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  • Are zoos unethical and do harm to its animals ?


    Do you have a query regarding visiting animals kept in zoos? Want to get expert opinion from zoologist or biologist? On this page our experts shall respond to your query.

    I got complaint that I should stop visiting zoos since wild animals should not be kept in human made facilities. It restricts their freedom but I am not sure that the people who sent the complaints are actual zoologist or biologist.

    So, (perhaps ) from the perspectives of a biologist or a zoologist, is it harmless to visit zoos?
  • Answers

    6 Answers found.
  • Not sure whether the Zoo is ethical or unethical but it is just an entertainment for kids and elders who don't have much facilities or enough money to spend and reach the forest or jungle to view all the animals at one place in a shorter time.

    On the other hand, these animals really facing challenges on their own living life without forest dense or natural atmosphere is a concern to many for sure. These animals can't really live their life. Few become lazy within the cage and few becomes ill and on. Like it was once in a Circus, poor maintenance or management can harm the animals or birds etc.

    If you generally compare the Zoo animals against the forest / jungle animals then you would feel, the better one will be living naturally in a jungle / forest without any control or cage. This is the best one.

    Zoo is tough to manage in general and at the same time it needs lots of manpower and utmost care for these animals even though they live within the cage and control.

  • The zoo is considered a facility where various birds and animals try to provide facilities in a limited area. For this, various guidelines are given by the government and the criteria are set. When this work is done according to these criteria, then there is nothing illegal in it. The purpose of making them is to bring humans and wildlife close to each other. It is also studied various animals which is helpful in discoveries. Along with this, Chidighar is also considered a good option for entertainment and tourism. The common man gets a chance to learn the knowledge of practical patterns of animals and come in contact with them. We can see some animals only through the zoo, otherwise, it is considered rare to see them. Along with all this, the nutrition of animals should be taken care of only then it will prove effective. Sometimes some people make the zoo a source of business, which is wrong. Keeping animals in a bad state at the zoo, only adopting unethical methods for their offspring origin. Behaving and keeping them in a cage all the time is wrong and prohibited. Monitoring of zoos and investigation and inspection by the concerned agency is necessary from time to time.

  • The Zoo is the place of congregation of different animals in the same plate form to enrich the knowledge of the children and other visitors regarding their activities, behaviours and their attitudes while remaining in the cages. The visitors may be excited by seeing varieties of animals such as Giraffe, elephants, Lions etc doing their natural activities which may differ from animals to animals. It may look as if they were happy with the caged surroundings but every thing is not well. You may notice the pungent smell of their fasces making them even irritated if proper cleaning is not made.
    Confining some animals to the cage would mean their retardation to their mental stimulations which otherwise they could have enjoyed in a free jungle such as free roaming, jumping, migration to one place to other etc. Hence their captivity would lead to their less ageing especially when they lack some free area to move apart from their adequate feeding facilities done periodically with their choice.
    I would not say the entire Zoo Industries are engaged in making profits ignoring the welfare measures to be exercised according to the manuals recommended by the authorities, but irregularities have been seen in the maintenance of such rules leading to shortening their lives.

  • The concept of forest safari like Masai Mara, Kenya, and Kruger National Park, South Africa is much more interesting than zoos where animals are locked inside cages. In forest safaris, the vast diversity of animals like lions, elephants, buffalos, rhinos, cheetahs, etc. are allowed to roam in an open forest area with freedom.

    In some zoological parks, animals are exhibited in small open spaces. We cannot judge whether it is sufficient space for animals, as far as humans can clearly see them behind just a fence or pit. Nobody knows if it is also like putting them in locked cages.

    But, in my opinion, large forest safaris like Kruger park and Masai Mara park with over thousands of square kilometers of open forest space on the African continent are definitely well enough for almost all wild animals.

    These are like creating a natural zoological eco-park where the animal food chain naturally takes place. There are no specific maintenance activities for wild animals like feeding, bathing, etc. In case of medical emergency for animals, the safari park team arrives to extend their help.

    They don't interrupt in between when an animal hunts another. All it happens by nature. Public visitors are allowed to enter the safari park in their trucks with proper security precautions. The only thing is, it requires a large space of thousands of square kilometers.

    Thanks & regards
    Selvakumaran Krishnan

  • The concept of forest safari like Masai Mara, Kenya, and Kruger National Park, South Africa is much more interesting than zoos where animals are locked inside cages. In forest safaris, the vast diversity of animals like lions, elephants, buffalos, rhinos, cheetahs, etc. are allowed to roam in an open forest area with freedom.

    In some zoological parks, animals are exhibited in small open spaces. We cannot judge whether it is sufficient space for animals, as far as humans can clearly see them behind just a fence or pit. Nobody knows if it is also like putting them in locked cages.

    But, in my opinion, large forest safaris like Kruger park and Masai Mara park with over thousands of square kilometers of open forest space on the African continent are definitely well enough for almost all wild animals.

    These are like creating a natural zoological eco-park where the animal food chain naturally takes place. There are no specific maintenance activities for wild animals like feeding, bathing, etc. In case of medical emergency for animals, the safari park team arrives to extend their help.

    They don't interrupt in between when an animal hunts another. All it happens by nature. Public visitors are allowed to enter the safari park in their trucks with proper security precautions. The only thing is, it requires a large space of thousands of square kilometers.

    Thanks & regards
    Selvakumaran Krishnan

  • Keeping animals in cages in a zoo is like imprisoning human beings for their mistakes. But the difference here is animals with no mistakes on their side or caged for the entertainment of human beings. An animal in a forest will be at home and there are no restrictions on its movement. But in Zoo, there may be some open space also but not sufficient for the animals to feel at home. The zoo management may be taking care of the animals but definitely they feel that loneliness. Another issue in the zoo is some visitors play with the animals by giving them unwanted junk food even though they are not supposed to feed. That will have a lot of impact on the mental and physical condition of the animal also.
    The concept of a safari is where the animals will be moving freely in a relatively bigger area. The people will be going inside the safari to see the animals that are roaming freely in the open area. Even though the area is not comparable to a forest, it gives some happiness to animals also. I have visited safaris in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

    drrao
    always confident


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