Why Zoos Should Be Banned

Why Zoos Should be Banned - Aubrey Hull (Grover C. Fields Middle School, 6th Grade)

Most of you have most likely grown up visiting zoos, and to a large percentage of people it is a great place for young people to explore the wild. While it may be true that zoos educate people about animals, the animals in them have a much lower quality of life than in the wild. Given this reason, zoos should be banned.

           As Mimi Bekhechi remarks in National Geographic on September 13th 2021, “Animals in zoos suffer tremendously, both physically and mentally.” Zoos put animals on display for our enjoyment. What is to say that we get to deny their rights to entertain ourselves. There are other better 

options to visit than a zoo that promote more to caring for the animals rather than showing off animals to the public such as an animal sanctuary or a national park.

           A lot of you are probably thinking, ‘What about all the good things zoos do for animals? While zoos do have some positive aspects like funding, conducting studies, and protecting endangered species, many zoos do not have sufficient regulations . As EcoCation discussed on October 18, 2023, “Many zoos are free to treat their animals however they want.” Along with that, regular polar bear enclosures are one million times smaller than those they would inhabit in the wild. 

           In conclusion, I don’t know what to put this is a placeholder for now. Zoos are prisons for animals masking their immorality and cruelty with conservational claims. I hope that next time you are thinking about visiting a zoo you decide to take a better alternative and not support an animal prison.