Growing up, I was so infatuated by zoos. I loved watching the animals interact, being up close with them, and feeling like I was in nature. Unfortunately, as I got older I realized how these animals were being mistreated. Not only were they stolen from their previous life, but they lack joy in their lives. I was distraught figuring this out. After I did, I swore off these awful places that were destroying our environment. I first hand experienced how amazing it felt to be near them, but I can’t justify their pain and mistreatment for my joy.
Zoos are holding animals captive, forcing them into complete misery. While this may seem excessive, it is very real but society distracts us to push past the pain these animals are enduring. The 2021 article, “Experts Agree: Zoos Do More Harm Than Good” notes that, “The way animals initially find themselves in zoos is that they are kidnaped from nature and then brought to zoos. Zoos prefer to capture and display young animals, but the parents stand in the way. So zoos often hire hunters to kill the parents and then put the bereft baby animals in shipping containers and then ship them to their final destinations.” Not only is this thought disturbing, but it is so unknown. I had no idea these animals were not only being killed, but tortured for our amusement. Zoos are also known to take away animals’s free will. Animals are limited on not only their actions and what they can do, but also their mates. The article also states that, “When they are introduced to members of the opposite sex of their species, it is not uncommon for captive animals to refuse to mate in such a hostile setting. Instead, zoos often sexually violate the bodies of animals and artificially impregnate animals to produce young.” These poor animals are being bred and killed just for profit. Zoos have their priorities and these animals are at the bottom of the list. This is an insanely hard thing to think about, but just remind yourself how much suffering these animals are going through if you go to a zoo again.
