Are Zoos Captive?

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Are zoos a resource for the protection of rare and endangered species, or are they predators themselves? In 2014, Marius, a two-year-old giraffe in Copenhagen Zoo, was killed as a result of irresponsible captive breeding. European zoos offered to take him while he was still alive, but the decision was already made to end his life. Later his carcass was to be fed to the zoo’s lion and tiger collection. When questioned, the zoo’s scientific director said that the gene pool needed to remain healthy to ensure the long term survival of the species. An autopsy was later performed to justify his actions (Lott par. 1-3). This is just one example of the mistreatment and murdering of animals during their stay in captive environments, such as zoos. Animals …show more content…
Zoos are for recreational purposes and entertainment (“Occupy Theory” par. 10). “No one really goes to visit the zoos with the same mentality people visit the museum with,” says the author of Occupy Theory List of Pros and Cons of Zoos. Another reason zoos are not successful in education is due to the fact patrons take minimal time to stop and read what little information is given about the animals. “Visitors spend on average 10-117 seconds at each exhibit,” announces author of Captive Animals Protection Society. They also rarely educate people on the animal's’ natural behavior (Henn par. 6). Zoo animals are often given names and a short overview for visitors to read. Brief facts about their diet, environment in the wild, size and life expectancy are given, but how much can they write about natural behaviors? Do these animals even exhibit truly natural behavior? What children tend to learn at zoos can be alternatively be gathered from other sources (“CAPS” par. 5). “Other options may include television programming, internet or international travel,” states author of PETA’s Zoos: Pitiful Prisons. Kids can go more in depth with their study of animals by using other available options to them. Zoos do undertake many studies and compile research on the animals they contain. Is this not research part of the educational aspect? Few zoos practice relevant and reliable research. Most research is based on the physiological structure. Furthermore, these results are only collected from captivated animals and not wild (“Last Chance for Animals” par. 6). All research done on zoo animals are inaccurate due to the fact that the animals are in captivity and have a change in psychological perspective. The animals, in most cases, have adjusted to their manmade surroundings and environment, thus making the results
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