Humans are so accustomed in regarding animals as creatures capable of consciousness and awareness that many will be surprised to learn that almost everyone, if not all, verily think otherwise. The notion that animals are merely trivial organisms purposelessly roaming on earth is already stuck in man’s mind. Man’s irrational contempt toward animals was put to articulation in the seventeenth century when the famous and philosopher, Rene Descartes, inconsiderately described all animals as “thoughtless brutes” (Regan 3). Descartes’ proclamation is purely grounded on his hugely prejudiced observations of animal behavior. His allegation lost more credibility in the letter he wrote to the Marquis of Newcastle wherein he stated that if animals were conscious as humans are, “they would have an immortal soul like humans” (Regan 10). Regan described Descartes as a confused man and contradicted Descartes’ ill-considered declaration by arguing that the ascription of consciousness to any given individual does not necessitate the possession of an immortal soul of that individual (10). The skepticism people have on the existence and extent of mental sophistication and capabilities in animals is only confusedly tied to the question of whether animals possess immortal souls. This disbelief in the actualityof animal consciousness cannot be further ratiocinated because neither immortality nor soullessness has any direct implication with consciousness. Regan asseverated that the regard of the word “individuals” to both human individuals and animal individuals is definitely not inappropriate for it does not violate morality (83). Therefore, animal rights ought to be similar, if not completely analogous, to the rights inherent to human beings. Contrary to what others might know and believe, animals do have a set of rights which aims to treat animals as humanely as possible. Indisputably, animals possess life and I believe that every life deserves much appreciation. Zoo animals are effortlessly put to cages by man for encaging animals does not bother man’s conscience. Any person free from self-imposed apathy will be able to recognize the putrid condition of zoo animals which is only concealed by the zoo’s attractive architecture. The urge to keep wild animals in captivity seems to be intrinsic in man’s nature. As far as history brings us, man has hunted and trapped animals and made them his playthings and servants (Mann 1).
Confined space imposes preposterous limits to animals and robs them of their freedom. Zoo animals are kept in enclosures that prohibit them from performing basic animal activities such as running, wandering and socializing. The vicinity of the zoo, no matter how much land is allotted to it, can never be made comparable to the natural habitat which animals were meant to live in. Zoo-makers cannot completely replicate animal environments such as jungles and deserts. Zoo animals, in contrast to animals in the wild, face restrictions in every imaginable aspect. One of the worst prohibitions a zoo imposes to its inhabitants is the disallowance of natural selection of a mate. Moreover, animals that are solitarily kept in cages, especially large animals such as elephants and carnivorous felines, are inclined to develop catastrophic behavior. Out of the restlessness accumulated by an animal from all the years of its confinement, an animal would often become demented and uncontrollably violent as it ages. In Zürich Zoo in Switzerland, a male polar bear broke through the bars which separated him from a female polar bear and eventually killed the young cub (Hediger 45).
Limited territory and an animal’s incapability to freely roam its surroundings make an animal develop mentally destructive boredom. Animals kept in zoos live very monotonous lives for they are trapped inside the same, exact enclosure every single moment of their lives. Elephants are very social animals for they are used to traveling many miles a day in herds. Milwaukee County Zoo, considered as one of America’s best zoos, has elephants that engage in repetitive movements for a long duration of time (Embar http://www.veganpeace .com/animal_ cruelty/zoos.htm). This habit is an indicator of stress and boredom. Furthermore, orangutans, members of an endangered species, are considered as one of the most agile creatures of the jungle. However, an orangutan situated in captivity is particularly slow and spends most of its time plunged in deep thought and nothingness (Mann 34).
