I answer no to this queation because animals lives are not any less valuable than ours. This is because I believe all life is equal, and ergo we should all be treated equally.
Bef says:
Keeping animals in zoos can provide opportunities for people to study the animals both for professionals and for kids. It can raise awareness for endangered species and prolong their lifespan or increase the chance of their successful reproduction. Certain frogs were being killed off by a fungus in the wild and were almost extinct – only a few were captured in time and brought to an indoor facility safe from the fungus. It will almost certainly never be safe to release them since the fungus continues to thrive without them. However, not all animals in zoos have longer or happier lives. Animals who need a lot of space are sometimes not given it. Certain birds of prey live much shorter lives in captivity. Animals like these should be given the natural resources they need whether that is through safely releasing them or sending them to a larger wildlife sanctuary.
We can study animals in their natural habitat, without forcibly keeping them in captivity. We should not choose to preserve some species, just as we should not choose to kill some species. If we interfere than the species cannot evolve into something new. We cannot save every animal that is eaten, so why do we save these animals, when they lost their life because they lost an evolutionary arms race?
Grandma says:
Grandma says
We are affecting the environment of many wild animals whether we mean to or not. Keeping animals in captivity can help us find out about them and their needs and also by educating many people we can encourage them to care about what we do to the environment for many endangered species. If only the priviledged few scientists can do this there won’t be enough enthusiasm or money to protect the more endangered species. This is also true for the smaller less well known animals and the plants they might depend on. Of course we can’t provide the conditions some animals need so we shouldn’t keep them in a zoo and I think many zoos are learning this lesson. I like to visit a zoo to find out about the many animals I could never see in the wild but I want to see animals that look well cared for and happy and they don’t have to be big and dramatic for me to find them interesting.
I think the answer is not a simple yes or no. Zoos can be a way we can look after animals, and as Bef says, can help prevent species going extinct. They are also educational and help us learn about the world and the environment, which can encourage us to be more thoughtful about how we behave and treat the world around us.
But zoos aren’t all the same and we need regulations that are enforced to make sure the zoos that do exist are working to keep animals safe and treat them well, not just be visitor attractions or ways of making money from captive animals.
BPS argues that we “should not choose to preserve some species, just as we should not choose to kill some species. If we interfere than the species cannot evolve into something new”. I think it isn’t that we “should not” do this (why shouldn’t we?) but that we need to be aware all the time of the impact we have through our actions and consider who and what we affect by our actions. Zoos are one way (not the only way) we can learn about exactly that – how what we do effects the environment.
So I think the answer to “should zoos keep animals in captivity” isn’t “Yes!” or “No!” but rather that we need to look carefully at the type of zoos we have, and what they are there for, and what animals they keep and why. Where we feel they are doing a good job, and having a positive impact, then that’s great and we should build on that. Where they are doing a bad job, treating animals badly, not contributing to our understanding, we should look at how they can be improved and what regulations or other measures need to be in place to change that.
BPS says:
Since humans are animals, why not put them in zoos too?
BPS says:
I answer no to this queation because animals lives are not any less valuable than ours. This is because I believe all life is equal, and ergo we should all be treated equally.
Bef says:
Keeping animals in zoos can provide opportunities for people to study the animals both for professionals and for kids. It can raise awareness for endangered species and prolong their lifespan or increase the chance of their successful reproduction. Certain frogs were being killed off by a fungus in the wild and were almost extinct – only a few were captured in time and brought to an indoor facility safe from the fungus. It will almost certainly never be safe to release them since the fungus continues to thrive without them. However, not all animals in zoos have longer or happier lives. Animals who need a lot of space are sometimes not given it. Certain birds of prey live much shorter lives in captivity. Animals like these should be given the natural resources they need whether that is through safely releasing them or sending them to a larger wildlife sanctuary.
BPS says:
We can study animals in their natural habitat, without forcibly keeping them in captivity. We should not choose to preserve some species, just as we should not choose to kill some species. If we interfere than the species cannot evolve into something new. We cannot save every animal that is eaten, so why do we save these animals, when they lost their life because they lost an evolutionary arms race?
Grandma says:
Grandma says
We are affecting the environment of many wild animals whether we mean to or not. Keeping animals in captivity can help us find out about them and their needs and also by educating many people we can encourage them to care about what we do to the environment for many endangered species. If only the priviledged few scientists can do this there won’t be enough enthusiasm or money to protect the more endangered species. This is also true for the smaller less well known animals and the plants they might depend on. Of course we can’t provide the conditions some animals need so we shouldn’t keep them in a zoo and I think many zoos are learning this lesson. I like to visit a zoo to find out about the many animals I could never see in the wild but I want to see animals that look well cared for and happy and they don’t have to be big and dramatic for me to find them interesting.
Owen says:
I think the answer is not a simple yes or no. Zoos can be a way we can look after animals, and as Bef says, can help prevent species going extinct. They are also educational and help us learn about the world and the environment, which can encourage us to be more thoughtful about how we behave and treat the world around us.
But zoos aren’t all the same and we need regulations that are enforced to make sure the zoos that do exist are working to keep animals safe and treat them well, not just be visitor attractions or ways of making money from captive animals.
BPS argues that we “should not choose to preserve some species, just as we should not choose to kill some species. If we interfere than the species cannot evolve into something new”. I think it isn’t that we “should not” do this (why shouldn’t we?) but that we need to be aware all the time of the impact we have through our actions and consider who and what we affect by our actions. Zoos are one way (not the only way) we can learn about exactly that – how what we do effects the environment.
So I think the answer to “should zoos keep animals in captivity” isn’t “Yes!” or “No!” but rather that we need to look carefully at the type of zoos we have, and what they are there for, and what animals they keep and why. Where we feel they are doing a good job, and having a positive impact, then that’s great and we should build on that. Where they are doing a bad job, treating animals badly, not contributing to our understanding, we should look at how they can be improved and what regulations or other measures need to be in place to change that.
BPS says:
Since humans are animals, why not put them in zoos too?