Captivity: What Is The Purpose Of Life In A Cage?

Audri, Tanner, Austin, Tyson, Holly, Amy
Beal
English 2010 Wednesday
4 April 2018
Captivity: What is the Purpose of Life in a Cage?
In today’s postmodern society, there tends to be a negative stigma on the subject of animals being held in captive environments. Activists around the world present types of propaganda such as articles, books, illustrations, music, etc. against animals in captivity, to incite emotional appeal within the audience. Authors and illustrators exhibit their research in the mistreatment of animals to aid the movement of animal conservation through ethical standpoints. Animals being held captive are often suffering. This is mistreating them since they are limited to a little space which hinders them from wandering about.
According to Ranganathan, “zoos are prisons for animals no one needs to see a depressed penguin in the flesh” (2017). Zoos subject animals to depression thus make one see no essence of having them around. A view of the zoos in relation to the specific animals depicts that the animals are subjected to miserable captivity where they have little freedom. Ranganathan postulates that the rights of animals kept in zoos are infringed and according to statutes of animal rights, people should refrain from capturing and confining animals. However, it is important to note that being members of endangered species guarantees the captivity of animals.
Zoos are used for educational and recreational purposes by human beings. Amid the infringed freedom of the animals, seeing the animals in person is thought to be more memorable. It is also thought that zoos are important places for educating the public as well as fostering the public’s appreciation for animals. Visits to the zoos have also been linked to tradition and family activities. In the human perspective, the zoos are pleasant and sources of entertainment. However, people ignore the fact that animals in captivity lack freedom of movement, and the ability to devour the land as they wander about.
Zoos can also be beneficial or detrimental. Most farmers, ranchers and people who live off the land or live in rural areas are anti-captivity thus prefer animals being free and in the wild, whereas people who live in cities and towns are more likely pro-captivity. They prefer the animals being in captivity to enjoy the scenery that zoos provide. They do not put into consideration what these animals experience while being held captive. In either case, this makes the issues or problems brought about by menageries or institutions which hold these animals captive more relevant and difficult to conclude.
Zoos also provide entertainment. For instance, SeaWorld provides animal entertainment to hundreds of thousands of city goers each year. However, these zoos are criticized by animal rights organizations for the captivity of their orcas. Sea World ended its breeding program just after its last orca, Takara, became pregnant in 2015. “The program came under criticism from animal rights activists, especially since a 2013 documentary claimed that captivity was harmful to orcas” (Diebel, 2017). The organization not only claimed to end their orca breeding program but also their orca shows by 2019, which generates nearly seventy percent of Sea World’s annual revenue. Sea World was told to retire Takura and her calf to a seaside sanctuary. The animal activist groups, though, have reason to confront menageries such as Sea World for the captivity of their animals.
A study released in the Canadian Journal of Microbiology by Schwab and Gänzle (2011) showed that the composition of the captive polar bear fecal matter closely resembled the fecal bacteria population of captive grizzly and black bears. The test looked at the percentage of toxins in fecal matter of these bears and compared it to the amount in non-captive black and grizzly bears. The results suggested their hypothesis, confirming that the gut physiology affects microbiota composition. Toxins such as Clostridium perfringens (a disease-causing bacterium that excels as the host’s resistance decreases) were also found in captive polar bears. This implies that as the host deteriorates from the effects of the toxin, the toxin becomes stronger.
Despite the numerous concerns about animal captivity, zoos and zoo like institutions are unique organizations which have helped and are helping thousands of animals each year. “No other public cultural institution combines direct responsibilities for providing recreation, education, research, conservation, and care for living animals” (Norton, 1995). As we move forward in time, zoos will become more and more important centers for conservation, research, education, and recreation. Zoos contribute more than any other organizations to the increasingly demanding tasks of wildlife care in constricted habitats through basic biological information and technological know-how.
From the review of these articles, it is apparent that those who are anti-captivity are not likely to budge in their stance as it traces back decades and many generations. Those who are pro-captivity are not aware of the effects of captivity on wild animals. In order to decrease the negative effects of captivity on wild animals and increase the positive effects, we must draw opinions from both anti- and pro-captivity parties.
An image I came across, depicted a donkey putting its head against a fence out of pure boredom or pain. It might also be out of frustration or pure agony or a mixture of the two. “Small steel cages and cement cells, sick dogs and cats did not have any veterinary attention and were left suffering” (Laveaga, 2010). It is a powerful image because it shows that maybe menageries are really having psychological effects on these animals. What are the rights of animals in captivity? Do they even have any? What are our responsibilities pertaining to animals? Animals should be treated fairly. The illustration on the donkey with its head against the wall shows that there might be side effects of having animals in a zoo. Should we just ignore this display of behavior or look into it further? That is our responsibility we should be researching and actually paying attention to small signs that are being manifested in their behavior.
There are plenty of non-profit groups out there trying to put an end to animals being abused in captivity by zookeepers or psychological effects. “Zoos cannot provide the amount of space animals have in the wild” (Freedom for Animals). Insightful videos and articles point out why wild animals do not belong in cages. Informative about how to get involved. How do we get people to expand their spheres of obligation? The key to expanding spheres of obligation is knowledge, the more we know and understand a certain subject the more likely we are to form our opinions and we are a hundred times more likely to defend and act on our opinions. “Although humans currently appear to be the dominant species on this planet, we do not have the right to mistreat the other species” (Laveaga, 2010). There are plenty of non-profit groups that are out trying to make a difference in the lives of animals.
The life and death of Zoo elephants is a tough topic, researchers have collected data to try and understand the effects of zoo. Young elephants tend to fare well on the zoos than in the wild. However, they get to be further compromised by breeding programs which transfer them between the zoos. Zoos are known for not letting elephants live for long since they do not have enough space for the animal to maneuver around. “Consequently, zoos are far from being their long-promised goal of producing self-sustaining captive populations and they clearly do not send animals back into the wild to bolster diminishing populations there” (Borrell, 2008). It illustrates that the elephant population is not stable and this could be due to being held captive in zoos. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration when it comes to talking about the decline in elephant population. Many poachers out there kill the elephants for their tusks. This in turn does not make the population very stable, having elephants in zoos might be removing them away from a harmful situation with poachers but at what costs?
Killing the wild animals or selling animals can cause conflict to arise, with those who firmly oppose. Poachers hunt in exchange for money, while selling to zoos, cages, captivity, etc. while others hunt for meat, and sometimes even fun. At one point animals were extremely well supplied, but are increasingly dwindling in numbers. The relationship between animals and humans is no longer in good terms. However, some people believe that killing animals or selling them is more humane, rather than discovering their remains and selling them in plastic wrap could be better. “The animals that roam the land have become commodified, part of a new consumerism, marketed and sold, their brands pitted against each other, their continued existence now a question of human demand, whim, and calculation” (Paterniti, 2017).
When animals are in zoos, exposure to sickness is a high risk. Hedgier discusses how visiting zoos can be dangerous for both the people and the animals. Coming in c...