Photo courtesy of Getty Images 10
The Issue
Many people thoroughly enjoy looking at animals for a sense of entertainment, and from the outside looking in, not many see any problems with doing such. But what those many people do not understand is the physical and mental burdens environments such as zoos and circuses take on these animals. These settings are very rarely the ideal places for animals to be living in. Many are not provided with the resources or healthcare that is necessary for them to thrive. People need to begin to recognize that even though we may be enjoying these exotic creatures, they are suffering for our own benefit.
The video below allows for more insight upon the mistreatment and misfortune animals experience in these environments, as well as the 'Pros/Cons' tab above.
Video courtesy of YouTube
Specific examples of mistreatment can be found below:
-Lucy, an elephant at the Edmonton Zoo, was used to walking up to 30 miles in just one day. However, in the cold winter months, she’s is kept in a barn with barely any space to move around and do anything active. This type of confinement has now caused poor Lucy to develop painful, irreversible arthritis.
-At the Dallas Zoo, Jabari the gorilla tried to escape his enclosure and ended up being fatally shot by the police. A witness later confessed that teenagers were taunting him by throwing rocks. If he was out in the wild, where he belonged, there wouldn’t be teenagers throwing rocks at him with no way to escape, and he wouldn’t have been brutally shot down by the police.
-"Sarah is a 54-year-old wild-captured elephant with a chronic infection and symptoms of arthritis and she's being forced to travel and perform with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. In August, Sarah collapsed to the ground while being loaded into one of Ringling's railroad boxcars. No one raced to help or make sure she was okay. Instead the handlers forced her back onto her feet and onto their train. She is sick, tired and in pain." 16
Specific examples of mistreatment can be found below:
-Lucy, an elephant at the Edmonton Zoo, was used to walking up to 30 miles in just one day. However, in the cold winter months, she’s is kept in a barn with barely any space to move around and do anything active. This type of confinement has now caused poor Lucy to develop painful, irreversible arthritis.
-At the Dallas Zoo, Jabari the gorilla tried to escape his enclosure and ended up being fatally shot by the police. A witness later confessed that teenagers were taunting him by throwing rocks. If he was out in the wild, where he belonged, there wouldn’t be teenagers throwing rocks at him with no way to escape, and he wouldn’t have been brutally shot down by the police.
-"Sarah is a 54-year-old wild-captured elephant with a chronic infection and symptoms of arthritis and she's being forced to travel and perform with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. In August, Sarah collapsed to the ground while being loaded into one of Ringling's railroad boxcars. No one raced to help or make sure she was okay. Instead the handlers forced her back onto her feet and onto their train. She is sick, tired and in pain." 16