Some animal activists believe that no matter what the circumstances may be, it is wrong to remove an animal from their natural habitat to ream any sort of benefit. The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), one of the largest animal welfare associations in the world, slogan is “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.” (hyperlink http://www.peta.org) The most fundamental concern of animal activists who are against any sort of captivity or exploitation of animals is animal welfare. They do not believe that any sort of benefit zoos may provide, whether that be species conservation or animal/human connection, is worth keeping an animal captive. According to these stakeholders, zoos primary concern is profit and not the welfare of animals. One way that substantiates the claim that zoos value revenue over their inhabitants well-being is the large presence of breeding animal babies to attract a large audience. Surplus animals result from this practice. Hannah Barnes begs the question “How many healthy animals do zoos put down?” in her article published in BBC news (hyperlink http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26356099). Many people who have attended zoos in the past were horrified to discover that Copenhagen Zoo put down a healthy male giraffe because of inbreeding. Barnes cites the irony in these people’s horror as this fate is actually quite normal in most zoos. Although the number of healthy, surplus animals is unknown there is reason to believe that it is growing and will not stop any time soon. Other than animal’s lives being in danger at zoos, their mental health is at stake as well. There have been numerous cases in which the mental frustrations of captivity have led to abnormal, neurotic, and even self-destructive behavior, such as incessant pacing, swaying, head-bobbing, bar-biting, and self-mutilation. Many people believe in an undeniable similarity between zoo animals and humans Shreya Dasgupta, columnist for BBC, writes “It seems that social deprivation is stressful for parrots, just as it is for humans” in her article entitled “Many Animals Can Become Mentally Ill” (hyperlink http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150909-many-animals-can-become-mentally-ill). When animals are deprived of their natural social structure and companionship dire consequences ensue. People who denounce the practice of zoo keeping believe that these institutions result in mental disorders in animals, ranging from depression to schizophrenia, involve abnormal behaviors. Above all else, animal welfare advocates seek the well-being of animals. They have decided that the institution of zoos is unethical because of the harm it does onto so many animals. Some believe before all else, zoos are self-serving for profit and if animal’s physical or mental well-being needs to be sacrificed to ensure this it certainly will. |