Category: Animal Welfare

Despite continuous efforts and advancements in recent years, animal conservation translocation remains to have a variable degree of success, in terms of projects that have run without complications and death of the animals. By comparing articles and reports of translocations alongside the five domains model of animal welfare, it can easily be demonstrated that wild animal transport and the release of animals can challenge all five animal welfare needs. The foreign environment can have a significant impact on the physical functional domains, behaviour, health, environment, and nutrition, as well as the mental state of the animal. The individuals can experience dehydration, fatigue, immunosuppression, stress, and behavioural changes. Reports and data on factors influencing these physiological responses are limited, and only a few studies explore such factors. These studies encompassing journey length, species, ambient temperature, vehicle motion, orientation, habituation, stock density, vehicle speed and road terrain type are vital in trying to understand what causes these animals to suffer during translocation. Further research into this could allow for better practice in ensuring animal welfare by improving the methods to keep suffering to a minimum. During capture the administration of tranquilizers have shown mitigation of negative physiological responses to the projects. The need to further investigate specific species and situations remains, in order to fully explore all causes of such challenges. Such as how to further improve and adapt methods to raise the survival rate of the individuals and the overall success rate for each translocation procedure for ensuring the best practise for animal welfare by keeping suffering to an absolute minimum.

Translocation is a commonly used management tool to establish, re-establish or increase wildlife populations (Seddon et al., 2007). It has become a major conservation strategy in attempts to reinstate self-sustaining wild populations of a species or group of animals that are in some way at threat. Animals translocated for a welfare purpose is described to be to avoid their certain death or to improve their wellbeing (Serge et al., 2016). A primary goal for wildlife translocations in conservation is to release animals to a new environment in which they are still able to survive and reproduce at release sites (Kleiman, 1989). However, this method throughout studies shows a trend of a high number of failures (projects resulting in multiple deaths after translocation). Although causes for these failures are poorly understood, stress is often cited as a significant factor.

The process of translocation across species can often be incredibly stressful. This can cause a series of issues which can impact the animals’ ability to adapt to its new environment. The onset of chronic stress has led to many failures in rehabilitation and capture and release projects. It was found that capture alone, decreased the acute glucocorticoid response but adding exposure to captivity, and transport further altered the stress response as evident from a decreased sensitivity of the negative feedback system. It was also discovered that the animals had significantly low cortisol concentrations and significantly reduced body weight after translocation. All indicating that chronic stress was potentially a major factor in this study (Dickens et al., 2009). The role of chronic stress may also be a key factor in whether translocation is a feasible tactic to rescue climate change effected species (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2008).

Although stress itself is not a factor linked to welfare and may be more of an ethical concern (in terms of welfare, suffering of an animal does not have to be eradicated completely, but minimised). Having said this the two can often be interlinked and this is the case for this review as the stress induced by the capture and release, or sometimes new environment can have knock on effects on the animals’ cognitive abilities. For example, memory, which an animal needs to survive in the wild. It is important to note that translocation goes against three out of the five freedoms of welfare; the freedom from discomfort, from fear and distress, as well as the freedom to express normal behaviours. It is important to note that translocation can hinder the animals’ chances at displaying normal or expected behaviours. Although it is for the best interest of the animals, the effect of the transportation or even unfamiliar environment can affect the animals, causing reactions as serious as tonic immobility or even resulting in death. Thus, their survival rates being compromised, and the number successful projects being reduced (May et al., 2016). For this reason, few translocations focus on species with a higher risk of global extinction. The probability of failures has been linked as cause for the decline in translocation projects and the success rate over time has not much improved (Bubac et al., 2019).

Physiology through practices is more often than not undervalued as a key factor in failures and it could be suggested that with novel approaches addressing this could improve success rate and animal welfare. In a review by Tarzisz et al., (2014), 232 publications were examined in which success was assessed as high success or low success. In each procedure it was determined whether these studies explicitly incorporated physiological aspects into their protocols and monitoring. It was made apparent that this evaluation before and after release of the wild animals had a direct impact on the translocation success. From this, it can easily be argued that incorporation of physiological assessments at all stages of translocation can have significant welfare implications and be used to improve current translocation methods.

