Should Zoos be Banned?

By Bea C. and Allie E.

Zoos need to go because they treat animals inhumanely. Zoos don’t care about the animals; they only care about the amount of money they get from the visitors. As a result, the animals don’t get what they need. If zoos don’t go, a lot of animals would not survive. 

Animals are being mistreated at zoos and even killed. Zoos are killing them when they get older because they want baby animals because they are more entertaining, according to Newsela. Zoos think that if they have baby animals people will want to see them more, which means more people and more money. For example, Marius was born at the Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark. Visitors liked him but he was killed as an adult because the zoo didn’t think he was needed, according to National Geographic. They had other giraffes to breed. Animals should be able to grow up and die on their own because every animal should go through their whole life cycle. 

Another reason why zoos are inhumane is because the enclosures are not as big as the animals' natural habitats. Some animals can even develop zoochosis, which can cause pacing, bar biting and other repetitive habits, according to Wildlife New Zealand.

Another bad thing that happens at zoos is when the visitors accidentally or purposely drop things like food or trash in the animal's pen. That can make the animals sick or even kill them. 

Animals born in zoos don’t learn how to survive in the wild so if they got released into the wild, they wouldn’t be able to live for very long. They never were taught how to survive in the wild because their moms couldn't teach them in the zoo. We shouldn’t force animals to be captive. They shouldn’t be forced to live somewhere they are not supposed to.  

Animals are being harmed, and that's why zoos need to go. Animals may be killed if we keep letting zoos run. If an animal is born in the zoo and finally gets to go to the wild, it won’t know how to survive. For these reasons and many more, zoos have got to go!