NO!
It is cruel to keep anyone in captivity. “Animals are very intelligent and social.” . Even though zoos try to take good care, the animals are often unhappy. Zoos can not manage to hold them in groups so they are usually “in pairs or alone.” They need to hunt their own food so they can feel like they are taking care of themselves and their families.
They need to be in their natural habitat. Keeping them in captivity means they can not roam or run around the way they would in the wild. “Polar bears might walk or swim up to a hundred miles a day.” Zoos can only manage to create a space for them that is no bigger than a school gym.
About 28% of Americans believe that we need zoos to educate us. I bet they never met a dinosaur, but they know a whole lot about them. We don’t need to personally meet animals to learn about them. Dinosaurs are extinct and we still know more about them than some living animals. Fossils help us learn. We wait for the animal to die in the wild and then we study it. If anyone is super interested in learning about animals, they can study zoology. They can take trips and visit them in their natural habitat (without hurting or disturbing them of course.) My grandfather is a biologist. He watches the National Geographics for about 90% of his day, and the other !0% is the Discovery Channel. I see people recording and photographing animals from the distance with long lenses, they can zoom in and get up close shots of them. This can help them study their behaviour or how they hunt or how they take care of their families.
About 25% of Americans believe that zoos exist “to rescue animals in need of care.” Another 26% of Americans think that we need zoos “to protect species from going extinct.” That’s a lot of Americans! Raising awareness is very important in how people form their opinions. If those 51% of Americans knew that Animal Sanctuaries do just that minus the kidnaping, breeding, buying or selling of the animals. Animal Sanctuaries release the animals back into the wild after they are well enough to take care of themselves They cure them from illnesses or accidents. They take animals that have been neglected or hurt by people and help them heal.
The wild can be a dangerous place for animals. Humans, the most dangerous animals of all, hunt them for their fur, teeth and who knows what else. Instead of building zoos, we have to raise awareness about this problem and make restrictions and make these hunters pay big fines or jail time if they are caught hunting. I guess there are a lot of laws for that but people aren’t getting caught or are not getting enough of a fine to make them stop. Hello 51% of Americans, do you want to help animals and avoid letting them go extinct? Maybe help stop the burning of Amazon or the cutting down of trees that leaves animals without a home. Do you want to help animals? Stop buying crocodile shoes? Do you want to stop animals? Stop eating them!
I keep wondering about what the 8% who chose “other” said. I wonder if they said that hanging out with animals at the zoo helps kids care more about them and love them. Actually, it only teaches them that when they grow up, they too can cage an animal. Ask any kid about all the species of birds, most that they have seen at zoos or parks, and see how many they know. Now ask a child about the species of dinosaurs and see if they miss any. Kids love dinosaurs, even though they never meet one at the zoo.
Norik
