Idea Ultimate: Zoos

Do their advantages exceed their disadvantages?

1. YES

1. By bringing people and animals together, zoos foster an appreciation of animals. This could motivate people to protect them.
2. Zoos save endangered species by bringing them into a safe environment, where they are protected from poachers, habitat loss, starvation, and predators.
3. Many zoos also have breeding programs for endangered species. In the wild, these individuals might have trouble finding mates and breeding.
4. In a good zoo, animals are never bored, are well cared-for, and have plenty of space.
5. A visit to a zoo is a wholesome family activity.
6. Seeing an animal in person is a much more personal and memorable experience than seeing it in a wildlife documentary.
7. Some zoos help rehabilitate animals and take in exotic pets that people no longer want or are no longer able to care for.
8. They allow researchers and scientists to obtain a better understanding of the way animals live. This could be helpful in saving more of them.
9. Having zoos means that all animals are cared for and do not suffer from illness or malnutrition.
10. Zoos can be educational, teaching children and adults about animals and the way they live.

2. NO

1. We do not have the right to breed, capture and confine animals, even if they are endangered. Being a member of an endangered species does not mean the individual animals have fewer rights.
2. Animals suffer from stress and boredom in captivity.
3. Removing animals from the wild will further endanger the wild population because the remaining ones will have more difficulty finding mates.
4. If people want to see wild animals in person, they can observe them in the wild or visit a sanctuary.
5. Sanctuaries also rehabilitate animals and take in unwanted exotic pets, without breeding, buying and selling animals like zoos do.
6. If zoos are teaching children anything, it is that imprisoning animals for our own entertainment is acceptable.
7. Studies have shown that animals kept in zoos do not live as long as those in the wild.
8. Animals sometimes escape their enclosures, endangering themselves as well as people.
9. If zoo-born animals are released into the wild, they will have a very difficult time adapting to the environment.