Zoo Good Or Bad Essay Sample

Have you ever been to a zoo? Yes, I’m talking about the place where you can view many fascinating animals. Well, you may not have thought about the many consequences that come with zoos. I’m not talking about the consequences for people, but the consequences for the animals living there. I think that Zoos are harmful to animals because they damage the mental and physical state of the animals, they keep the animals in confined spaces, often after being separated from their loved ones, and they dull the reflexes and survival instincts of the animals. In this essay, I will be talking about the problem with zoos.

First of all, you might not have noticed, but zoos damage the mental and physical state of animals. Most zoos provide barely enough space for the animals to exercise in. Instead of having a whole forest to run around in, the space that animals have is reduced to a small cage, where it’s a struggle to get enough exercise. And as we all know, not getting enough exercise is very unhealthy. Most of the time, the animals don’t have sufficient food. In the animals natural habitat, there would be food everywhere, but in captivity, they have limited food. Also the meal comes at the same time every day, whereas in the wild, they could eat whenever they want. Just like humans, the physical and mental state of all living beings is important and should be maintained well.

 Secondly, zoos keep the animals in confined spaces, often after being separated from their loved ones. Similar to humans, emotions can take a toll on animals too. Animals that are separated from their family can become very sad, bored, and stressed. Sometimes, when animals are extremely sad, they can end up trying to kill themselves. When zoo animals die, it's not always from old age, health problems, or them injuring themselves, sometimes zoo keepers also sometimes kill the animals. If certain animals are no longer serving a purpose to the zoo, the zoos usually kill them and sell their part. When animals become bored, sad or even unwanted, the results could be dangerous and possibly lethal for them.

When being trapped in a cage for so long, the reflexes and survival instincts of the animals tend to be forgotten. Since the animals don’t have to apply any of their survival instincts when they are in a zoo, they completely forget them. They can even forget the simple things, like how to hunt. Because of this, they can completely forget how to find food on their own. This means that if they are ever released into the wild, they would not be able to hunt for food and might even die. When animals forget their survival instinct, they are also not able to teach them to the next generations of that species. This is a problem because if no one teaches the next generation of that species, first of all, that generation can’t teach the next generation, and second of all, if any of the next generation are released, they won’t know how to survive. In the rare occasion that the animals are released back into the wild, it would be deadly to them, since they are used to not having to work to survive, they won’t be able to survive on their own when they really need to.

In conclusion, zoos might seem like a harmless source of entertainment for all ages to enjoy. But in reality, if you look closer at the effects they have on animals, you can see that zoos destroy the mental and physical state of animals, keep the animals in confined spaces and make them forget their survival instincts. All of these effects can be fatal for animals. Now that you have heard why I think zoos are harmful, do you think that are zoos really the best place for animals to be?