A malignant outcome of stress during capture operations is capture myopathy or overstraining disease. Capture myopathy accounts for the highest number of deaths associated with wildlife translocation. Such deaths usually are indicative of how well animal welfare was considered and addressed during a translocation exercise (Breed et al., 2019). Importantly, it means that due to these devastating consequences on the continued existence of threatened and endangered species it is too great of a risk during capture and movement for the species which may need it the most.

Translocation, despite the imperfections, provides a benefit that is measurable for the population restoration in a species and animal count. This management tool can save species with depleting numbers across populations or in the area translocated to. In addition to the overall benefit of the ecosystem, not just providing benefit to individuals translocated. This method has proven valuable in saving endangered species from extinction. For example, numbers of Mallorcan Midwife toad returned after captive breeding and status of the species was able to down-list severity from critically endangered to vulnerable (Serra et al., 2009). It could easily be argued that welfare could be jeopardised during these projects. As conservation focuses on the species and prevention of extinction, whereas animal welfare is more about the individual and its personal suffering.

Dependent on species, individual temperament traits can also have an impact on survival in an unfamiliar environment. Traits such as aggression, reactivity, exploration, and sociability can all have an effect. (May et al., 2016). This is especially a concern with animals that are dependent on each other in groups or may have a hierarchical system or social structure such as primates. Such access to literature on this issue is limited. A study dating back to 1984 recorded by two research groups found that 12 years prior to translocation and observed for a further 18 years afterwards). A comparison of the indigenous troops at the site of releases provided a control for assessment. Birth rate, death rate, patterns of mortality and survivorship, body condition, intestinal parasites, and group size, were all taken into consideration. According to these criteria the primates (in this case baboons) managed to survive and were described as doing better than could be expected in their new home. However, this source does not go on to describe exactly what this means. For a long time, it appears translocation in primates was mostly avoided in consideration of their wellbeing and avoid deaths (Serge et al., 2016).

In a more recent study on Bornean orangutans there have been many translocation attempts that have even been urged by the Indonesian government. In an action planning spanning from 2007-2017 (Srak 2007) mandated release of all orangutans from rescue facilities. It prevented any loss of orangutans from concession stands and urged that translocation from a damaged habitat should be a last resort (Sherman, 2020). These releases to improve animal welfare, reduce captive populations, secure funds or publicity, or move animals for economic development purposes did not meet IUCN criteria for conservation releases. Which states that “the intentional movement and release of a living organism where the primary objective is a conservation benefit: this will usually comprise improving the conservation status of the focal species locally or globally, andor restoring natural ecosystem functions or processes. (IUCNSSC, pp.12 2013)

The current understanding of orangutan behaviours such as the maternal knowledge transfer necessary for effective foraging (Schuppli et al., 2016), male territoriality (Utami Atmoko 2009), and female philpatry (van Noorwijk et al., 2012) is not grounded within the release sites, showing how much translocation has an impact on these animals. An extended period in captivity have also been linked as a risk to the success of release (Grundmann, 2006).

Data collected from hard releases, in which the animals were not provided supplementary food or any other support, showed that the majorityof rehabilitants struggled during the first few months whilst trying to learn how to forage for food (Anon. Rescue centre reports; Basalamah et al., 2018). Limited data suggests that in comparison to wild conspecifics, many orangutans facing hard release spent abnormally high amount of time resting or sleeping instead of foraging. The same centre also found that within the first year of release 8% of the orangutans died; including one within the first two months. There was also an unspecified number which had to be recaptured due to starvation or malnutrition.

Wild orangutans captured for translocation (at a count of 621) almost equivalent to the ex-captive orangutans released between 2007 and 2017 (605). Most of these animals were translocated to new habitats within 6 months however 98 of these orangutans were held for far longer some were even held 2-5 years before what was considered as “suitable release sites could be found. The study does not specify exactly as what deems to be suitable however, its likely atleast some of these wild animals had some kind of distress whilst being held waiting for release. Although, it is likely they were rescued from worse conditions (it was not stated in this report) it also does not delve into exactly why it took so long.

