Is It Ethical To Keep Animals In Zoos?

What is a zoo? According to Encarta Dictionaries, a zoo is a park where live wild animals from different parts of the world are kept in cages or enclosures for people to come and see, and where they are bred and studied by scientists. However, there is often debate on whether it is right to keep animals from their natural habitat. My arguments will be around the Melbourne Zoo and I do think that zoos, especially Melbourne Zoo, are ethical, though only when certain requirements are considered, including enclosure size and landscape, before the animal can be placed into a zoo.

As mentioned above, I think zoos are ethical. Firstly, they are great places to preserve endangered species. At the Melbourne Zoo, I saw many different species at the zoo which were endangered including orangutans, gorillas and Sumatran tigers. In 2008, the population of the Sumatran tigers was only 250, however in 2010, the population rose to 300. Another reason zoos are ethical is because they provide health care and vets when there isn't any in the wild. I was at the Sumatran tiger talk at the zoo and the speaker said that if a tiger was to hurt its tooth in the wild, it would have to live the rest of its life with a sore tooth. On the other hand, those living in the zoo would definitely get treatment. My third point is that zoos are a great way to educate people about animals, endangered or not. Everywhere I walked at the Melbourne zoo, I saw signs and speakers telling me about the animal, how they lived, why they may be endangered and much more. After the trail, I learnt countless things, including gorillas being 98% similar to human and that a lion wold be defeated by a polar bear in the fight. Another example is the 'They are calling on you' campaign to save gorillas. There are many signs around the zoo educating people on why gorillas are disappearing. One of the main threats to gorillas is the illegal mining of coltan, which is a mineral used in mobile phones. By donating old phones, it will help lessen the demand for coltan mining in gorilla habitats. Thanks to the numerous signs containing information about the campaign, Uganda's mountain gorillas have risen from 302 (in 2006) to 400, according to last year's census count.

I think it is alright to put animals in zoos as long as they don't know that they are trapped and that they have adequate land for their mass and size. For my first idea, my zoo group had a talk with Carly and she said that she wouldn't mind being trapped if she didn't actually know that she was trapped. All of us agreed with her. Some of the animals there seemed pretty happy where they were (though human kind will never really know what animals are thinking) whilst some naturally had that instinct of breaking free. My second part of the principle is a fairly important on, and largely defines which animals can be put in the zoo. For example, the otter enclosure at the Melbourne zoo is designed quite well. There is a pool, rocks and leaves, and other things that would normally be present at their normal habitat. Additionally, the enclosure size does, in fact, support the small creatures' volume. On the contrary, the elephant enclosure is without doubt too small. As Jane Goodall said in her interview (on Galileo homework page), there should be way more space for the elephants to roam around. I think that the only places elephants can be 'contained' are large reserves.

Some people are really against zoos. They say that zoos fail to treat animals with the respect they deserve, violate the animal's right to live in freedom and (I have to admit) that zoochosis is definitely visible for some animals at the Melbourne zoo, like the tigers, which pace up and down, hidden away from human eyes. Some animals are also deprived of their natural social structure and companionship, forced into close proximity with other species and human beings which may be unnatural for it and even though animals may live longer lives in zoos than in the wild, they may experience a lower quality of life. However, maybe we have to look at the bigger picture. This is only a few animals' sufferings for their entire species. If there were no zoos, the whole species would be dying out. Wouldn’t it be better if one or two creatures endured life in the zoo for the survival of their entire species?

Therefore, I think zoos are ethical, as long as the animal doesn't know that it is trapped and there is sufficient land for each one. They provide education for humans, shelter and care for all animals, and even if they are not feeling as well as they should, bearing unfortunate luck  is definitely better than bearing the dying out of their whole species on their shoulder.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/using/entertainment_1.shtml

http://www.zoo.org.au/melbourne

http://www.zoo.org.au/get-involved/act-for-wildlife/theyre-calling-on-you

http://www.janegoodall.org.au/?page_id=123

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/ugandas-gorilla-population-increases-giving-hope-for-great-apes/story-fnd134gw-1226518538420

http://teamgalileo.wikispaces.com/Homework,

Melbourne Zoo trail

Videos watched on Wednesday

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