Animals in Captivity

 I recently visited Seattle Aquarium and I saw fishes and animals which live in rivers, seas, and oceans of the planet. The aquarium did its best to create a place that is close to the natural environment to all the fishes animals and plants as much as possible. Creating this kind of space is not only beneficial to the displayed living thing but also to the people who are visiting who can also see a natural habitat that is very close to the real thing. My visit and the pictures I took there triggered a question, Why do people keep wild animals in captivity? 

I believe people had to keep wild animals in captivity first when they were trying to domesticate them for their food, transportation, labor, or emotional needs. Then after domesticating what they can, keeping undomesticated animals doesn't make sense but some people kept doing so for prestige or to harvest some parts of the animals. Animals are still kept in captivity for mainly three reasons now; conservation, education, and science. Yes, we still have private collectors and circuses involved but animal rights campaigners and laws in most countries are making it more difficult for people to keep wild animals in captivity.  

My first encounter with animals in captivity is when I visited a zoo in Addis Ababa Ethiopia which mainly kept black-maned lions as its main attraction and it was not that exciting. The lions were kept in very small cages which doesn't resemble their natural environment in any way possible. I felt that the lions were in prison which restricted their natural movement. All they can do is pace in their cage from one corner to another. Because of this experience, I am still not excited about visiting any zoo or aquarium. I know modern-day zoos and aquariums create a close-to-nature space for animals they display but animals still suffer for just being not in the wild and live in the natural order. 

After my recent aquarium visit and watching how the young patrons of the aquarium encounter what was on display my opinion is mixed. I still strongly believe animals should not be kept in captivity as much as possible but they may be kept for conservation, science, and educational purposes. They should be kept in an environment that closely resembles their natural environment if they were living in the wild. Zoos and aquariums should be designed having the need of the animals first and then the human visitors second.