Sherman et al., also states that at least three of the nine rescuerelease organisations reported having contractual agreements with industrial agriculture, forestry, and mining concessions to find and translocate the orangutans as they were considered a problem. This raises a few questions about how much welfare was considered since it would not be a primary goal of these industries and businesses. It could also be questioned if the organisations were carrying out the translocations using the best practise if they were being paid and under contractual agreements. Many researchers that Sherman et al were in contact with were said to note that the translocations usually would go unreported, but also that orangutans were often dumped into inappropriate locations without formal documentation nor post-release monitoring. Several researchers also epress that translocating elderly males Is not good for their welfare, particularly for those coming to forest edges to forage as they are outcompeted by yoiunger males. Similarly, adult female would also have trouble establishing home ranges as unrelated females do not tolerate each other. Yet, the majority of translocated orangutans (60%) were adults, 31.8% males and 28.5% females. Out of the nine facilities only two provided detailed data. Individual facilities available data were more often than not very inconsistent in their reports even for the same variable in the same year.

Across studies the consensus is that the mortality rate is incredibly high with a plethora of articles documenting a rate of 50% of the animals dying or higher (Hawkins and Montgomery, 1969, Bryan and McCollough, 1985, Jones and Witham, 1990) including a study of grey squirrels recording a mortality rate of 97% (Adams et al., 2004) and a translocated deer species in which reports a mortality rate of 85% (McCollough et al., 1997). The articles show a clear significant trend. However, there remains to be limiting factors in obtaining a clear estimate of the success on a global scale, as the statistics of the ratio of failures to successes per year are unknown. Griffith et al (1989) estimates 700 translocation programmes per year in the U.S. alone. It is important to note many different countries companies may be enforced by law to undertake animal rescue and translocation programmes, such as in Brazil for example. However, data remains hidden and is not widely available for analysis (Teixeira et al., 2007). These deaths are often associated with the inability of the animal to return tpo normal behaviours such as foraging for example but capture myopathy can also be an issue. Capture myopathy is a condition results in mortality effecting wild animals around the globe. It occurs due to inflicted stress or physical exertion, typically due to prolonged or intense pursuit, restraint, capture, or transportation of wild animals. The condition carries a grave prognosis, and despite intensive extended and largely non-specific supportive treatment, the success rate is poor (Breed et al., 2019).

Fewer translocations focus on species with a higher risk of global extinction. Probability of failed translocations were linked to initial reason for decline. Likelihood of failed translocations within first four years of release. Translocation success not changed much over time which would also explain why it is not excessively used today but only for necessity (Bubac et al., 2019).

Translocation for conservation is essential method in wildlife conservation yet remains floored. Improved transparency on rescue and release would allow further research to improve the effectiveness of each translocation. It still remains too risky for the species that may need it most. Welfare of the animals involved is often jeopardised in terms of many of the welfare needs not being met. Although it is a great method thast is very useful for conservation, there is still a long way to go to try and minimise suffering and mortality rates. Further research is needed to be conducted in order to find methods that are not so distressing.

It’s also important to note that organisations which are involved with agriculturecommercial companies, they are often avoiding releasing or providing data from translocations. It could be argyed that they may not want the negative backlash from public or welfare supportersactivists and thus would avoid releasing data with low rates of success. Although this information remains limited, it is likely that many animals die during these programmes as even scientific attempts often have mortality or failures. It could also be likely, if the welfare of animals is placed as a secondary priority to the commercial and financial benefits for the companies and businesses.

It could also be argued that papers reporting successes may not include all challenges which although represents the positive aspects of translocation in conservation it may not be transparent in depicting the harsh consequences of the risks associated. Many projects through the peer reviewed paper may be biased towards prolific and successful translocation programme as they could be reluctant to report failures. Doing so, shows the method in a positive light and the importance of the projects are well presented. However, it makes it harder for those involved in welfare to assess the difficulties encountered. Thus, giving the ability to be able to utilise this knowledge and make improvements for future conservation and specie preservation attempts.

There remains an urgency to adequately determine the physiology, what causes so many deaths during translocation. As well as what triggers the induction of capture myopathy in order to identify targets for treatment, to ensure animal welfare and the survival of already endangered species.

