The Zoo is a million dollar industry where children and adults can see animals that are suppose to live in the wild up close and interact with them. From monkeys to polar bears there are hundreds of animals living in closed spaces. Understanding that many of these animals cannot live in the wild for the shear fact that they are dying off. However, even though many of these species cannot live in the wild, they deserve more than the closed spaces they are getting. A rhino has less than half a football field worth of dirt, and mud with balls and tree stumps to play with. On top of their closed spaces many of the larger animals do not have others to play and spend their time with. Without real interactions animals become lonely and depressed, humans tapping on the glass and waving do not count. Sea World lost their beloved killer whale to only around thirty years old when the life span of a killer whale is more than double that. Animals like humans cannot be alone for long periods of time and search for company. These big animals cannot be kept in small containers, locked into cages at night. For the zoo industry to survive there needs to be many changes happening within their facilities. More land purchased so they can enlarge the habitats of the animals. As well as getting rid of the cages that are made to sleep in at night. Animals should be allowed to roam free, having the people be in the cages to go and see them. There are a lot of things that need to be changed in order to make the zoos seem more human. If the animals cannot be let out into the wild, then they should be able to have more space and better living conditions. On my first and only trip to the zoo I encountered a worker who was playing with a money. Swinging the monkey back and forth on the netting, and the monkey seemed to be having a great time. Always coming back for more, this encounter showed me that the workers at the zoo do care about these animals and everything that they are doing is to make sure that the animals are comfortable in the poor conditions that they are in now. However, the zoo workers are not the ones who need to be speaking up, the entire population as a whole needs to demand better conditions for these animals who cannot demand them for themselves.
