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  • Essay / The Arguments Against Keeping Animals in Captivity

    “Wild elephants travel up to 50 miles every day” and hundreds of these elephants are captured and bred in captivity (Dahl 1). Keeping them would be inherently cruel, as they would have to live the rest of their lives confined, pacing back and forth in their small enclosures. Animals play a vital role around the world. People should respect animal freedom and ban animals in captivity because we are essentially taking them away from their natural habitat and forcing them to train to entertain people. Animals should not be kept in captivity as this is morally wrong and can harm their health and behavior. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay People have studied that animals in captivity begin to develop behavioral problems due to their stressful environment. Researchers have pointed out that animals living in trapped quarters can “sabotage the brain’s neurotransmitters,” preventing animals from using their natural instincts (Lord 1). Neurotransmitters send signals to the brain to help it perform behavioral functions. Due to their conditions, they are not able to hunt prey or dig burrows as they do in the wild. This therefore causes chronic stress altering the neurochemistry of the brain. People who have studied autism have found that animals, like humans, are vulnerable to the same damage to their control systems. Although they may have different causes, the variability in repetitive behaviors that can be exhibited by autism may parallel animal behaviors. This ties back to the topic sentence that barren habitats can cause behavioral changes in animals that can eventually harm them. It is certain that “stereotyped animals become injured and show signs of ill health” when placed in captivity (Lord 2). People may say the simple solution is to enrich their environment, but it is impossible to replicate their natural habitat. Conditions in zoos, farms or laboratories have failed to provide these animals with the treatment they need. Now, researchers have encountered animals that exhibit signs of obsessive-compulsive disorders that activate repetitive movement sequences that hinder their instinctive behavior, leading them to become more unstable. These behaviors have become more evident as the animals continue to live out their lives in captivity. Many animals have fallen victim to unstimulating, cramped environments that lead to stereotypical behaviors such as pacing, biting bars, or pulling out their fur or feathers. The disruption of a proper home and family may ultimately have a negative impact on them if they continue to live in confinement. Inadequate space and care can lead to animals suffering poor conditions, malnutrition or debility. The federal animal welfare law establishes inadequate guidelines for equipment such as cages, fences or conventional health care. For example, in octopus farms they are treated cruelly as they are all thrown into fresh water and left to slowly die while absorbing the water. Octopuses on farms are subject to “high mortality rates and increased aggression, parasitic infections, and a multitude of digestive tract problems” due to the conditions in which they live (Singer 1). THE.