Copy of Sample Essay Effects on Animals From Living in Zoos
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ENGLISH 3U
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Psychology
Date
Dec 18, 2024
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Effects On Animals From Living In ZoosAnimals in zoos are frequently viewed as a source of entertainment. Children andadults have the opportunity to safely see these majestic creatures within enclosed walls.However, many people overlook the conditions these animals are forced to live in. 75%of zoos around the world mistreat their animals (Marco, 2019). The zoo’s inhabitants areoften haunted for the entirety of their life; Living separated from their families, forcefullyintoxicated, abused and at times killed. Even though zoos may keep animals protectedfrom threats in their natural habitats, the environment that they provide for theirinhabitants can be more detrimental to them than beneficial. Zoos upset the mentalhealth, behavior, and physical wellbeing of their imprisoned animals, and are therefore abad place for them to live in.The mental health issues that produce psychological damage, resulting in theusage of drugs and other medication, is a huge reason why zoos are such a bad placeto live in. One recurring behavior that many zoo residents suffer from is zoochosis.According toWorld Atlas, zoochosis can be witnessed if an animal is seen circling,pacing, bar biting, excessively grooming or other agitated movements (Sawe, 2017). Tocontinue, 75% of primates held in captivity die within the first 20 months; many timesthis is due to depression and psychological problems (Leviathan Project). When animalsbecome and are noticed to be mentally unstable, many zoos will heavily medicate themwith antipsychotic drugs like Haldol, antidepressants and antianxiety medicationsincluding Zoloft and Prozac (Leviathan Project). In 1998, a gorilla residing in FranklinPark Zoo, Boston, named Kitombe or “Kit”, had suddenly developed a violent naturethat was harming the fellow members of his troop. The zoo invited a psychiatrist andassistant professor from Harvard Medical School, Michael Mufson, who prescribed Kitwith Prozac and increased dosages of the antipsychotic Haldol. This resulted in himexperiencing diarrhea and slower motor movements, however, it did not tame his
2aggressive behaviour. Eventually, they resorted to Zoloft and Risperidone, which werealso ineffective. As their attempts failed, they decided that keeping Kit in the zoo wasnot ideal, so they removed himfrom his troop (Braitman, 2014). Being placed in solitaryconfinement disturbed Kit’s mental health, as it does to many social or herd creatures that areseparated and kept solitary. Heavy doses of antidepressant and antianxiety medication to treatthem can cause behavioral changes and death (Tynes, 2014). Herd animals kept separately cancause them depression, and their reaction to medication is not always positive. With zoosprescribing drugs and other medication to mentally unstable creatures, it creates a depressingatmosphere for their inhabitants.Animals that have resided in a zoo still carry it’s influence once they are released to theirnatural habitats. The animal inhabitants of zoos, especially large carnivores, tend to lose theirnatural skills and abilities within the zoo, as they are not able to act upon their instincts, whichlater affects them in the wild. Being sheltered from threats, in addition to the limitations of thezoo, prevents the creatures from learning to defend or hunt for themselves as they would in thewild. Also, living in zoos can result in animals developing trust in humans. While this allowsscientists and caretakers with an easier method of taking care and learning from animals, it harmsthem once they are released in the wild. It is easier for a poacher to shoot a creature that has nofear of them, or a lack of insight that a threat is near. Some animals, especially elephants, mighteven try to come near them. “We try to be hands-off as much as possible. We try not to let themget attached to us, because we need them to learn not to trust people.” (Sanchez, BBC earth).Due to the human attachment that Keiko, the orca star in the movie ‘Free Willy’ (1993) hadbecome accustomed to, his remaining life in Iceland had been difficult and lonely. It was statedthat, “Captured at a very young age and too accustomed to human contact, several attempts tohelp him join a wild pod failed. In the end, Keiko swam into a harbor in Norway, activelyseeking the company of humans. He never managed to integrate with a wild population,struggled to hunt, and eventually died of pneumonia in 2002”(Cormier, BBC earth). For some
