My Thoughts on Zoos

By: Megan

As a kid, zoos were a fun place to go for the day. It was never a question in my mind that maybe this was not a good place. As I grew older, the blinders that society had put on me started to come off. I started to question the ethics of locking up animals as well as taking animals from their natural environment for money and attention. It became very clear to me that I did not support what zoos did and what a zoo means. I started to look at my animals and thinking about how terrible of a life I would have if I was locked in a small glass box with people staring at me in awe while I went through my day. Looking at the many incidents at zoos, it became apparent that 1) animals are not supposed to be locked up while humans look at them and 2) these animals are not supposed to be in close proximity to their predators like they are in zoos. It was not until I went to a zoo that I actually saw firsthand how terrible zoos are. I was walking around and everything seemed normal and then I looked into the animals' eyes. They all looked so sad. The elephants were swaying which is a sign of stress. Animals that are usually active in the wild were laying down and it just felt wrong. After that day, I have never been able to feel happiness in a zoo. I saw everything that I did not want to see in a zoo. And then I saw the animal shows where animals were being used for even more entertainment. Everything that I am against, I saw. I realized there was no actual purpose for zoos, so I stopped supporting them. There are so many other ways we can see and connect with animals such as animal sanctuaries. There are many types of sanctuaries for all different types of animals. Some are good and some are bad so make sure to do your research. I have personally never been to a sanctuary, however, I have seen many videos and the animals seem so much happier. It is one thing to rescue animals and give them a loving place to live, and it is a completely different thing to obtain or even rescue an animal and then use them for money and continue to let them reproduce and add to the systemic problem of society. In conclusion, zoos are never the best option.