Humans have a never ending fascination with wild animals and zoos provide them with an opportunity to see these creatures up close, which is a particularly exciting trip for children. While the finances shouldn’t be a problem, since you can save on your trip and everything you need by using coupons form such websites as discountrue.comthere is an ongoing debate as to whether it’s moral to keep animals in zoos. Let’s take a closer look at both sides of the coin.
The Good
Conversation
A growing number of animal species around the world are beginning to go extinct and zoos provide these creatures with a protective sanctuary. Many of these extinctions takes place rapidly, with very little hope for reversal. Zoos are able to recreate a semblance of an animal’s natural habitat and greatly increase their chances of survival.
If not for zoos, there are a wide range of animals that human beings would never be able to see up close. City dwellers are not often given the opportunity to see wild animals, such as lions and tigers, up close and without such a place their life would be devoid of such an educational experience.
Research Purposes
By rescuing species and learning more about their traits and characteristics, we can find out how they live each day and more importantly, how they react to certain situations. There are fewer variables and much less risk involved, which allows scientists and researchers to affect numerous changes. Wild populations are much more easily managed in a zoo format.
The Bad
People Are Not As Interested
Zoos are often portrayed as a place for animal lovers to congregate and learn more about creatures of the wild. However, unfortunately, studies have shown that the modern citizen is less concerned about going to the zoo and more concerned with taking pictures for social media and spending a minimal amount of time at each exhibit, which is worrying data.
Zookeepers Cannot Meet Animal Needs
Wild animals that are removed from their natural habitats and placed in zoos often have very specific needs, needs that zookeepers are not always fully aware of or able to fulfill. Whether it is the animals’ dietary needs, their temperature requirements or environmental concerns, zoos are not always able to provide a proper home.
Wild Animals Must Remain Wild
Elephants, lions, tigers and the like are not made to spend long days and nights penned in. These animals are often very unhappy in a zoo environment, which may be a makeshift prison of sorts. Animals have been known to voice their displeasure by refusing to eat and becoming surly.
The debate about zoos will surely continue to rage on for years to come. While there is valid information to be gleaned from studying wild animals in a zoo setting, there are also legitimate concerns about whether the practice of keeping these animals in cages is good for their long term development. Deciding whether zoos are good for animals or not is truly a tossup, and it most likely depends on one’s point of view and the particular zoo’s conditions and policies.
