behavior is not seen in their wild counterparts suggesting that being in the zoo is causing these chimps to develop mental illness due to stress..” In contrast, zoos do help animals health. Vittana pointed out, “Many zoos have what is referred to as a “treatment room.” This is a place where any animal can be brought in for an examination so that its good health can be maintained. Veterinarians are no longer working on their own in these facilities either. Treatment teams include pathologists, technicians, zookeepers, and other specialists who can create and maintain virtually any care plan. Screenings, quarantine procedures, parasite removal, and other common treatments are part of the standard care process now as well.” This data suggests that animals at zoos are very well monitored, because of this zoos do help animals health. If something seems wrong with an animal they have a very prepared team to give them a “well check”. Animals in the wild do not have this opportunity, so if one of the animals come down with a common virus that could easily be treated with medical care would most likely die if its body

KQED expressed, “Due in part to unnatural enclosures, animals in zoos are under stress. Animals are often bored and, as a result, some become aggressive and can lash out at other animals or zookeepers.” However, zoos can be a helpful place to research animals. KQED mentioned, “Zoos can also be beneficial for scientific research. Studies are sometimes better able to be completed in zoos because of the controlled environment of a zoo.” This fact proves that with a controlled environment people can study the animals without risking any cause of harm, from capture or just scaring the animals in the wild, because of this zoos really help research. In the zoo animals are frequently around new people so they will not get nervous being around scientists which is more necessary for research. Studies have also shown that research is easier to finish with animals in zoos. Vittana reported, “The modern zoo plays a critical role in education children and families about the different animals with whom we share this planet. Staff from a zoo will travel to local schools to make presentations, offer special programs on the zoo grounds, and partner with community providers to extend educational opportunities to everyone. No matter what a person’s socioeconomic status may be, there is a chance to learn something new because of the work of a zoo.” This statistic indicates that zoos are very important not just to almost extinct