Despite being used interchangeably, the terms animal welfare and animal rights are different. One can state that the term animal rights refers to the privileges that animals should enjoy (Welfare vs. Rights). Scholars that support this school of thought argue that animals should have the same privileges as human beings (Welfare vs. Rights). On the other hand, animal welfare refers mainly to the human responsibility to ensure that all aspects of animal well-being are upheld (Welfare vs. Rights). This essay compares the two concepts in relation to animal research in medical science.

Main body

Apart from the definition, animal welfare is different from animal rights as it supports the ethical and responsible use of animals for the benefit of man (Animal Research). According to the Animal Research web page, animals are an essential part of medical research. Individuals that debate using animal rights are often against the use of animals for experimental biological studies. To convince them, I would mention some of the ground-breaking researches and studies that have been realized due to animal research. For instance, it is the use of cows in the search for a vaccine for smallpox that eradicated the disease (Animal Testing and Research).

While comparing animal rights and welfare, one also has to consider the fact that animals cannot have the same rights as human beings as the former (animal rights) recommends. Man’s complex brain has ensured their position at the apex.

Whereas human beings can reason and know what is right and wrong, animals depend purely on their instincts for survival. It is this reason that allows human beings to keep animals as pets. A person who suggests that animals should have similar rights to human beings should also not keep pets as it can be deemed ‘slavery’. Additionally, one can argue that supporters of animal rights should also be completely vegans.

Whereas one can argue that animals cannot have the same rights as humans, it is important to also point out that animal welfare ensures that animals are treated well at all times. One can state that whereas animals do not have the same complex brain as humans, they can feel pain, love, and other emotions (1). The fact that animals have feelings creates an ethical conundrum in regard to medical research. However, animal welfare ensures that the animals used in medical studies are as comfortable as possible (Butterworth 13). Many of these animals do not suffer during these experiments.

Despite the stated differences and the fact that I support animal research, it is prudent to note that scientists and researchers have a prominent responsibility towards animals. Indeed, animal research can be done on all types of animals that can enhance medical and biological research. Towards this end, scientists have to ensure that there are adequate policies to assure the dignified and ethical use of animals for medical research.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both animal rights and animal welfare aim to improve human interaction with animals for the benefit of both. However, animal welfare encourages the fact that human beings are more superior to animals. It is this superiority that should ensure that animals are not mistreated. Indeed, the use of animals in medical research has led to ground-breaking realizations. Despite this, it is important that all scientists involved in animal research adhere to policies that also protect the welfare of said animals.

Do you like zoos? The ones with the cute baby lions and stuff? Well I don’t, I find them disgusting. They’re unnatural, and cruel and can cause the animals a great deal of stress. In my attempt to convince you that this is the truth, I shall bring forth my arguments on this topic. I will be specifically using lions in my examples throughout, however, my examples can be compared to most other animals in captivity.

First of all, keeping animals in captivity is unnatural. It’s smoke and mirrors people, IT’S A LIE! The animals are more bored than a 6-year-old kid on a Sunday at church. Have you ever seen lions at the zoo? What were they doing? Exactly! All they do is sit around waiting for their pre-slaughtered Halal-certified piece of beef, chicken, or lamb. There’s no hunting, foraging, or roaming for a lion or any animal in captivity for that matter; it’s unnatural and doesn’t require any skill whatsoever. They don’t even get to chase their prey! They just lie around in their man-made cave/rocks and sleep.

Second of all, it’s cruel. Would you like to stay cooped up in a 50 by 50-meter box for the rest of your life? No of course not, so why should they? In the wild, lions can roam free with their pride and a wide variety of other animals. They have to fight for supremacy, but in captivity, they play a game of ‘Dip, Dip’ to decide who is the leader of the pride.

You’re probably saying: ”But Kade they live longer in captivity!’

And to that, I say shut up. Yeah lions may live longer in captivity but some animals don’t and those extra years for a lion are just prolonging the stress and fear; they probably want to die!

My final reason is stress. Animals in captivity suffer from all kinds of things, but stress is probably the most predominant. Stress is easily caused in zoos by the size of their enclosures, other animals, and unwanted human interactions. I mean could you imagine being a meerkat and hearing a lion roar only 50 meters away? The worst part is the meerkat can’t even flee! The same goes for other animals. Human interaction is obviously a trigger for animals. They are probably terrified! How would you like it if some random guy or girl (or other) came up and picked you up off your feet and started stroking your neck? I know, weird. Did you know, that animals in zoos suffer from stress so often, that the condition has its own name? It’s called Zoochosis. Zoochosis is where an animal shows a repeated behavior that has no function or purpose. An example of this is when you see an animal pacing around the boundaries of its enclosure for hours on end. The thing is, it’s completely avoidable. You know how? Don’t put animals in zoos in the first place!

