Zoos have been and will be a controversial topic for many years. It is often stated that these places protect endangered species while also being a great form of entertainment. However, many believe in and have started to raise awareness of the fact that zoos are actually very unethical and could be torturous to animals.
A common counterpoint is that zoos are a great form of education. It is much more informative for a person to see the wildlife in its natural habitat and learn from it that way. It is also believed that zoos are then simultaneously helping the animals and protecting them from becoming endangered since many say that the natural world is far more ruthless than it may initially appear.
Nevertheless, it is not without reason that this outrage arises. While it is great that an animal in need is being saved, why is there a need to showcase them publicly? Why put them behind a thin glass where they are constantly being watched and disturbed? Animals should be allowed to live and grow in peace, and a child tapping or even touching them directly contradicts this. It also should be mentioned that zoos often do not provide them with the best living conditions. Most of the time, an animal is simply put in a small enclosure that merely resembles their natural habitat and, when the time comes, gets fed. Some do not even get to see real sunlight. Their natural instincts: the need to explore, hunt, learn and survive, get completely disregarded. This is how natural selection works and there is a reason why mother nature made it that way, so it should be left untouched.
People say that we need to help the animals whose natural environment is rapidly being destroyed. But who is the one doing the damage? It is surely not the animals themselves. Of course, no one is stopping people from helping the creatures, but before using them for show, we need to consider what first put them in this place and start making a change.