Animals In Captivity???

Dania Odeh

Shukairy

Honors Writing

11/03/13

Animals In Captivity

Can one imagine that a chimpanzee would rip off someone’s face? Well, when put in an unfamiliar habitat, this could happen. In most cases, when wild animals are contained in a smaller environment, it can cause unusual behavior and violent actions. Animals such as whales, chimpanzees, lions, tigers, or sharks should not be captured and put in captivity. If they are, then it can cause problems like sicknesses, mental problems, and uncontrolled behavior. Keeping animals in captivity is wrong because the animals could loose control and possibly injure someone, as well as the financial cost. 
To begin with, there are many cases where animals were put in captivity and ended up hurting someone. “Every year, captive exotic animals are involved in incidents in which humans are injured or even killed” (www.bornfreeusa.org). About four years ago, in Orlando, Florida there was an incident with Shamu, the killer whale, and his trainer, who has been with him for fifteen years. During one of the shows, Shamu leaped from the tank, pulled his trainer in, and dragged her around until she was decapitated. This happened in front of thousands of people. Even though Shamu had been with his trainer for many years, he still could not control instinctive behavior.  There was another situation with a chimpanzee named Travis, his owner, and a friend of the owner. One day, Travis was acting out; he would not go into his cage. The owner thought it was best to call her friend, who was experienced with animals, to come and help control Travis. Once she arrived, Travis immediately jumped onto the friend’s face; firmly planted his hands deep into her face, and ripped it off. Loud shrieks came from the owner and the neighbors who soon found out. When animal control arrived, they had no choice but to put him down. The friend is luckily alive, but she is blind, lost a hand, and a nose. Again, this is one of many stories that show the violence that can come from animals being put in captivity. 
Additionally, It takes a lot of time and effort to capture animals from the wild, get a cage/tank to keep them in, and to pay for the animal’s medication. The average amount of animals taken into Zoos and Aquariums is 751,931, with a variety of 500 species (statisticbrain.com). The Zoo, the Circus, and the Sea World people all spend billions of dollars on tanks or cages for the animals. Most of the time, the habitat for the animals is too small, because the animals are use to a limitless amount of space. Sometimes, the whales are put in dolphin tanks, which can affect how the whales acts and feels. To save money, most parks will get a satisfactory tank, which doesn’t always satisfy the animal. Also, it costs a lot for food and gadgets to capture the animals. Each animal needs a certain amount of food and some owners will try to cut down on food, which can cause sicknesses for the animals. When an animal gets sick, it might become serious and require a special doctor, which costs a lot of money. Altogether, to pay for all the expenses for all the animals it can cost millions of dollars. 
Likewise, a shark that was put in captivity attacked a friend of my family. The shark was taken from his home and put in a tank made for a dolphin. The shark was not use to environment, so he started to act out. My friend was with a group of people who where observing the trained shark. At one part of the tour, the group got in the tank with the shark. When my friend got in, she started to touch the shark and everything was fine. Then, after a while, the shark lost control and bit her arm. There was blood everywhere and everyone started to panic. Luckily they managed to get her out and they called the ambulance immediately. She is able to use her arm, but it is still very painful for her. The shark was trained for years not to hurt people, but a wild animal is still a wild animal. It is hard to change an animal from wild to tame.
Some believe that animals should be kept in captivity, because they can be protected from other dangerous animals, but this position is weak, because putting animals in captivity may protect them, but it can still hurt them severely. Some people say that it is helping the animals by taking them in and protecting them. This is a very good point, but sometimes it is hard to protect the animals if you do not know exactly what they need. Another good point is if animals are kept in captivity, then they can be well fed and taken care of. This position is weak, because most of the time people don’t know exactly how much to feed the animals, because they could over feed or not provide enough.  It may be difficult for others to completely be aware of the animals needs.
Animals that are put in captivity may miss their home and environment and can lead to devastating events. To capture animals and put them in captivity is not right, because it may cause some uncontrollable behavior and lead to injuries or even death. When the animals are contained in a small habitat, it can lead to outbursts of violence and bring harm to others. Unfamiliar places can also unleash bad behavior from the animals. It might be best to let wild animals express themselves in the wild, so no harm can come to others. 

Reference List

USA, Born Free. “Animals in Captivity.” bornfreeusa.org. 11/03/13.

Harden, Seth. “Captive Animals.” statisticbrain.com. 11/03/13.