Should Animals Be Kept In Zoos? Isaac Crumrine

This topic is controversial for many people. Some people believe that animals should be kept in zoos to guarantee that the population of this animal will not decline. Some people believe that animals should be able to live wild and free in their natural habitat. I think that animals shouldn't live in zoos, unless they are in danger of being extinct. Once an animal's species is close to being gone forever, we need to monitor this animal's population.

This is an Amur tiger at the Minnesota Zoo. An Amur tiger is an endangered species, and this zoo is working to help the tiger's population.

Many animals that are in zoos are endangered, but their enclosures are too small. Biologists from Oxford University report that, " Today the researchers, Dr. Georgia Mason and Dr. Ros Clubb, say the problems — including high infant mortality and a tendency to pace around and around in the cage — are directly related to the size of the animal's home range in the wild." When zoo enclosures are too small, many problems can occur. One of the most main problems is that life spans have zoo animals have decreased drastically. Certain animals, like the elephant and the killer whale, live significantly shorter lives than they would if they were in the wild. One study found that elephants in the wild lived almost 40 years longer than elephants that lived in zoos. The killer whale didn't fare much better. The same study found that killer whales died 87 years than they would if they lived in the wild.

An alternative for putting animals into zoos is to create a wildlife sanctuary. A wildlife sanctuary is designed to let the animals live in peace and it mimics natural conditions that the animal would experience if it were living in the wild. The animal may be abused, neglected, or may just need better treatment. If most zoo animals move to sanctuaries, they may live longer. If these animals live longer, there is a better chance that these animals will have more babies. If these animals have more babies, then it will fulfill the goal of raising the population of this animal. The sanctuaries aren't for the people to come admire the animals, although many people do. Carole Baskin, founder of Big Cat Rescue, says, " I'm asked all the time if this is enough space for a tiger. No, it's not, but it is way more than anywhere else."

This shows that animals have more space than they would if they were in zoos.

Do you think that animals should be kept? The next time you go to a zoo, you should ask yourself if these animals have enough space and if they're natural conditions are being matched. Then ask yourself, "Would a reserve be better for the health of this animal?"