Zoos Helping or Harmful?
Wildlife conservation has many links and connections that it has build over the decades. Improving the lives of endangered animals or in general any animals. Cannot be fulfilled without the participation of society.
Zoos have been a controversial area that have been labeled as prisons. However, zoos have brought better understanding of wildlife biology and population dynamics. Zoos have to have certain qualities and installations to provide safety too: injured, orphaned and sick animals.
The history of zoos has progressed over time. In the beginning, there was a fascination for observing wild animals in captivity. In the 1980s, zoos first adapted to creating breeding programs. In modern day, zoos follow three vital aspects for conservation: practice, advocacy, and research.
Practice
This entails captive breeding and reintroduction programs. These programs focus on spreading strong and diverse genes around to maintain the health of the animals.
Advocacy
This is the area where the public participates and without people, many of the conservation efforts cannot be fulfilled. Through public engaging, promoting awareness, and fundraising events. These actions gather people to want to take action.
Research
This area is one of the most crucial elements for protecting animals. Studies and theories have been piled to guide others to understand wildlife biology, behavior, health, and welfare.
95 of our world is disconnected with nature today and the need for public attention is becoming more intense. Zoos and aquariums are a bridge to wildlife preservation. Schools in the US lack in environmental and wildlife conservation courses. Many students know that there are aquariums and zoos all around the country. Yet the education that is provided there, is not as captivating as it once was.
When looking for high quality zoos to support keep in mind a couple of points:
A zoos goal should be to restore a species population and habitats. They should be conducting research on captive animals that will aid in increasing knowledge of animal biology. Zoos should also be increasing the genetic diversity. Lastly, zoo should international connections that are linked to conservation programs. These programs restore the populations of species in their country of origin.
Zoos are a worldwide network that influence other nations efforts and play a critical role in conservation.