No matter how comfortable a zoo environment may seem to be, no matter how adequate zoo animals are fed, and no matter how safe zoo animals are from being devoured by flesh-eating predators, an indefinite stay inside a zoo atmosphere is still undeniably harmful for any animal. Most reptile species are presently kept under biologically inappropriate conditions in zoos and therefore rarely reproduce (Martin 11). Martin goes on to add that almost all zoos around the world completely fail in breeding crocodiles because most zoos only have a single member for a particular crocodile species (43). Zoos would want to display the widest range of animals that they disregard the wellbeing and captive breeding of animals. Moreover, many of the adverse effects on the general weal of a community of animals bred in captivity can be attributed to the stressful features in zoo surroundings. These stressors can either be the physical environment, the presence and absence of cage companions, and also the sudden appearance of unfamiliar people (Martin 154-155). Soko, a relatively large chimpanzee that lived in the National Zoological Park in the early twentieth century, was very amiable and gentle but as his stay prolonged in captivity, he grew weary. When he disrelishes a random observing visitor, he will throw fits of fearful furor by uncontrollably jumping inside his cage while simultaneously knocking the bars with his knuckles and wrists (Mann 32).
Zoos do not only permanently vitiate the lives of animals but also drastically lessen the lifespan of animals. Wild elephants can normally live up to fifty to seventy years while zoo elephants average only sixteen to eighteen years in existence. (Embar http://www.vegan peace.com/animal_cruelty/zoos.htm). Young animals are seldom absent in zoos because of the appeal they have to people. It is surprising why only a few zoo animals reach maturity when so many young animals are purchased by zoos. William Mann, a former director of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park located in Washington D.C., said it himself that it is a rarity to see an adult baboon live long in captivity. He admitted that the incapacity of zoo animals to reach adulthood can be most definitely attributed to cage paralysis, a form of rickets, wherein hind legs become crippled, and eventually the animal succumbs (50).
Zoos should be shut down because they selfishly utilize animals for human purposes. Zoos are still undoubtedly consumers (purchasing of animals) rather than producers of wildlife (Martin 374). Moreover, the collecting of wild animals for sale to zoos and circuses of the world has been developed by several firms of international reputation into an enormous commercial business (Mann 8). This implies that zoo animals are mere assets of an industry. Zoos claim to preserve the existence of endangered species by carefully breeding them in captivity but it is quite evident that animal conservation is not a zoo’s main priority. It is also important to notice that most animals seen in zoos are not endangered species at all. In an attempt to embellish a zoo’s image to public eye, advocates of zoos, especially zoologists call zoos in a number of fancy terms such as zoological gardens (Martin 1) and more commonly, wildlife parks. Worse, zoos are dubbed as a “collection of animals” (Mann 1) and this directly suggests that man regards zoo animals as mere collectibles. The ongoing operation of zoos all over the world at present time is a universal demonstration of man’s self-serving nature. It is rather naïve to say that man is oblivious of the potential suffering experienced by zoo animals for it is easily manifest when one visits a zoo. Amid this awareness, man still finds it appropriate to cage animals because of academic purposes or worse, for personal and trivial reasons. Animal conservationists who dispute that zoos are the best sites for preservation of endangered species ought to know better that a zoo’s environment is unbefitting to fully support the successful breeding of animals. If one’s true agenda is conservation of animals, the concept of releasing animals back to the wild must always be deemed as the end result of keeping animals in captivity. Zoos are incompetent in priming animals to survive in wilderness.
The thirst for animal-related knowledge of scientists and children alike can still be satisfied without the existence of zoos. The proper way of gaining information from animals is by observing them directly in their natural habitats. It is obvious that this alternative would not be able to cater to all animal enthusiasts for it would be perilous and costly, but it is simply cruel to cage innocent animals in zoos for any purpose at all.
Works Cited:
Embar, Wanda. Zoo Issues / Milwaukee County Zoo. 2008. 30 Sept. 2009. <http://www.veganpeace.com
/animal_cruelty/zoos.htm>.
Hediger, Heini. Wild Animals in Captivity. New York: Dover Publications, 1964.
Mann, William M. Wild Animals In and Out of the Zoo. U.S.A.: Smithsonian Institution Series, Inc.,
1934.
Martin, R. D. Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity. London: Academic Press, 1975.
Regan, Tom. The Case for Animal Rights. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1983.
