Zoos are sometimes necessary but are a poor alternative to the natural environment. Discuss arguments for and against keeping animals in zoos. v.1

To capture wildlife in enclosures for entertainment purposes is something which may have many advantages for the creature itself but cannot be compared to the habitat which is not man made but a gift of nature. There could be several advantages such as proper healthcare facilities present in a zoo which closely monitors the behaviour, reaction and habits of an animal. If any abnormality may occur, immediate action is taken by the supervisors to treat and cure the animal with appropriate antidotes and medicines which otherwise may not be the case, say, in a jungle. Second, an animal may not starve at any cost in a zoo. There are cycles followed according to an animal's behavior which tells the zoo authorities when food needs to be put into the cage. In this way, an animal is kept healthy and active and also helps the creature in it's old age when it is simply not able to walk much and hunt for food for long in a natural environment. Lastly, any wild animal kept in a zoo be protected from hunters and poachers. These people intend to kill an animal for making money. For instance, an elephant's tusks are made up of ivory which has a huge demand in the market. Poachers kill an elephant and remove it's tusks to make antiques and other valuable items. On the other hand, demerits follow such as a wild animal is better off in a natural habitat where it is usually born. Keeping it in a zoo cage may affect it's normal behaviour and hormones which in turn can affect it's health adversely. For instance, a Royal Bengal Tiger may not grow at the same rate as it would in a dense forested area of Sunderbans compared to a zoo in a city. Secondly, there are lots of civil incidents that take place every now and then in zoos resulting in loss of body parts especially hands or even loss of life in many cases. This happens due to the pure carelessness of people. For instance, there was a case of Delhi zoo where a man had put his hand inside a Bear's cage to feed him food and resulted in loss of his right hand's fingers. In conclusion, there may be many benefits of having a wild animal in a zoo to keep it healthy and strong but the kind of life it lives in a forest cannot be matched with that of a zoo because after all, it is the place where it is born.