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Toshja Tussey

Connie Douglas

UWRT 1104

20 April 2017

Say No to Captivity

Exploitation and suffering go hand in hand. Rarely can an animal be exploited

without it suffering in some way. Suffering can range from the pain of vivisection to

stress caused by being removed from ones natural habitat, called translocation

(Aronson2). Animals experience pain just like humans do, indicating self-awareness in

animals. If humans find it morally repulsive to inflict pain on humans, then it should be

equally adverse to inflict pain on animals due to their same ability to suffer. Speciesism

is the assumption of human superiority that eventually leads to the exploitation of

animals. The exploitation of animals is not limited to animal testing, poaching, or abuse.

Animal exploitation is also found in animal entertainment, such as zoos, aquariums,

marine amusement parks, and more. The effects of animal exploitation can lead to

psychological and physical stress, which in turn can lead to increased blood pressure

and heart rate, immune disorders, and impaired learning for offspring. Animals are too

smart to be held in confinement, and it can be harmful not only to the animals but to

people as well.

Animals in captivity are exposed to many factors of stress on a daily basis, and

those factors are often overlooked by many people. Morgan and Tromborg, authors

The Sources of Stress, provide information explaining some of the sources of stress

found in animal confinement. A more common factor, however, is sound and the sound
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pressures. If sound pressures are too high for too long, symptoms of stress will

increase. In the wild, rainforests exhibit the highest noise levels while savannahs exhibit

the lowest. Those sound pressures do no reach anywhere near those recorded in zoos

or laboratories, exceeding those found in natural habitats (Morgan and Tromborg1).

Elevated sound pressures can affect how an animal acts and behaves, resulting in an

increase in vigilance. Fireworks are not uncommon with places that accommodates

zoos, exceeding a sound of 120 decibels. That exceeding level of sound can influence

the physiology, heart rate, and blood pressure of an animal. If an offspring were to be

exposed to exceed levels of noise, they could experience impaired learning and

changes in their auditory threshold (Morgan and Tromborg1).

Lighting in zoos or aquariums are there to accommodate and convenience the

visitors, not the animals. It typically does not reflect natural lighting and can pose fear in

the animals. Most exhibits will practice having twelve hours of light and twelve hours of

darkness, but unfortunately, not every exhibit practices this. This can cause an alteration

of the melatonin to serotonin ratio due to exposure to constant light (Morgan and

Tromborg2). Some habitats contain artificial environments, providing no benefits

towards the animals. In an effort to enrich the habitats, odors will be used. Odors can

cause a serious threat to the animals. Prey animals in captivity could be constantly

exposed to the smell of their predators, increasing their fear. In result of that constant

fear, blood pressures and anxiety go up.

Another overlooked factor is temperature. Zoos are all over the world, but the

animals found in those zoos are not found all over the world. Polar bears, for example,

live in countries that ring the Arctic Circle, not in North Carolina. Captive animals cannot
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migrate freely when they want to or need to like those in the wild (Morgan and

Tromborg2). Species that need warmer climates can experience significant temperature

changes throughout the year when placed in a wrong area. Exposure to extreme

temperatures correlates to behavioral and physiological stress (Morgan and

Tromborg2). Animals held in captivity have certain feeding schedules, often made into

shows for the visitors. With the scheduled feeding, those animals cannot eat whenever

they please, nor can predators hunt and fulfill their instinct.

Due to all the stress that an animal can endure, sometimes they will act out in

aggression and violence, putting themselves, other animals, and people in danger. In

the article, Confinement of Wild Animals is a Form of Cruelty and Should Be

Prohibited, Issitt explains the results of psychological stress in animals. In 2012, a tiger

escaped its enclosure at the Cologne Zoo in Germany, killing a zookeeper (Issitt1). The

zoos director was forced to have the animal killed before it harmed anyone else.

Tilikum, a famous orca whale that used to reside at SeaWorld, was involved in the death

of three trainers, one of those being Dawn Brancheau in 2010. The 2010 death served

to enliven public debate over keeping whales captive for purposes of entertainment

(Issitt1). In July of 2016, a zoo visitor in Morocco was struck in the head by a stone

thrown by an elephant. The visitor died hours later, causing more debates about the

morals behind keeping animals in confinement. The behavior of any wild animal is

unpredictable and complex, and keeping them in confinement only increases the

chances of them attacking.