Conclusion

I believe that keeping animals in captivity is an absolute outrage. No enclosure can compare to the freedom of the wild, and humans don’t have the right to capture, cage, and breed wild animals. As I have mentioned, captured and zoo bread animals suffer a great deal both physically and mentally. The fact that most animals wouldn’t survive in their natural environment after living in captivity for some time, just shows how much they suffer and change. Some people might argue that zoos teach kids to love animals but I don’t think this is true. Kids will always love animals no matter what environment they are in. I mean no kid has ever seen a dinosaur but lots of kids still love them.

The Growing Crisis of Animal Extinction and Human Impact

Have you ever considered how many extinct animals would be alive if only humanity had done multiple projects differently without harming the environment and its creatures? What would be the impact on the animals? The importance of animal extinction is to inform our community due to the fact multiple creatures are dying per decade. Our ecosystem is failing, therefore, the number of endangered and extinct creatures is increasing massively and at a fast rate. Tons of gallons of waste are being thrown into the ocean yearly, affecting many sea mammals and other creatures. The animals will eat plastic, get tangled among the trash, different chemicals being thrown into the water, causing many to their deaths. Due to many projects that our society has created in the past decades for self-satisfaction, it has had the outcome of our climate to drastically change, which many animals lose their habitats. Either their homes are set on fire or their habitat melts due to the hot weather. Due to climate change taking place in the past decades to the present, an incident that is known worldwide took place in Australia, the forest was on fire due to its hot weather, placing multiple animals at risk of extinction and decreasing their number by half. Many people that live among forests or wide areas, tend to hunt for animals as a hobby, but most are currently listed as endangered species. These animals are targeted and killed to make products: purses, shoes, boots, belts, facial products, food, etc. But overall, approximately 30,000 species die per year due to the lack of habitat and nonadjustable lifestyle. Therefore, many at risk of extinction: such as our community taking over their land, for personal benefits without considering the environment’s consequences, or due to wars that are taking place at their homes and themselves involved. Multiple species that have gone extinct within the past decade might have still been alive if only society had planned projects differently without affecting our ecosystem.

Ocean Pollution and Its Devastating Effects on Marine Life

Yearly, it is estimated 14 billion pounds of garbage is released into the ocean, polluting approximately 88 percent of its surface. According to the National Academy of Science, water pollution kills nearly 1 million seabirds and 100,000 sea animals every year. Furthermore, 1.2 trillion gallons of waste are released into the ocean, creating much toxic waste and failure in the reproductive system of marine animals. Most of the water is currently contaminated by plastic cigarette butts, food wrappers, plastic beverage bottles, plastic bottle caps, and plastic straws, which can cause a lack of oxygen in the ocean for multiple sea animals. There’s more than one type of water pollution besides plastic: Sewage, Farm animal waste, Pesticides and herbicides, Construction, floods, and storms, lastly, Factories. Sewage pollution is a type of wastewater that is commonly on streams and rivers, causing harmful bacterias that can make multiple species ill and cause their death and maybe, extinction, having similar to side effects of factories that its waste goes into both the ocean and rivers. Pesticides and herbicides are sprays that its purpose is to kill bugs and weeds, in which transport by rainstorms, contaminating rivers and lakes, increasing the chances of cancer. Construction, floods, and storms lower the oxygen content, therefore, sea animals such as fishes suffocate. Factories pollute rivers and the ocean by disposing of their waste into them. If any animal drinks from a polluted river or ocean, mentioning the above, has a negative side effect, increasing their chances of extinction. Affecting the animal’s reproductive system or their mating rituals, decreasing the species’ average population. Even after such incidents of water pollution and its disadvantages to our ecosystem, there are programs in which protect animals from becoming endangered or extinct.

