Mikayla Clements Essay Example For Students

Mikayla Clements Essay Philosophy 115 April 8, 2017 Violation of Nonhumane Entitlements due toCaptivity It is said that to protectwildlife, we need to be educated about the wildlife that inhabits our planet. As humans,we put exotic animals, aquatic and terrestrial, in zoos or aquariums where people can go to see them to learn more about themtoprotect them. It just so happens that,by putting these animals into captivity, we are causing more damage to them, just as damage is occurring in the wild and more species are becoming extinct. Animals should not be held in captivity; this deprives them of living decent and dignified lives. The first zoo in the United States was established in 1874 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia zoo first only had 813 animals but has grown today to have 1,300 animals, still having the same forty-two acres as it did when it first opened. Today there are zoos in almost every major city across the country and even more around the world. But along with zoos, thereare mar ine parks and aquariums (National Geographic). The most famous marine park is SeaWorld, which has three different locations in the nation: Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio. Zoos and aquariums were first brought about to learn about the species that we live with on this planet, tobe educated about the wild creatures who are so different from ourselves. Zoos and the caging of wild animalshave been around for centuries. There is evidence from Egypt of rulers having wild animals as pets, locking them in cages.Today, zoos are used for education to teach people about wild animals so that we canlearn ways to conserve the planet and the animals habitats,toprevent more animals from becoming extinct. Due to humans killing animals, loss of habitat and global warming, more and more species have been going extinct. The goal of every zoo, aquarium, reserve, and marine park is to bring awareness of the need that the wildlifeneedssaving(National Geographic). Most extinctions are caused by humans . With our ever-growing need to explore the planet, we have taken control of numerous species habitats and thus they die offsincethey have nowhere to go and are unable to adapt to new environments. Wars we have waged have also destroyed habitats, not to mention the hunting and poaching that occurs for furs, tusks, and other animal parts that can potentially be bought for a lot of money.According to Maratha Nussbaums Capabilities approachanimals are entitled to a flourishing life anddignified life.By destroying their habitats this is a direct violation of their entitlements such ascontrol over onesenviroment.Nussbaum discusses thatwe should have respect for animals habitats whether that is domestic or in the wild. (Nussbaum 400).Atzoosor animal parks, you will hear the staff talking about conservation of wildlife numerous times because that is their overall message they are trying to reach people. They are trying to educate peopleso they can save these animals.(Gruen132-140)For examp le, at SeaWorld, before watching the whale show, they give a presentation about how whales need to be preserved, saying that we should save the oceans so that the orca species can live on for many years to come. But whatdo whales jumping out of a poolhavedo with saving the oceans? Scientists, zoologists, and the staff at zoos all agree that by keeping species in captivity, the species is benefiting from it. For some species, captivity is the only reason why their species is surviving. For example, thenumberof tigers that are owned by private individuals is much higher than the population of tigers that are in the wild (Mason et al115-1125). Thisloss ofpopulation is due to destruction of habitat and hunting of the tigers for their fur. Having a higher population in captivity is not only true for tigers but also for the golden coin turtles, Asian elephants, and orangutans. Some of the animals kept in zoos and reserves are those who are not able to be released back into the wild after being rescued from poaching or have diseases. Because of this, places like the Taman Safari in Indonesia was founded so these animals can live free in their natural habitat without having to deal with the poachers. Jenna Watts, from CNN, says in her article Are animals in cages a necessary evil? that the animals in places like the Taman Safari are ambassadors of their kind. She says that if more people learn about these animals that they will be more likely to want to save them, not kill them or destroy their habitat. However, ABC News reports that while Adam Roberts, senior vice president of the animal protection advocacy group Born Free USA, was on Good Morning America, he said that Youre not getting the right education about what animals are like in the wild. Thats why we believe that you should keep wildlife in the wild. Thats best for animals and its best for the people. Were not getting benefit form zoo-going or from circus-going, and more importantly, as you unfortunately ha ve seen recently, there is the