The habitats and exhibits at zoos and aquariums are simply not big enough to

support the needs of the animal. Orcas can grow up to twenty-six feet or more in length,
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but are only placed in forty-foot tanks. Forty feet sounds massive for humans, but it

does not compare to the open sea of the ocean. Due to the small confinements of the

tanks, orcas are forced to constantly swim in circles, as opposed to the miles they would

swim in the ocean. A 2003 study at Oxford University found that large carnivores kept

in zoos exhibited pacing and other behaviors that were indicators of psychological and

emotional stress (Issitt1). The behavior results from the species inability to follow

natural migration and roaming patterns, almost as if the animal is in a trance.

There are arguments stating that an animals life is less valued than humans,

resulting in animals being less deserving of rights. What determines the value of life?

What determines who has rights? In the article, The Fight for Animal Rights, what

gives a life value is the life itself. All sentient animals that care about their survival

share equal inherent value (Aronson1). Both humans and animals will go to great

lengths to ensure survival of oneself and ones families. Animal welfare laws may try to

protect animals from unwarranted suffering, but the animals status is forced as a

commodity. Animals are only protected from acts of cruelty until their benefit to

humanity is compromised, whether as food, entertainment, or subjects of medical

experiments (Aronson1).

Animals are just as self-aware as humans are, and are too smart to be held in

captivity. Grimm, the author of Are Dolphins Too Smart for Captivity?, explains a

revolutionary science experiment between two show dolphins in 1988. A psychologist

placed black markings on the dolphins foreheads, backs, and flippers. A mirror was

placed into the tank, and the two dolphins immediately began to check out the markings

that were placed throughout their bodies. This experiment and their behavior proved
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that they could recognize their own reflections and are self-aware. This self-awareness

was something that only humans and chimpanzees have previously exhibited. While

this was an extraordinary discovery, it prosed some questions. How can dolphins be

kept in concrete pools if they are as self-aware as humans? (Grimm1). Unfortunately,

those two dolphins died twenty years earlier than their normal lifespan in the wild.

Another dolphin jumped out of his tank and hit his head on the concrete, eventually

dying due to a fractured skull. Psychologists say that those incidents are the result of

keeping them in captivity. Dolphin tanks are chemically treated and explains why

dolphins swim in circles and jump out of their pools (Grimm2). Five to seven percent of

dolphins die each year in captivity, compared to the three percent in the wild.

The exploitation of animals is not just found in animal testing, poaching, or

abuse. It is also found in the animal entertainment business. Zoos, aquariums, and

other forms of entertainment seem harmless, but exploitation and suffering exist

together. Animals can experience a great amount of stress due to being in confinement,

and that stress causes them to suffer. Animals express characteristics that are also

found in humans, such as intelligence, sense of self, and morality. Orangutans will pass

on invented behaviors to younger generations, expressing multiculturalism. Octopi will

open jars to free trapped fish. Humans are not superior to animals, but rather different

than them. Granting animals the right to freedom from exploitation would not negatively

impact society; it would lead to a kinder society, in which all those with inherent values

are equally respected (Aronson2).

Works Cited

Aronson, Jamie. Point: The Fight For Animal Rights. Points Of View: Animal Rights

(2016): 5. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 20 April 2017

Grimm, D. "Animal Cognition. Are Dolphins Too Smart for Captivity?" Science (new York,

N.y.). 332.6029 (2011): 526-9. Print. 20 April 2017

Issitt, Micah. Counterpoint: Confinement Of Wild Animals Is A Form Of Cruelty And

Should Be Prohibited. Points Of View: Zoos & Circuses (2016): 1. Points of View

Reference Center. Web. 20 April 2017

Morgan, Kathleen N, and Chris T. Tromborg. Sources of Stress in Captivity. Applied

Animal Behaviour Science. 102 (2007): 262- 302. Print. 20 April 2017