Should animals be kept in zoos? Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Whether animals should be kept in zoos or not has been a topic of heated debate for decades. Although some people insist that keeping wildlife in zoos is inhumane and cruel, I think that wild species should be held in zoos. On the one hand, keeping wild animals in captivity can cause some demerits. Firstly, it is believed that keeping animals in captivity may deter them from developing survival skills. After years of sheltered existence, captive animals will have been too affected and habituated to human contact. Therefore, they are ill equipped and can hardly survive on their own in the wilderness. In addition, unethical animal treatment is another compelling reason why animals should not be kept in zoos. For instance, torturing or holding animals in confined environment might make them suffer from boredom and depression, which violates animal rights. On the other hand, the key role of zoos is undeniable. In fact, most of animals kept in zoos are on the brink of extinction due to their dwindling population and difficulty in reproducing. Zoos are the only safe environment to protect them from poachers, predators, or help them breeding. Beyond that, many wild animals are getting wiped out because of the exploit and overuse of natural resources by humans, so it is the human’s obligation to keep animals in zoos to protect them. Moreover, zoos serve as field trip destinations for people to broaden knowledge about wildlife by observing wild species closely. From that, love for animals is cultivated and people can learn how to treat them ethically. Having considered both merits and demerits of zoos, I firmly believe that animals should be kept in zoos for conservation. Furthermore, governments should enforce laws to protect animals from immoral treatments.