A List of Arguments for and Against Zoos 2015-09-17, 2:00 PM

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Zoos argue that they save endangered species and educate the public, but animal rights activists believe the costs outweigh the beneﬁts, and the violation of the rights of the individual animals is unjustiﬁable.

Ellen van Bodegom/Moment/Getty Images Roadside zoos, petting zoos, and smaller animal exhibitors tend to keep the animals in smaller pens or cages. Sometimes, barren concrete ANIMAL RIGHTS CATEGORIES and metal bars are all a tiger or bear will know for their entire lives. Animal Rights 101 Larger, accredited zoos try to distance Animal Experimentation and Animal Ads themselves from these operations by Testing English Grammar Checker touting how well the animals are Animals Used for Food www.grammarly.com/Grammar_C treated, but to animal rights activists, Animals Used in Clothing hecker the issue not how well the animals are Hunting, Wildlife Management and Find & ﬁx all grammar, spelling, & treated, but whether we have a right to Endangered Species punctuation errors instantly! conﬁne them for our amusement or Animals in Entertainment "education." Kindergarten Worksheets Animals as Pets www.education.com/Worksheets Arguments For Zoos Working Animals, Including Carriage Free Kindergarten Worksheets Horses Sorted By Subject. Help Kids • By bringing people and animals Companies and Their Animal-Related Build Skills! together, zoos educate the public Activities South Africa Safaris and foster an appreciation of the Animal Law and Court Cases voyagetrek.com/South_Africa_Saf animals. This exposure and Basic Introduction to Animal Rights aris education motivates people to Basic Animal Rights Issues National Geographic Award protect the animals. How to Help Animals Winner. Custom Itineraries & • Zoos save endangered species by Updated Articles and Resources Private Guides bringing them into a safe environment, where they are Sign up for our free http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalsinentertainment/a/Arguments-For-And-Against-Zoos.htm Page 1 of 6 A List of Arguments for and Against Zoos 2015-09-17, 2:00 PM

protected from poachers, habitat Animal Rights newsletter • Animal Care loss, starvation and predators. Enter your email SIGN UP • Farm Animal Petting Zoo • Many zoos also have breeding • Zoo programs for endangered You can opt-out at any time.. See our privacy policy. • PETA Kills Animals species. In the wild, these • Stop Animals Abuse individuals might have trouble ﬁnding mates and breeding. • Reputable zoos are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and are held to high standards for the treatment of the animals. According to the AZA, accreditation means, "oﬃcial recognition and approval of a zoo or aquarium by a group of experts." • A good zoo provides an enriched Ads habitat in which the animals are Children Museum and Zoo never bored, are well cared-for, www.cityofpaloalto.org/ and have plenty of space. Great for children under 5 Free Zoos are a tradition, and a visit to Entrance • a zoo is a wholesome, family Free Letter Worksheets activity. www.education.com/Worksheets • Seeing an animal in person is a Printable Letter Worksheets by much more personal and more Grade. Help Kids Build Skills! memorable experience than seeing that animal in a nature documentary. • Some would argue that humans have little, if any duty to non-human animals because humans are more important, and if keeping animals in zoos serves any educational or entertainment purposes, we can ethically do it. • Zoos help rehabilitate wildlife and take in exotic pets that people no longer want or are no longer able to care for. • Both accredited and unaccredited animal exhibitors are regulated by the federal Animal Welfare Act, which establishes standards for care.

Arguments Against Zoos

• From an animal rights standpoint, we do not have a right to breed, capture and confine other animals, even if they are endangered. Being a member of an endangered species doesn't mean the individual animals have fewer rights. • Animals in captivity suffer from stress, boredom and confinement. Intergenerational bonds are broken when individuals get sold or traded to other zoos, and no pen or even drive-through safari can compare to the freedom of the wild. • Baby animals bring in visitors and money, but this incentive to breed new baby animals leads to overpopulation. Surplus animals are sold not only to other zoos, but also to circuses, canned hunting facilities, and even for slaughter. • Some zoos just kill their surplus animal outright.

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• The vast majority of captive breeding programs do not release animals back into the wild. The offspring are forever part of the chain of zoos, circuses, petting zoos, and exotic pet trade that buy, sell and barter animals among themselves and exploit animals. Ned the Asian elephant was born at an accredited zoo, but later confiscated from an abusive circus trainer and finally sent to a sanctuary. • Removing individuals from the wild will further endanger the wild population because the remaining individuals will be less genetically diverse and will have more difficulty finding mates. • If people want to see wild animals in real life, they can observe wildlife in the wild or visit a sanctuary. A true sanctuary does not buy, sell, or breed animals, but takes in unwanted exotic pets, surplus animals from zoos or injured wildlife that can no longer survive in the wild. • An individual's rights should not be infringed for the sake of the species. A species is not a sentient being and therefore has no rights. • If zoos are teaching children anything, it's that imprisoning animals for our own entertainment is acceptable. • At least one study has shown that elephants kept in zoos do not live as long as elephants in the wild. • The federal Animal Welfare Act establishes only the most minimal standards for cage size, shelter, health care, ventilation, fencing, food and water. For example, enclosures must provide "sufficient space to allow each animal to make normal postural and social adjustments with adequate freedom of movement. Inadequate space may be indicated by evidence of malnutrition, poor condition, debility, stress, or abnormal behavior patterns." Violations often result in a slap on the wrist and the exhibitor is given a deadline to correct the violation. Even a long history of inadequate care and AWA violations, such as the history of Tony the Truck Stop Tiger, will not free the animals. • Sanctuaries also rehabilitate wildlife and take in unwanted exotic pets, without breeding, buying and selling animals like zoos do. • Animals sometimes escape their enclosures, endangering themselves as well as people. There have even been incidents of zoo animals eating other zoo animals. In the case of zoos, both sides will argue that their side saves animals. Zoo proponents do not believe in animal rights, so many of the arguments against zoos are not persuasive to them, while other arguments may seem to apply only to inferior zoos, such as roadside zoos and petting zoos.