potential for attack,(Should Animals Be Held in Captivity?). Roberts was referencing to the tiger attack that had occurred recently at the time in San Francisco, where a tiger killed a seventeen-year-old boy, after the tiger had scaled twenty-foot tall wall to get to him. When in captivity, the animals are with humans all the time. They are fed by them, see the veterinarians, enclosures cleaned by them, and sometimes if born in captivity are raised byhumans. Due to this, these animals are not scared of humans, they work with humans non-stop in captivity and can be potentially dangerous when they get curious and decide to attack a human. A tiger for example that was raised in captivityand around humans,may believe that they are just playing with a zookeeper or a visitor but playing to them, may be killing to a human.Thisis a perfect example relatingto Nussbaum and the capabilitiesapproachregarding play,animalshave theright participate in play. However, this play can be detrimental to humans and the animals because animals willoften get punished forplay (Nussbaum 400).Theseanimals that attack humans are often put down because they are too dangerous to be around humans. How is euthanizing an animal supposed to saveitsspecies from extinction? If the animal was never in captivity in the first place, it would have been in the wild, away from humans and no chance in attacking a human with theconsequence of being put down. It is also believed that the breeding programs are keeping the species alive because they do not allow inbreeding whereas in the wildthe population is dwindling, they are mating with relatives since there is such a small selection for mates. This is causing mutations and diseases in the species just as it would if humans were to inbreed. Zoos all over the world have breeding programs that are trying to keep each species alive for more years to come. For the tigers, the Taman Safari is the number one breeding program, its goal is to keep the remaining six types of tigers from extinction, and two types have already been extinct. There are also programs for other animals such as the ones at SeaWorld for orcas and dolphins. Even though they are doing this amazing work by trying to keep the species alive, it doesnt mean that these animals should be kept in cages their entire lives. Yes, it is wonderful that they take in wounded and diseased animals to save them, but a cage or enclosure is not where they belong.We cannot fully understand an animals experience because we have not livedit, therefore we cannot speak for them (Prade330).They belong in their natural habitat; it is not beneficial for animals to be kept in captivity, there are consequences of animals living lives in captivity. Sandel explains Aristotles telosor the purposein hisbookJustice: whats the right thing to do?This is afascinating point because Aristotle would pose the question, what is the purpose of nonhumane animals?This question needs to beevaluatedbecauseif we do not know the purpose of nonhumane animals how can we appropriately examine their entitlements? There is more risk for the animals to get new disease due to being in environments that they are not naturally in. An animal that originates in Africa is susceptible to a disease that is only in North America while living in a zoo because its immune system does not have the genes to defend against this disease, it has also never been around the disease so their bodies cannot build up immunity to the disease. Not only new diseases, but diseases that the species would normally be immune to in the wild, the ones in captivity have shown to get these diseases more often. Most of these immunities are built up from the diet of the animal, but because in captivity the animals do not get the same food, they do not get the same nutrition as they would in the wild, hence the cause of disease they normally would not have in the wild. Animals tend to have shorter li fespans in captivity due to the different diet that does not have the nutrition that the animals need to survive. This is seen in giraffes where their shorter lifespan is linked to poor nutritional status and low energy intake, suggesting inadequacies in zoodiets (Mason, 714-721). Also, these animals are entering climates at which they are not meant to live in. Animals that live in Africa are not used to the snow that falls in North America, nor is the polar bears adapted to the heat of Florida. The endothermic animals, the ones who are able regulate their own body temperatures, their bodies are working overtime to be able to survive in the differentclimates. The zookeepers try to keep the enclosures as close to their natural habitats as they possibly can but the factremainsthat the painting on the walls of the enclosure are nothing to the real thing,one can assumethey are not meant to be looking at something that is fake when instead they could be lookingat the real thing in the wi ld. These seem like basic rights and entitlements that are being violated causing an injustice to animals. 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