According to the statistic from World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), there are more than 700 million visitors to zoos and aquariums every year. For many people, the zoo is an entertaining and educational place. They also believe zoos can provide good habitats for animals, which has not been true in the past. In fact, the earliest zoo was not built for protecting animals. Nowadays, in the wake of many animal species are nearly extinction as their habitat was destroyed, many zoos start protecting and breeding the endangered species. This research essay will focus on the history of ancient zoos, living situations for animals in zoos, and how zoo rescue endangered animals.
History of Ancient Zoos
Body 1:
The purpose of early zoos are different with the modern zoos. The earliest animal collections served a religious purpose. In ancient Egypt, where the earliest known illustrations of zoo was be found, animals that regarded as sacred often kept in or near temples by pharaohs(Zoos and Animal Rights,7-8). Beyond that, early menagerie zoos served an entertaining purpose for nobleman. For example, lions were trained to fight with each others or human in King Shulgi’s (2094– 2047 BC) of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur (Zoos and Animal Rights,10). In addition, most of early zoos were private so that civilians had limited opportunities to visit these collections; until by the end of the eighteenth and the start of the nineteenth century, those zoos transformed into public gradually (Why Do We Go to the Zoo?, 111).
BODY 2:
Living Situation for Animals in Zoos
BODY 3: ( In the past most of zoos had bad living environment and not enough food for animals.)
BODY 4: (Zoos are getting better since the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973.)
Rescue Endangered Animals
BODY 5:
BODY 6:
Conclusion( around 100 words):
Reference
Bostock, Stephen St. C.. Zoos and Animal Rights : The Ethics of Keeping Animals, Routledge, 1993. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=179169.
Che-Castaldo, Judy P., et al. “Evaluating the Contribution of North American Zoos and Aquariums to Endangered Species Recovery.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 28 June 2018, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-27806-2.
Garrett, Erik A.. Why Do We Go to the Zoo? : Communication, Animals, and the Cultural-Historical Experience of Zoos, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=1609361.
LCA. “Zoos.” Last Chance for Animals – Factory Farming, www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/animals-in-entertainment/zoos.
Minteer, Ben. “How Zoos Can Save Our Animals.” World Economic Forum, 30 Oct. 2014, www.weforum.org/agenda/2014/10/zoos-save-animal-species/.
NYC Parks. (2004, January 1). History Of Zoos In Parks : NYC Parks. Retrieved March 28, 2019, from https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/zoos
Keri Philips. (2015, October 21). The Ethical Evolution Of Zoos. Radio National. Retrieved March 28, 2019, from https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/the-ethical-history-of-zoos/6869776