ARGUMENTS FOR

By bringing people and animals together, zoos educate the public and
foster an appreciation of the animals. This exposure and education motivates
people to protect the animals.
Zoos save endangered species by bringing them into a safe
environment, where they are protected from poachers, habitat loss, starvation
and predators. I am sure most of you have heard about the Tasmanian
Devils? If you have not, they are the largest carnivorous marsupial in the
world, and the only place they are found in the wild is Tasmania, in Australia.
They have been listed as an endangered species since 2008. Anyway, many
zoos in Australia are helping breed and protect the Tasmanian Devils, they
achieve this by containing several Tasmanian devils and breeding them so if
they become extinct in the wild, they will be able to restore the population.
This is a great example of the good of keeping animals in captivity.
A good zoo provides an enriched habitat in which the animals are
never bored, are well cared-for, and have plenty of space.
Seeing an animal in person is a much more personal and more
memorable experience than seeing that animal in a nature documentary.
You can't just chuck these animals away and expect them to survive
by their selves. If animals were in the wild they would have to take risks to
have food and a tiger might attack but in zoos nothing like that would happen.
Animals have their own special needs in every kind most people think they
live cages but that is not true.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST

Wild animals belong in the wild. Most wild animals require specific habitats and
diets, and even the best zoos will find it near impossible to replicate the conditions
of the wild. For example, elephants roam in large groups, often forming strong
familial bonds, and prefer vast and complex environments, covering as much as
80km a day. Unfortunately, elephants kept in captivity are separated from their
herds, and there are inevitably problems in providing elephants with enough space.
Animals in captivity suffer from stress. This stress is believed to be caused
by the presence of the public, lack of freedom, and inadequate living conditions.
Once animals are taken from the wild and are brought in to zoos, they never go
back. Animals must stay there forever, until they die. They don't get to play with
their mates and family. They never get the love and company of their fellow
species. Just put yourself into an animal's perspective. Imagine you are an animal
and were taken from your family. You never get to see them again, and you are

forced to entertain humans to their amusement. You suffer from confinement,

boredom, and stress. It is bad for animals to be kept in zoos, and it is wrong of
people not to get the point that captivity is harmful.
Another problem is privacy, because the animals are living in habitats that
are often extremely smaller than they are used to, the animal cannot enjoy much
needed privacy. This can cause depression and obsessive behavior in the animals.
Baby animals bring in visitors and money, but this incentive to breed new
baby animals leads to overpopulation. Some zoos just kill their surplus animal, for
example when the Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark killed Marius the giraffe on
February 9, 2014, the public outrage was instantaneous and worldwide. Marius
was dissected in front of a public audience, including children, and then fed to the
zoo's lions. The furor had barely cooled down when, on March 24, 2014, the same
zoo killed four healthy lions, including some who had feasted on Marius' remains.
Unfortunately, animals born at zoos do not always get to live their lives out fully.
As reflection: zoos teach us a false sense of our place in the natural order. The
means of confinement mark a difference between humans and animals. They are
there at our pleasure, to be used for our purposes.