3animals, contact with humans can cause them to not give as much attention to their children. Inthe wild, this type of behavior would leave the young vulnerable to threats and increase theirchances of being killed. According toNational Geographic, only 33% of large carnivores thatwere bred in zoos survive once released in the wild (Owen, 2008). Being released from captivitydoes not always ensure that they will make it out unaffected, and would survive without theirunattained survival skills and threat recognition. Consequently, animal survival decreases afterbeing released in the wild, as they are influenced by the zoo: being familiar with the humans andlosing their natural skillsets/abilities to survive. Some even bear the marks of physical abuse.Although the vast majority of animals in zoos appear uninjured, many are abused orphysically suffering due to humans or their residential accommodations provided by the zoo.Many zoos are not sanitary and clean, which leads to animals contracting life changinginfections. MarineLand is a predominant example of an unsanitary zoo. The underwatermammals have contracted "eye infections" due to contaminated water and "their skin fell off inchunks" due to the murky and chemicalized marine environments (Good, 2014) . Aside fromtheir unsanitary habitats, a myriad of the animals are enclosed in small and cramped livingspaces. One example is Gus, a polar bear who lives in Central Park Zoo, New York City. Guslived in a 5,000-square-foot enclosure, less than 0.00009% of what his Arctic home would be(Braitman, 2014). An even more shocking habitat is that of Kiska, the orca in MarineLand. AsperCBCNews, the whale would sometimes be seen bleeding from scratching herself on thesides of her small tank (Scott-Reid, 2017). In addition to the replicated environments theyinhabitat, many are treated unfairly directly from humans. Many places beat their animals orabuse them as a threat, to make sure that when visitors come they are kept entertained. Even at ayoung age, animals are victims. When zoos take chimpanzees from the wild, they tend to onlytake babies. They witness their mothers being shot to death, and have to live with that trauma forthe rest of their lives. Many of the baby chimpanzees are hurt and wounded while they arecaptured and some even die before they reach the market (Rosenberger, 2019). Animals are
4scared in many ways, both physically and mentally. Creating these traumas in a creature canterribly affect them and result in an unhealthy living environment. As a result, not all zoos aresafe, clean or sanitary, not all factors in an animal's habitat/environment/needs are provided, andnot all animals are treated properly.Posing more threat than savior, zoos cause animals great harm and are terrible places forthem. Animals become depressed due to separation from their natural environments, whilezookeepers force them on drugs. Some zoos operate by releasing their animals in their naturalhabitats, but their experiences from living in the zoo can lower their chances of survival.Conditions in zoos have an increased rate of catching disease, lack of proper nutrition and anunbelievable decrease in space compared to their natural habitats. Although over time zoos canbecome better, allowing animals to live in the wild without confining them to zoos is the besthelp we can offer.
5Work CitedBraitman, Laurel. “Even the Gorillas and Bears in Our Zoos Are Hooked on Prozac”.Wired.Wired, July 15 2014 internet. 20 May 2021.Cormier, Zoe. “Can captive animals ever truly return to the wild?.” BBC.Dasgupta, Shreya. “Many animals can become mentally ill.” BBC. 9 September 2015. Internet.19 May 2021.Ford, Alex. “Antidepressants are changing animals’ behaviour – and we’re using technology tofind out how”.University of Portsmouth.University of Portsmouth, 9 August 2018internet. 20 May 2021.Freudenheim, Betty. “Diet Is a Growing Concern at the Zoo.” The New York Times 21 August1988. Section 1 Page 30.Good, Kate. “EXPOSED! Marineland Canada, a Living Nightmare for Whales and Dolphins”.One Green Planet.One Green Planet, 2014 internet. 20 May 2021.Horton, Jennifer. “Are zoos good or bad for animals?”.Howstuffworks.Howstuffworks, 12 May2021. Internet. 19 May 2021.Lartaud, Derek. “Are Zoos Good or Bad for Animals?”.KQED.PBS, 1 October 2019. Internet.19 May 2021.Liu, Boye, Li, Li, Lloyd, Huw et al. “Comparing post-release survival and habitat use bycaptive-bred Cabot’s Tragopan (Tragopan caboti) in an experimental test of soft-releasereintroduction strategies”.Avian Research.Avian Research, 25 October 2016 internet. 20May 2021.“Mental Health of the Animals”.Leviathan Project.Leviathan Project, Internet. 20 May 2021.Margaritoff, Marco. “World Animal Protection Group Uncovers Horrible Mistreatment AtHundreds Of Zoos And Aquariums”.Ati. Ati, 16 August 2019 internet. 20 May 2021.
6Maskara, Shreya. “Do wild animals benefit from human interaction?”.QRIUS.QRIUS, 24 July2018. Internet. 19 May 2021.“Mental Health of the Animals”.Leviathan Project.Leviathan Project, Internet. 20 May 2021.Owen, James. “Most Captive-Born Predators Die If Released.” National Geographic. 23 January2008.Rosenberger, Zoe.”Zoos Cause Animals Far More Harm Than Good”.Sentient Media.SentientMedia, 9 June 2019 internet. 20 May 2021.Sawe, Benjamin Elisha . “What Is Zoochosis”.WorldAtlas.WorldAtlas, 1 August 2017 internet.20 May 2021.Scott-Reid, Jessica. “The court case against Marineland might be over, but we can still considerthis saga a 'win'.” CBC. 16 August 2017.Tynes, Valarie V. “Psychotropic Drug Use in Captive Wild Animals”.AAZV Conference.AAZVConference, 2014 internet. 20 May 2021.