Animal Rights: Zoos, Aquarium’s, Circuses
Zoos, aquariums and circuses have all been around for many years. Most just see them as
a place to go visit animals that they wouldn’t normally see on an everyday basis. But what most don’t see is the cruelty and torture the animals go through to create a family friendly environment. Zoos, aquariums and circuses should be shut down because they violate animal rights that all animals should be entitled to.

First, zoos, aquariums, and circuses have large amounts of deaths every year. Zoos in particular hold a wide range of species. From elephants, monkeys, lions and tigers to snakes, fish, and spiders. According to an article by an organization called Freedom for Animals, “African Elephants in the wild live more than three times as long as those kept in zoos.”(Freedom for Animals, 8). Often, zoos, aquariums, and circuses kill the parents of newborn animals and fish because there is no need for them after their baby is born. Also, from the same article published by Freedom for Animals, “40% of lion cubs die before one month of age. In the wild, only 30% of cubs are thought to die before they are six months old, and at least a third of those deaths are due to factors which are absent in zoos, like predators,” (Freedom for Animals, 9). There is also such thing as a “surplus” animal. As seen in an article by the organization called Our Green Planet, a surplus animal is one that has “made its contribution to a managed population and is not essential for future scientific studies or to maintain social group stability or traditions,” (One Green Planet, 2). In other words, they see surplus animals as beings that have become useless and aren’t needed anymore. Circuses also have surplus animals that just get killed when they aren’t needed anymore. Overall, animals are put through such trauma and torture while they are held captive that there are thousands of deaths at these facilities every year. Animal’s lives are just thrown away like garbage because humans use them for their own selfish entertainment and purposes, and that isn’t ethically acceptable in anyway.

Secondly, animals in these places aren’t given proper space to needed to really do anything that they would be able to do in their natural habitat. As stated in an article by James Nolan with Vice, “the average lion or tiger has 18,000 times less space in captivity than it does in the wild,” (Nolan, 7). Due to the lack of space, animals become overweight because they can’t exercise and run and walk like that would be able to do in the wild. Also, according to the article published by Vice, “At Woburn Safari Park in 2010, lions were discovered being left in cramped, unsuitable enclosures for up to 18 hours a day,” (Nolan, 8). As most people know, the aquarium is a place to go to see all kinds of marine life and maybe even see them do fun things like perform tricks. But what most people don’t know or realize is the physical, emotional, and mental toll it takes when these innocent animals are being forced to live in these small tanks. In the ocean, dolphins and whales live in groups or families. IN captivity, there isn’t enough room for this and families and groups are separated as they are captured or moved to different locations. Whales and dolphins also swim miles and miles each day searching for food or socializing, which they can’t do in their small tanks. According to an article posted by the Humane Society of the United States, “dolphins and whales would normally spend only 10-20% of their time at the surface. But, because of the shallowness of the tanks, the natural tendencies of whales and dolphins are reversed and they must spend more than half their time at the tanks surface,” (Humane Society, 6). So basically, these marine animals’ lives are spent swimming in
endless circles. Adding on, we all know what the circus is. Most of us have probably even been once or twice on our lifetimes. But what you don’t see are the conditions these animals are kept in. According to an article published by One Green Planet, “elephants can be chained up for up to 23 hours a day. Usually in the wild, an elephant walks up to 30 miles a day- something a circus elephant will never be able to do,”(One Green Planet, 7). In total, animals in zoos, aquariums, and circuses are being kept in inhumane conditions that are taking a mental and physical toll on them.

Lastly, not only do these popular family entertainment places take a mental toll on the animals, they also take a physical toll and worsen the health of the animals greatly. According to an article published by the Human Society of the United States, “the effects of leaving marine life in small tanks where they spend more than half of their lives on the surfaces is skin problems. In addition to that, in captive killer whales (orcas), it is the probable cause of dorsal fin collapse... this is only observed in 1% of whales in the wild,”(Human Society, 6). When it comes to zoos and circuses, elephants have major health problems. In an article published by The Irish Times, “elephants in captivity display chronic health problems associated with confinement, including arthritis, foot diseases, skin aliments, physiological problems, and reproductive difficulties, with areas far too small to meet their needs for exercise and natural behavior,”(Irish Times, 6). In a zoo in Dublin, a white rhino got shot and killed by untrained staff, many penguins were killed because toxic paint got in their pools, and sea lions went blind from chlorine in their ponds. These are the kinds of things that are happening all the time in zoos, leading to the death of thousands of animals a year.

On the other hand, some people still believe that zoos, aquariums, and circuses don’t violate animal rights, despite all of the evidence. Many believe that these places make life for animals safe and comfortable. They believe that because animals are in enclosures that they won’t get killed by predators. According to a book titled Animal Rights by Herbert M. Levine, “Zoos and aquariums make life comfortable, healthy, and pleasant for the animals in their care. Animal rightists accusations of cruelty of animals are filled with largely inaccurate and sensational information,” (Levine, 84). So overall, some still believe that zoos. Aquariums, and circuses don’t violate animal rights and are safe, loving, and fun environments for the animals and the people that go visit.

In conclusion, zoos, aquariums and circuses violate animal rights and should be shut down. There is extensive information and evidence, even pictures, proving that these environments don’t only take a physical toll on the animals, but also take a mental toll and damage their health immensely. Animals are living, breathing, fascinating creatures whose lives aren’t for us to use for entertainment and then throw them away when we are done with them.