There are an estimated millions of animals around the world that are held captive for their entire lives. This punishment has been controversial for years because of the belief that it violates the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the eighth amendment.
This argument is that humans are social animals and when humans are put in an isolated environment for an extended period of time, it’s torturous. So, why isn’t this argument applied to other species as well?
We have complete control over these animals; the only reason they are in captivity is because the majority of society support their captivity for our entertainment. Zoos hold animals that suffer from stress, boredom, abuse, and confinement, entirely for human entertainment.
“The Federal Animal Welfare Act establishes only the most minimal standards for cage size, shelter, health care, ventilation, fencing, food, and water.” For example, enclosures must provide “’sufficient space to allow each animal to make normal postural and social adjustments with adequate freedom of movement. Inadequate space may be indicated by evidence of malnutrition, poor condition, debility, stress, or abnormal behavior patterns.”’ Evidently, the treatment of animals in captivity is not taken seriously enough and has a profound effect on the animals.
Scientists say that there are multiple species. Elephants for example like elephants live a significantly shorter life in zoos than they do in the wild. There are several variables that could contribute to this unfortunate conclusion, such as starvation, depression, or injury-related incidents. As previously stated, employees of zoos are instructed to give each animal a distinct amount of food, essentially being the bare minimum.
Animals may suffer from mental illnesses because of their captivity. According to an undercover investigation by Animal Equality, “zoos, contrary to popular belief, are often little more than psychological torture and extermination centres for animals,” they stated. “ They get depressed, psychologically disturbed, frustrated, they harm each other, become sick, go hungry, and are forced to endure extreme and unnatural temperatures,” Animals cannot flourish in these conditions.
What is the fundamental reasoning of a zoo? Animals are taken from their natural habitat, from their families and everything else they had ever known. They are then shoved into a cage, most likely for the rest of their life. Considering these horrible conditions, there is a profound decrease in the human interest of zoos.
There is a misconception that zoos are made distinctly for educational purposes. It’s meant to overlook the fact that the animals aren’t be treated right and support the zoo anyway. According to People for the Ethical Treatment, “possibly the biggest lie that zoos tell people is that by visiting them, people will learn about wild animals,” PETA states. “But the only thing that zoos teach people is that it is OK to keep animals in captivity- bored, cramped, lonely, and very far from home.”
Animalfacts.org concludes that the average time individuals spend on each animal display was less than one. It’s outrageous to consider that zoos exist merely for human entertainment, but the amount of time humans expand to see the animals is grossly minimal. It further proves that zoos were not created to educate the public on the animals. They were meant just to show off.
Scientists also argue that the attempt to recreate a natural environment interferes with their ability to naturally mate and engage in activities that they would in the wild, according to animal-facts.org.
Mark Derr’s Journal Report “Big Beast’s, Tight Space and a Call for Change,” featured in The New York Times, goes in-depth on the psychological dysfunction animals face in captivity. An Oxford University study based on four decades of observing animals in captivity and in the wild found that animals such as polar bears, lions, tigers, and cheetahs “show the most evidence of stress and/or psychological dysfunction in captivity” and concluded that “the keeping of naturally wide-ranging carnivores should be either fundamentally improved or phased out.”
At the Copenhagen Zoo in 2014, CNN reported a horrific story concerning an innocent, healthy giraffe, that was killed to be fed to the lions. An online petition was created and signed by thousands immediately once they heard about this. The beloved giraffe, previously known as Marius, “was dismembered in front of a zoo audience that included children, and fed to the zoo’s lions,” according to CNN. “Despite online uproar over the move and reports of last-minute attempts to save the animal, the zoo in the Danish capital said it had no place for Marius in its giraffe herd.”
Scientific director Bengt Holst admitted that Marius’ death was entirely preventable. “CNN anchor Jonathan Mann asked Holst if it would have been possible to sterilize Marius or move him to another zoo to avoid killing him,” CNN reports. “If we just sterilize him, he will take up space for more genetically valuable giraffes,” Holst answered.
Marius was only two years old when he was unjustly euthanized. The average lifespan of a giraffe is said to be twenty five years old. Several other zoos reached out and volunteered to take Marius in if space was that much of an issue – no one wanted Marius to be killed.
Many animals are called into the zoo every year. “On average, Holst said some 20 to 30 animals, including goats, antelopes and wild boar, were culled for the same reason every year at the zoo,” CNN states. “This is the first giraffe. … I do not understand the outrage — we are all used to on a current basis of animals being culled in the wild,” CNN said. The public was not aware of this horrifying ‘sacrificing,’ because it is a direct example of what zoos do not want you to know.
Rowan Moskowitz, a commuter of SUNY Old Westbury admits she was unaware of the severity of the issue. Her heart goes out to all the animals suffering in captivity and is looking into what she can do to strengthen animal rights, and in assisting the development of much needed protective programs.
Many students state their opinion about captive animals, “Zoos are made for human entertainment,” Megan O’Haire, a freshman of Adelphi University, admits solemnly. “As someone who has been to a zoo in the past year, I can tell you first-hand that the experience was not fulfilling. It was very short, and my visit wasn’t focused around the animals; my family and I paid more attention on walking place to place.” When she did pay attention to the animals, she said it was unsettling.
“I feel sad that this is how it works,” O’Haire said. “I feel like the animals are just being used for money. It isn’t like zoos are operated because zoo companies want people to learn about the animals. They just want their money. For instance, the Bronx Zoo has a huge gift shop and that’s where they make most of their money.”
Evan Klauber, a journalism teacher at Smithtown High School West, was baffled and repulsed when he was exposed to the current state of zoos. “I wish that they would focus more on the rehabilitation of animals – that’s what my assumption always was – that they spent time rehabilitating hurt animals and putting them back in the wild; I know now that the total opposite is happening and that’s definitely troubling,” he said.
“Do I believe that they’re necessary in their current form? No,” he asserts. “Their purpose should be rehabilitation and taking in hurt animals and endangered animals and be looking to incorporate them back into the wild.”
All four interviewed participators are in concordance that our next step is undoubtedly in the hands of the government, and Klauber speaks for the group: “Our next step is legislation – there needs to be regulation and the general arc of our society right now is deregulating things which is the antithesis of what we need to be doing.”
The only way to stop this cruelty is through government intervention.“I think there should definitely be government regulation – they need to step in and do something,” said O’Haire. Perhaps it’ll be the only way to save vulnerable animals.
