Should animals be caged? Are zoos cruel? It has been proven by scientists that there is a certain space that is needed by every animal. If this certain amount of space is not given to the animal, scientists report that it is bound to go insane. A zoo is such place where animals are forced to live in a closed, aberrant state, for an inhumane exhibition. Nonetheless in United Kingdom, the RSPCA claims to support good zoos and to oppose bad ones. Is it possible that we have somehow become inured to the concept of animal captivity, in the same way perhaps as two centuries ago we might have accepted the concept of slavery or even as the Romans accepted the principle of human sacrifices as entertainment?
Firstly, I believe that everybody have been to a zoo before, may it be in their homeland or during vacations. All wild animals need miles and miles of area to remain free and to remain sane. This is definitely not available in those small cages. Behind those locks and keys, they will become very destructive, attack their own species or even commit suicide. This is inevitable as the whole wild world which they once lived in has dramatically decreased to just a small steel cage surrounded by tourists, visitors and many unsympathetic people.
Moreover, I feel that animals in cages are not in any way different from men in prisons. Quoted from a prisoner, “No words and pictures can ever reflect the feeling you get while like a sub-human in cages.”. When I was around twelve, I had an unforgettable experience at the zoo. Unlike what was shown on the television channels such as National Geographic, I found that the wildlife there appeared to be lifeless. There were lions that rarely roared, tigers that constantly paced, monkeys that lay in their urine, and elephants that lay in their excrement, all depressed and inert. It was like a nightmare. Everywhere I turned, it seemed that there was another tourist or foolish person taunting and ridiculing the caged beasts....