Doris Lin, Esq. is an animal rights attorney and Director of Legal Aﬀairs for the Animal Protection League of NJ.

What's the Diﬀerence Between a Zoo and a Sanctuary? The Role of Zoos in Endangered Species Conservation Aquariums and Animal Rights - What's Wrong with Aquariums? Study Shows Elephants in Zoos Live Shorter Lives See More

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About.com About News & Issues Animal Rights Animals in Entertainment What's the Diﬀerence Between a Zoo and a Sanctuary? It's the diﬀerence between exploitation and rescue.

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By Doris Lin

Animal rights advocates oppose keeping animals in zoos, but support sanctuaries. They oppose keeping animals in zoos because imprisoning the animals for our entertainment violates their right to live free of human exploitation. Even if the animals are of an endangered Alex Wong / Getty Images species, keeping them in a zoo for the sake of the species violates their rights because the good of the species cannot be put above the rights of the individual.

On the other hand, sanctuaries rescue Ads animals who cannot live in the wild and English Grammar Checker can survive only in captivity. www.grammarly.com/Grammar_C hecker How are zoos and sanctuaries Trusted by 4 million+ students, similar? faculty, & professionals worldwide. Both zoos and sanctuaries confine wild animals in pens, tanks and cages. Many 1 Tip of a flat belly : are operated by non-profit superfatburningfats.com organizations, display animals to the Cut down a bit of your belly every public and educate the public about day by using this 1 weird old tip. animals. Some charge admission or request a donation from visitors. Download Free Audiobook www.audible.com How are they different? Try Audible with a Free Audiobook. Listen on Your iPhone The main difference between zoos and or Android! sanctuaries is how they acquire their animals. A zoo might buy, sell, breed, or • Zoo trade animals, or even capture animals from the wild. The rights of the • Animal Care individual are not considered. Animals • Animal Rehabilitation are often overbred because the zoo • Best Atlanta Zoo likes having a constant supply of baby • Animal Rescue animals to attract the public, which leads to overcrowding. Excess animals are sold to other zoos, circuses or even canned hunting. The animals are acquired to satisfy the interests of the zoo.

A sanctuary does not breed, buy, sell or trade animals. A sanctuary also does

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not capture animals from the wild, but acquires only animals who can no longer survive in the wild.

These might include injured wildlife, conﬁscated illegal exotic pets, exotic pets who are surrendered by their owners, and animals from zoos, circuses, breeders, and laboratories that close down. The sanctuaries are rescuing the animals and doing the best they can for the individual animals.

While a zoo may argue that they serve an educational purpose, this argument does not justify the imprisonment of the individual animals. They may also argue that spending time with the animals inspires people to protect them, but their idea of protecting the animals consists of taking them out of the wild to conﬁne them in cages and pens. Furthermore, animal advocates would argue that the main lesson taught by the zoo is that we have the right to imprison animals for humans to gawk at.

What about accredited zoos?

Some animal welfare advocates distinguish between accredited zoos and "roadside" zoos. In the United States, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) grants accreditation to zoos and aquariums that meet their standards, including procedures for animal health, safety, guest services, and recordkeeping. The term "roadside zoo" is often used to mean a zoo that is unaccredited, and generally is smaller, with fewer animals and inferior facilities.

While the animals at roadside zoos may suﬀer more than animals at larger zoos, the animal rights position opposes all zoos, regardless of how big the cages or pens are.

What about endangered species?

Endangered species are those that are in danger of becoming extinct in a significant portion of their range. Many zoos participate in breeding programs for endangered species, and may some day be the only places where some species exist. But imprisoning a small number of individuals for the sake of the species violates the rights of the individual. A species does not have rights because it is not sentient. "Species" is a scientific category designated by people, not a sentient being capable of suffering. The best way to save endangered species is by protecting their habitat.

It may seem confusing to people when they see animal rights advocates boycotting zoos while supporting sanctuaries. The same might be true when animal advocates oppose keeping pets but have rescued cats and dogs from shelters. The important factor to consider is whether we are exploiting the animals or rescuing them. Shelters and sanctuaries rescue animals, while pet shops and zoos exploit them.

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10 Arguments For and 13 Against Zoos The Role of Zoos in Endangered Species Conservation Marius the Giraﬀe Killed at Copenhagen Zoo Is it Illegal to Kill a Praying Mantis? Are they Endangered? Protected? See More http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalsinentertainment/a/Arguments-For-And-Against-Zoos.htm Page 5 of 6 A List of Arguments for and Against Zoos 2015-09-17, 2:00 PM

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