Is Keeping Wild Animals In Zoos Unethical?
Captive Breeding
Zoos provide areas where captive breeding can be carried out for release into the wild. For example, in 1945, about 13 Przewalski horses were captured and placed in a zoo before they disappeared from the wild in 1966. Extensive breeding programs at the zoo and reintroduction into wild habitats helped in saving the species from extinction. Today there are over 1,500 Przewalski horses that are descendants of the 13 horses that were placed in a zoo at the end of WWII. Other animals that have been preserved in protected areas such as zoos include the Golden Lion Tamarin, Arabian Oryx, Freshwater mussels, and the Puerto Rican Parrot.
Economic Benefits To The Community
In addition to providing residence to animals, zoos create jobs and tourism opportunities that generate revenue for the local community. For example, Woodland Park Zoo, situated in Seattle, pays $17 million in wages annually. The zoo also pays $5.2 million for vendor contracts. The zoo generates 70% of its revenue from zoo visits and contributions.
Specialized Care
Today zoos are staffed with highly trained personnel having specialized knowledge on the animals they are tasked to care for. Animals in the zoo are therefore guaranteed the best care that is available outside their native environment. Many zoos also have veterinarians, pathologists, and technicians who can provide specialized care to animals, including parasite removal and other forms of treatment. Zoo personnel are also aware of the physical and dietary requirements that each species needs to maintain them in a healthy state. The animals are involved in activities that help them remain, among other things, mentally alert and fit. Activities do not adequately replace migration and hunting requirements for animals, but they do eliminate deterioration and boredom at the zoo.
Scientific Research
Zoos support scientific research by allowing scientists easy access to specimens or species under study. Research that is conducted in zoos is mainly in the fields of behavioral studies, anatomy, and pathology. Such studies create models that help improve zoo conditions so that animals can live longer, breed more successfully, and be happier. Many zoos currently work in collaboration with universities that research the facilities and train professionals such as veterinarians who can then help care for animals.
Arguments Against Zoos
Today most zoos have become recreation facilities where people can go and view animals for entertainment and amusement. Taking an animal from its natural habitat for the sole reason of human entertainment raises several moral and ethical issues. Most experts agree that the pleasure we take from viewing animals is not a good enough reason for holding animals in captivity. Since visits to zoos will, in most instances, be for amusement, some zoos are addressing the moral dilemma by allocating revenues earned to further research and preservation efforts of various wildlife species.
Animal Welfare Overlooked
In some zoos, animal welfare is often overlooked, leaving captive animals to suffer under conditions that are psychologically and physiologically damaging. For example, lions and a black bear that used to live in Magic World Zoo in Aleppo, Syria, were abandoned at the zoo to face starvation and injury when the Syrian Civil war broke out. Once they were rescued, they were found to be suffering from malnutrition, kidney, and cardiac problems, as well as trauma from living in a war zone. There are also numerous instances of animal cruelty in zoos. Another example is that of a lion named Cameroon and a tiger named Zabu that were rescued from a rundown roadside zoo in 2004 and transferred to a Florida Sanctuary. At their previous home, the two animals were kept captive by their owners, who tried to make them make produce liger cubs.
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