This Term Room 4 have been focusing o persuasive writing. We've done a couple of pieces on things like uniforms and homework etc. But last week we had a proper focus on the zoos, doing research to back up our thoughts and learn about the positives and negatives. Once we had read several articles, we set to work on our actual writing. I decided to disagree with zoos being a thing. I actually am on the fence, because there is compelling evidence for and against zoos. But I decided that I would try to write a piece against it. We also did a piece of zoo art and I decided to do a red panda. There is a photo of it below my writing. But anyway, here is my writing.
The Great Zoo Debate
Zoos are cruel and should be banned. This is a statement I strongly agree with. Here are some reasons why.
Reason 1
The enclosures are far too small for the animals. No matter how much zoos evolve to allow for more space, they will never be big enough, especially for large animals. We have all just come out of quarantine. A time when we were confined to our homes alone. Imaging that for your entire life! Many animals are constantly roaming over vast areas. A zoo can simply not cater for the required land.
Reason 2
Diet. It is far too costly for a zoo to fully mimic an animal's regular diet in the wild. But not only is it the food they eat, but also how they get it. Big animals aren’t able to hunt, therefore not getting normal exercise or expressing their natural instincts. They are able to do all this in the wild. Yet another thing the zoo can't accommodate.
Reason 3
Animals can get bored or lonely. Or can easily get stressed. For example, the expected lifespan of an elephant halves in captivity. This is because they are very social, and often have only 1 or 2 others in their enclosures, leading them to basically die of loneliness. The only word I can think of to explain this, is sick. We are basically killing them, for entertainment.
In conclusion they have the right to be free. They shouldn’t have to deal with confining enclosures, a diet that doesn’t fully suit them, or the general stress of zoo life. It is simply inhumane, and that is why I am obstinate that zoos have to be banned.
Red Panda
Kia ora Liana,
ReplyDeleteI love that you chose a Red Panda! They are one of my daughter Elle's favourite animals too! You have shared such an important topic with us! I agree also that zoos are not a healthy or ethical place to keep wild animals locked up. I do worry however, that if we took them away, perhaps animals would become extinct faster? I wonder what might need to happen to ensure that we can encourage people to create more awareness and action around deforestation and poaching and those sorts of things. I really admire the fact that you decided to argue the opposite to the position you thought you were more aligned with. What is endangering the Red Panda the. most, do you think? I wonder also what kind of enrichment programmes zoos are providing for Red Panda to keep them busy - because they are quite inquisitive I think. I especially love that you added an image to your blog this time to help engage your reader! Congratulations on exploring a controversial topic and keep up the great blogging.
Mrs Williams