The Zoo vs Sea World, the Circus, or Roadside Zoos

When you think of animal exploitation, it's easy to look at any organization that takes money on behalf of animals being the attraction which in essence, is not incorrect. However, I truly think there are some seriously big differences between the exploitation that occurs in places like Sea World or the Circus, versus accredited zoos. Allow me to dive into this further;

THE CIRCUS

The Circus is one of the biggest instances of animal exploitation out there. Wild animals like elephants, tigers, and lions, performing tricks that are wholly unnatural to them for adoring crowds who pay money to the circus that profits exponentially off of them. The animals are treated very poorly behind the scenes, often times being poked, prodded, and beaten, to train and force them into submission. 

In between shows, they are kept in ridiculously small cages as they are transported between cities where they are forced to perform over and over again. These activities put immeasurable stress on the animals and they often suffer psychological problems because of it. There is no money going towards conservation, rehoming, or educational purposes, therefor the circus is exploiting these animals to the fullest degree. The circus has no place in our society and any circus that utilizes wild animals in its shows needs to be banned for being entirely unethical. It's important to note that almost all of these animals are endangered in the wild making the circus extra disgusting.

SEA WORLD

Sea World and Marine Land are perfect examples of animal exploitation as well. These amusement parks accept large quantities of money from people every day at the expense of poorly treated animals. In this case, shows are performed by killer whales, dolphins, beluga whales, and more, where they jump through hoops or perform synchronized routines all for the purpose of making money for the amusement park.

In this case, these beautiful creatures live in the equivalent of bathtubs their entire lives and are either bred in captivity or taken from the wild, both cases being horrific. They spend their entire lives in the tiniest of spaces suffering immensely as they are often alone. This causes them serious psychological damage and has been documented on several occasions. These amusement parks profit heavily off of the suffering of animals with absolutely no concern for conservation or animal welfare, therefor they are another example of animal exploitation at its finest. They are currently suffering serious backlash with boycotts and calls to action regularly plaguing them for the poor conditions their creatures are kept in.

ROADSIDE ZOOS

Roadside zoos are unassumingly terrible because of their small scale but that certainly doesn't mean that they are not exploiting animals. In fact, roadside zoos are often the worst of the lot, let me explain.

Roadside zoos are attractions that slip under the radar and can often be found along highways or tucked away in undisclosed locations just waiting to lure in travelers who want to bear witness to what they believe to be well cared for animals. The fact is, these zoos often obtain their animals illegally and that's only the beginning. These animals often live in squalor with limited access to food, water, and especially veterinary care. The operators of these establishments have absolutely no idea how to care for these animals which results in the animals being very poorly looked after. They profit solely at the expense of the animals and have absolutely no regard for their well being, only concerned with making money for themselves.

It is important if you spot these roadside attractions to notify your local animal welfare group because there is a very good chance these attractions are undocumented meaning they likely have no licence to operate. An investigation would likely lead to charges and see the animals moved to sanctuaries where they'd be properly looked after.

In every instance of the above mentioned establishments, they profit at the expense of the animals. In every case, the animals are living sad existences suffering immensely for the profit of a human led organization that could care less about the damage they are causing to these animals. It's important to note that all of these organizations are currently embroiled in various bans, boycotts, and investigations leading to charges of animal cruelty. 

Now, I'd like to dive into what makes accredited and licences zoos different although not entirely without exploitation.

ACCREDITED ZOOS

I have fond memories of being brought to the zoo as a child and have visited a few times since my youth. In the case of accredited zoos, there are some major things that set them apart from the organizations I've mentioned prior, let's take a look at some of the differences.

Accredited zoos are very different in that they serve both an entertainment and educational purpose. Each enclosure offers information about the animals housed in their enclosures. This information pertains to the animal's life outside of the zoo, it gives students the opportunity not only to see the animal, but to learn about them. Everything from interesting facts about the animal to their natural habitats, their diets, and their characteristics. This educational aspect is the first difference between the zoo and those other organizations.

Access to appropriate food, water, and veterinary care also sets accredited zoos apart. There are several hundred fully trained specialists that look after each animal individually ensuring that it is kept in the best conditions possible. The enclosures often attempt to recreate a natural habitat to the best of their ability with adequate space for the animals to freely roam. It's definitely not perfect because any of these animals would have significantly more space in the wild but there is a significant difference between the quality of life between accredited zoos and roadside attractions.

Conservation is the most important of all the differences that must be discussed. Zoos often work tirelessly with conservationists to help repopulate severely endangered animals. Most recently, snow leopards and pandas have made the news for the zoos efforts to try and repopulate their numbers. Pandas are notoriously difficult to breed and working closely with conservationists, zoos are working tirelessly to save endangered species from extinction. Although one might argue that they are still in captivity yes, the fact is that these animals are nearing extinction in the wild and without the efforts of the zoos, they would be both extinct in the wild and in captivity.

Ultimately, the zoo still profits off of animals which essentially is wrong, but the money they make goes towards a variety of good causes along with profiting. As mentioned, they work to educate people about the animals and the perils they face in the wild, they work towards repopulating these animals and working with conservationists to aid in their efforts to conserve these species, and they provide appropriate care to the animals.

Zoos are not without scandal, there have been multiple reports of zoo employees being attacked or killed by animals, animal escapes resulting in euthanasia, and children falling into enclosures. All of these situations shed a truly negative light on the operations of zoos but as I said, if you are going to put your money towards any of the organizations mentioned, accredited zoos are the ONLY of these organizations the have a purpose outside of profit and exploitation.

I'm not telling you to ignore what's wrong with the zoo, I'm telling you to recognize the difference between accredited zoos and what they aim to achieve versus organizations like circus' or marine parks where animals are performing unnaturally and living horrendous lives outside of the public eye. There is a difference and we should recognize that although the zoo is NOT perfect by any means, they still make attempts to help in areas where animals are suffering and at risk in the wild and I think that should be recognized.

HAPPY VEG