YOUR SAY

ZOOS

In this your say I want to talk about some place that annoys me a lot: zoos. 

I have to say that when I was little once I went to the zoo in Barcelona, and I liked it. I’ve always been an animal lover, so it’s not surprising that ten years ago I liked going to the zoo, because I didn’t know what the reality about these places is. But when I grew up, I realized that the zoos are not a happy place, at least, not for the animals living there. These animals are forced to live in small, artificial and stressful gates, so they don’t have any freedom. They are removed from their natural habitats, from their similar ones, even from their family. They are miserable there. And all this to get what? Just for some humans to go there and say “Oh, how curious, look at that lion”. Yes, I know is fun to see exotic animals, but you also have to think that these animals have to spend all their live in captivity just for you to look at them during two minutes. And I think that’s not fair. If you want to see exotic animals with your own eyes, go to the savanna, to the North Pole or wherever these animals are. Actually, you can perfectly live without seeing them, it’s not vital for our lives. What for you are just a few hours of entertainment, for these animals is a lifetime in captivity.

Zoos claim that they provide conservation, education and entertainment, but their primary goal is to gain money; that’s a fact. And I don’t think it’s moral to gain money from this situation. These animals have to be free, in their natural habit, not caged for human entertainment. Imagine you are one of these animals and have to spend all your life in a boring cage, doing nothing, not able to see the world, to discover things, just seeing some strange creatures looking at you all the time. Animals in the zoo are sad, miserable, and they don’t deserve to live like this. That’s why I’m against zoos. And I know there are worst places for animals to go, like in an animal circus, for example, but I wanted to talk about zoos because there are people that don’t think these places are bad for the animals, and we all have to be conscious about it.