Lauren Azbell
Mr. Vaszily
English 101-146
7 Dec. 2012
TITLE
The confinement that zoos provide for the animals often causes many issues, resulting to show that zoos are not an appropriate care system for animals. Zoos have always been a main attraction for people since the ancient times, and ever since then we as humans have declared some sort of power over these animals. Around the world zoos are becoming more common by allowing humans to come in close measures of fascinating “wild” animals. But behind the scenes of the zoo's habitats, animals do not live the long and healthy life as some would think. It is very expensive to be able to maintain the upkeep of such extravagant creatures with such immense care needed. Animals from all different ends of the globe are gathered in the zoo's park only to be separated by barriers and walkways. As you may presume, this will cause problems with the animals on many different levels. Vegan Peace, an animal rights activist organization, stated “[t]he major problem with zoos is that the animals who live there are kept in enclosures that don't allow them to live their lives in a natural way” (Zoos). It has been proven that not all animals are compatible in living in confinement; therefore, causing problems in the animals breeding and overall health. In order to gain a larger collection of animals, zoos will participate in breeding programs. The baby animals on one hand will provide the group of animals more company, but will also bring in more revenue for the zoo. When a newborn is brought into the zoo world, they will either be kept at the zoo or sold or traded to other zoos. Since captive animals do not get to choose their mates, problems may occur in the birth process. According to Michelle Carr, a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or “PETA”, explains that issues associated with force breeding done by the zoo “often results in miscarriages, death at birth, or the mother's rejection of her young” (Carr). Animals that have been involved in these problems were unwilling to carry a baby. And just like all animals, including humans, carrying a baby takes a toll on your body and needs care during pregnancy. If those needs are not met during the pregnancy by the mother, it will result in predicaments later on. Nonetheless, other species of animals will mate on their own causing a surplus of that species at the zoo: “surplus animals are the unwanted animals for which there is no more space” (Zoos). The animals that reproduce on a regular basis will soon come to be a problem when the zoo could no longer uphold the amount of care needed for the increasing number of animals. Seeing that there are too many animals for the already limited space the zoo could afford, animals must be sold or killed in the worst scenarios. A deadly fate will be in the future of some of these creatures who are sold to some dealers that use them at hunting ranches or exotic meat stores (Zoos). In addition to the different cases of breeding, endangered species breeding also takes place at zoos. From an outsider point of view this is a helpful act that the zoo is preforming in saving species in the wild that are going extinct. However, the endangered animal programs do not lead to success in most occasions: “[t]his is because zoos don't provide the right environment for a successful captive breeding project” (Zoos). The problem with throwing captive animals back into the wild is that it is accustomed to being cared for by humans. In order for the endangered species programs to succeed in transferring the animals successfully into the wild, difficult changes would have to take place. Human contact would have to be minimal to allow the animal to gain a natural social balance and a suitable gene pool along with having their habitats match their natural environments with means of the climate and fauna (Zoos). For this process to work, it would be very difficult to match up to all the animals needs without humans interfering. Proper habitat care is hard to grant the animals while interfering with the animal's life. Without doubt, the zoo's decorative habitats do not accommodate to the needs of the animal. The zoo's habitats have advanced from previous years of poorly resembling the habitat to now giving a more visual effect to the animals. But the design of the cage is not a transforming factor in the animal’s lives. They are still in a small area with painted backgrounds and fake foliage. The reforming of the zoo's habitats did not go far enough says Michael D. Lemonick, a writer for Time Magazine: “those natural-looking habitats are just an illusion created to enhance the visitor's experience” (Lemonick). For the visitor's pleasure, zoos have redesigned the viewing areas by creating trenches instead of high fences to keep the animals out but still allowing a better view. Unfortunately animals have fallen into these ditches and come out with injuries or even died during these accidents. But habitats also do not provide room for most animals at the zoo that tend to be in the grouping or herding social groups. When placed in the zoo's habitat, there is not enough room to hold the desired amount of animals for their satisfaction. For instance, herding animals could be in groups up to twenty or more in some cases. Since zoos cannot uphold that extensive number, the animals may become stressed by not being with the appropriate amount. Habitat climates and spacing are also major issues zoos face when caring for their animals. Since zoos are a worldwide attraction, there will be different climates that