Is it good to keep animals in a zoo and why? ?

Question

Thank you

Answer 1

This is no ultimate yes or no to this question. there are good aspects about zoos, and there are bad aspects. I the end, everyone would rather have animals living safely in free-living situations. Zoos provide an educational experience for humans that leads to (hopefully) an increase in effort to protect them. Zoo's also have Species Survival Plans, which have helped save some reintroducable animals from extinction, such as the golden lion tamerin. However, some animals cannot be reintroduced properly from zoos, such as chimpanzees, so a specials survival plan or captive breeding plan isn't really helping. Some zoos have well designed enclosures and put the animals needs first. Others do not.

So, the answer isn't a straight up good/bad.

Answer 2

Good for us, generally not good for them.

Provides us with an opportunity to study them and make that study available to a wide range of people from serious scientists to kids who just wanna see the monkeys.

For the individual animals, it would seem to be an inferior environment to their natural habitat.  However, looking at the big picture, it enables us to protect and preserve species that might otherwise be in danger due to habitat destruction (whether natural or more likely, human-induced) and individual hunting and poaching.      

Answer 3

in some cases, yes. in many other cases, no.

it depends on the animal, and whether it really needs help to be protected or not.

Answer 4

If the zoo has a good track record for treating animals yes. Some zoos though are appalling and should be closed down.

Answer 5

I don't like to see them caged but nothing wrong with an open-air natural-resembling, SPACIOUS zoo where they'll be safe from poachers and other predators.

Answer 6

Some road-side c**p hole, h**l no, shut the thing down. But the majority of the zoos in the day and age are far from the concrete/steel, no conservation/research centers they used to be.

The plus side of zoos greatly out shadows the negative.  Of course not all zoos are like that, but it is clear to see which zoos are ok and which are not.

Anyway...

Yes the animals might be stuck in captivity but through them they serve as ambadassors for their wild brothers and sisters. It gives the public a chance to connect and learn about things they would have never had the chance to before.

Zoos have also transformed greatly over the years. They are changing from the old concrete and steel pits/cages of the past to wide lush open habitats with live plants, waterfalls, etc. On top of changing the way they house animals they have also changed how they run things. Though zoos are still out to make money (to keep doors open since most are non-profit) they have and still are moving to more of a conservation and education outlook rather than strictly entertainment. Plus they bring in a HUGE amount of money for the local economy. More people go to Zoos in the US than go to all the professional sporting events combined each year.... that adds up to a ton of money for the city each zoo is in... be it a local hotel or some small mom and pop shop people stop by on their way to the zoo.

On top of all that, zoos work a great deal in rescue projects with injured wildlife as well as breed and release programs with endangered species. For example sea world and other facilities in FL were being over-run with injured manatees to the point that they had no more room to house them. To help a handful of other zoos built exhibits where the injured/sick manatees could recover before they were released. With breeding there are many zoos who work together with the US govt as well as programs around the world to breed endangered species and release those that are born back out into the wild to help with new healthy blood lines. The California Condor would be extinct today if it was not for such programs.

Zoos also use the animals in their collection to help learn how to better care for those that are in the wild. Back to the manatee example. There is currently a virus floating through the wild manatee popluation that the science world has yet to figure out how it happened and how to stop it from spreading. Zoos are using their captive manatees with the virus to try and find a treatment or cure so that they can help the wild populations and re-release those that were sick.

So do I think animals should be kept in zoos? In this day and age it is a 100% yes. Do I think that zoos are cruel? Some yes, but the vast majority have changed and have become wonderful places.

Because of what man has done to this world it is something that is needed. However, it should only be done for the right reasons and under the right conditions... that is what makes it not cruel.

Answer 7

thats a tough question to answer.. see in some cases animals would have gone extinct had they not been placed in captivity... but at the same time animals belong in the wild... so really.. if it werent for us destroying their habitats then zoo's being their last chance of survival would not be necessary.  

Answer 8

It is not only good, in some cases it is essential. Zoos are vital for education and conservation. Without captive breeding, many endangered species would now be extinct - for example, the golden lion tamarin, red wolf and Przewalski's horse. I am not for a moment suggesting that we should stop trying to protect animals' natural habitats, but if endangered species were to become extinct in the wild (which sadly seems quite likely in the near future), zoos will have preserved them for future generations, with enough genetic diversity that the possibility for reintroduction to the wild exists. In my opinion it would be unforgivable to allow tigers, pandas and so on to become extinct because they were wiped out in the wild due to hunting, habitat loss, etc., and people did not want to see them in captivity. Would you like to explain to your children or grandchildren that they will never see a tiger except in pictures, because you disagreed with zoos?

It's true that captive conditions in the past were often cruel, the animals being kept in cramped cages and so on, but today all good zoos are carefully regulated - the animals are kept in conditions as close as possible to their natural habitat, with plenty of space, good diets and immediate medical care if they need it. Everything possible is done to ensure that they don't get bored - environmental enrichment is found in all good zoos. The animals will have scenery in their enclosure, things to play with if they're a playful species, and problems to solve in order to get their food, rather than it just being dropped in front of them.

It's important to remember that animals in zoos are captive-bred - they have not been taken from the wild and 'locked up in cages'. They were born in captivity and have known nothing else. They do not miss the wild, since they have no idea such a thing exists, and are certainly not unhappy - if they were, zoos would not achieve the breeding success they do (unhappy or unhealthy animals do not breed). One might even argue that they are better off in captivity, since they do not have to contend with the constant dangers of the wild - disease, injury, predation, starvation, etc.

Answer 9

I think it is okay to keep animals in zoos, aslong as they have a large, realistic enclosure with all of their requirements. Soem animals, like panda's would probably be extinct if it wasn't for zoos and their breeding programs.

But, however it is not okay to keep them in small, concrete enclosures or in cages.