NAME: Cynthia Gémez Fernandez ‘COURSE: A 01/ PROJECT PROTECTING THE ANIMALS. Pros and Cons of the animals in the zoos INTRODUCTION A 200 can be described as collection of animals found in nature. The reasons behind keeping animals in coptivity ore associated with educational needs, research, recreation ond conservation, The ‘zoo culture’ can be traced back to the early period of Chinese, Egyption and Mesopotamian civilizations. For along time, z00 authorities claimed fo have contributed to the conservation of endangered onimal species The question whether animals should be kept in captivity o not is debated on many platforms and forums. Ths issue is indirectly related to environmental problems and is the source of heated debates taking place the world over 1. Natural Habitat and Animal Rights. Conservation of Endangered Species + Pros: Zoos save endangered species by bringing them into a safe environment, where they are protected from poachers of wild animals for fur, ivory and supposed medicinal benefits, habitat loss, starvation and predators. Also, captive breeding can help raise the number of endangered wild ‘animals, + Cons: Animols hove their own, natural rights and copturing them for any reason is the breach of those rights. For example, elephants are known to travel long distances when they are the wild. In fact, elephants in the wild follow migratory routes and trovel in herds called ‘bond groups’. Therefore, restricting their movements by keeping them in the confines of @ 200 is unnatural. Wild animols ore, in © woy, connected fo their notural surroundings and this bond is broken when they are putinto arfificial settings of a zoo. 2. The Good and Bad Zoos « Pros:|is true that in the past, many 200s have subjected animals to crvel lreatment. However, there is continuous improvement observed in the way in which zoos operate. With reforms brought about in this sector, animals are given a much belter treatment today. Nowadays a lot of zoos are equipped with the best spaces for each animal. Cons: No matter how good the facilities in a z00 are, animals tend to suffer in the confines of zoos. Animals in z00s constantly live under a kind of psychological pressure that tends to get reflected in their abnormal behavior because their natural movements are limited by boundaries of the zoo. Animals thot are born in @ captive environment never get to see the world outside the confines of their cages.Take for example the case of the zoo in E| CERRITO DE LA LIBERTAD VS Henry Doorly In Omaha, Nebraska, Estados Unidos that is the best zoo in the world, 3. Role of Zoos in Education + Pros: These doys, z00 authorities place a greater emphosis on education and conservation than only recreation. Many school children visit z00s to know more about endangered species ond the different ways to conserve them. The signboards in z00s provide useful details about onimals including their scientific name, habitot, origin, diet, etc, Students can study about different kinds of wild animals without having to travel to far off places. Zoos are iin fact, trying to make people aware of the environmental problems + Cons: For many of us, visiting a 200 amounts to nothing more than recreation. There are only a few who visit z00s for educational purposes. Also, It is observed that visitors tend to abuse animals by throwing objects at them; such kind of careless and irresponsible behavior by visitors hos a negative effect on animals. Captive animals ore not able to exhibit their natural behavioral traits. Therefore, studying o z00 animal won't reveal much about animals living in natural settings CONCLUSION The debate of whether zoos are good or bad is an endless one. There is no doubt that efforts need to be taken to study, protect and preserve animals; however, care should be taken to see tht, in the process, animals suffer the least. Also, one cannot deny the fact that some 200 authorities violate animal rights Creating awareness about animal rights and devising efficient ways to control animal population is necessary. Conservation efforts should be undertaken with o broader perspective of maintaining the ecological balance as a whole.