the animal is not used to. The harsh winters of the northern countries will not ease the normally warm climate animals, and respectively the opposite for other animals. If animals are not accustomed to the climate of the zoo, they will most likely spend a majority of their time inside. And given the indoor habitat is relatively smaller for animals that have split living arrangements, this presents the issue of spacing. Animals of all sizes are not fit for the limited space the zoo provides them. Elephants and other large savannah animals are a prime example of this issue. These large grassland creatures could roam as much as 30 miles a day (Lemonick). The grasslands in Africa stretch across the entire continent. Now to picture this animal with endless terrain in sight to being fenced in less than two acres is a big change. Aside from habitat problems, small living areas will also produce many health issues as well. On account of the living arrangements provided at the zoo, animals are likely to develop health problems throughout their life. When these zoo creatures are put into the confinement of the zoo, they will display unnatural behaviors to that specific animal. As they grow accustomed to the limited area they will live in, the animals will start to become bored with their everyday lives. They no longer have unlimited space to run or have the option to hunt. The biological wiring the animals have can no longer be put to its intentional use, but instead will have to adjust to the human’s direct contact and living by their rules. Animals in their natural environment do not act the way as they behave in zoos. Captive animals commonly suffer from stress, boredom, loneliness, depression, and psychoses, which is clearly presented in the animal’s actions. They will show repetitive and meaningless behavior as they walk around in their habitat. This condition is referred to as “zoochosis” to the public (Carr), whereas the scientific term for this disease is “Abnormal Repetitive Behavior” also known as ARB (Zoos). This disease is caused by the separation from the natural habitat as well as direct control from human. Signs of zoochosis can be exampled when “zoo animals are pacing backwards and forwards, head bobbing, rocking, repeatedly retracing their steps, sitting motionless or biting themselves” (Zoos). Anyone who has visited a zoo as witnessed this condition first hand. In order to control the animal's mental illnesses, zookeepers “actually give anti-depressants or tranquilizers to control the behavior problems of some of their animals” (Zoos). On the contrary, other health issues are not as hidden as the Abnormal Repetitive Behavior, but more as a physical problem. Referring back to the elephants, these gigantic animals happen to have major health issues due to their size and social standards: “by living in such confinement, elephants are prone to arthritis, foot problems and even premature death” (Lemonick). It is typical for elephants in distress and probably results from an inadequate physical environment. Since they roam far distances in the wild, they start to develop arthritis and foot problems due to the lack of physical activity in the small living space. But this is only one example of physical harm in captive animals. Although some animals do better than others, a large percentage of them will result in health complication in their lifetime. With all things considered, animals are not biologically made to exist in captivity. Zoos cannot provide the amount of care needed to maintain the animal's care requirements. At the zoo's expense, they cannot afford the amount of space needed for the animals. This dilemma has proven to cause many issues in health as well as in the habitat. Similarly the breeding done within the zoo also proposes obstacles within the animal by resulting in a maternal conflict or a surplus. But as the animals live out their life in confinement, they will continue to repeat their daily lives in a routine until the day they die. Many animal activists are protesting against the idea of keeping animals under human control, and continue to fight this war. Zoos may not look so bad on the inside, but “what makes life so difficult for zoo animals is that they hardly have any privacy and lack mental stimulation and physical exercise” (Zoos). Overall, most animals are not meant to be in confinement, or should not be. Primates and members of the large cat family are shown to do significantly better because they have their social interaction satisfied and spend most of their time drowsing after heavy meals respectively. On the other hand, animals that spend most of their time traveling, like savannah animals, are to behaviorally restricted to live in zoos (Lemonick). On the whole, zoos are not capable of retaining such animals properly: “this presents the question whether some animals—not just elephants, but also giraffes, bears and others—belong in zoos at all” (Lemonick).

Works Cited
Carr, Michelle. “The Reality of Zoos.” PETA. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.
Lemonick, Michael D, Jeanne McDowell, and David Bjerklie. “Who Belongs in the Zoo?” Time 167.25 (2006): 50-52. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Nov. 2012.
“Zoos.” Vegan Peace. Vegan Peace. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.

Carr, Michelle.
-citation example of a document from a website, found on page 774
Lemonick, Michael D.
-citation example of material from an online periodical database, found on page 775
Zoos
-citation example of a document from a website, found on page 774