The Endangered Species Act: Efforts to Protect and Restore Animal Populations

The Endangered Species Act, also known as ESA is a program of people who protect endangered species and restore their population to a higher number. Approximately, 84 percent of Americans support ESA to protect endangered species and many being protected by law to recover its population. Due to the fact many species are dying at a fast rate, many Americans are willing to against bills to keep ESA protections for those animals endangered, which is a total of 1,400 species in the United States only, including their habitat. Certain species may not be able to be protected by ESA due to the fact the cause of many animal’s extinction is due to water pollution and climate change, which is uncomplicated for the program to prevent. According to experts and scientists, approximately 0.1 percent of species go extinct, which is estimated 10,000 higher than its regular rate, yearly. The extinction of many animals had been mostly caused by our community. Which has been previously mentioned: pollution, climate change, hunting, and loss of habitat. Climate change is one of the major causes of animal extinction in the world, either causing wildfires and ice melting.

Climate Change: A Major Driver of Habitat Loss and Species Extinction

Multiple species both on land and water are strongly affected by the massive change of climate change taking place in the present, which causes many to become endangered from extinction due to the fact it changes their lifestyle and surviving skills. According to CCAP, carbon dioxide, super pollution, and nitrous oxide are the main cause of climate change, creating multiple wildfires and loss of habitat, such as Australia’s wildfires causing the number to decrease by half, therefore, many species at risk of extinction. Carbon Dioxide is released when fossil fuels are used, such as burning coal for electricity. Super Pollution is black carbon and methane, which are human sources in agriculture and transportation. Lastly, Nitrous Oxide is released from fossil fuels and solid water; which half of all species are estimated to extinct by the 2100s century. The polar ice is melting at an alarming rate from underneath, due to global warming. NASA has calculated, approximately 40 percent of the Arctic Ice has decreased since the 1960s. Mostly having a disadvantage on polar bears, whales, and seals. Natural extinction cannot always be prevented, in which animals can not adapt to a new area and poor reproduction does occur.

The Natural and Accelerated Rate of Animal Extinction

Many animals can naturally become extinct due to the fact, the number of its species can decrease over time. Experts have previously mentioned, the regular rate of animal extinction is between 200 to 2,000. If humanity did not exist, the regular rate of animal extinction would be a maximum of 2,000 animals going extinct yearly. Due to the fact, our community has not only hunted animals for self products but also, due to many projects for our society and self-satisfaction, it has affected animals and their lifestyle – making it much more difficult. The fact dozen are going extinct at a fast rate yearly is also caused by the fact animals are constantly targeted as a hobby and a sport. Even after multiple warnings of endangered animals and nearly extinct, the number continues decreasing. People receive awards, such as a trophy and prices for hunting animals.

Hunting and Habitat Loss: Direct Human Actions Leading to Extinction

Many animals are targeted for products or as a hobby, increasing a certain number of species to be endangered. Approximately, more than 150 species are endangered due to hunting, which is usually weak animals that may not be able to defend themselves and to make famous brands. The animals most commonly being hunted for products are hippopotamus for their meat and ivory. The second most common is the great white sharks for their fins to make dishes in Asia. The third most common is the African Lion due to the fact, it is a legal sport in Africa to hunt them for trophy prizes, which half its population had decreased since the 1950s. Many hunters are unaware the animals that are being killed are endangered or at risk of being labeled at risk. Hunters may lack to identify the species of animal they are about to kill, causing certain species to become less common over time. The major cause of animal extinction is the loss of habitat, lacking to adapt to a different area.

Many animals are targeted for products or as a hobby, increasing a certain number of species to be endangered. Approximately, more than 150 species are endangered due to hunting, which is usually weak animals that may not be able to defend themselves and to make famous brands. The animals most commonly being hunted for products are hippopotamus for their meat and ivory. The second most common is the great white sharks for their fins to make dishes in Asia. The third most common is the African Lion due to the fact, it is a legal sport in Africa to hunt them for trophy prizes, which half its population had decreased since the 1950s. Many hunters are unaware the animals that are being killed are endangered or at risk of being labeled at risk. Hunters may lack to identify the species of animal they are about to kill, causing certain species to become less common over time. The major cause of animal extinction is the loss of habitat, lacking to adapt to a different area.

Conclusion: The Urgency of Addressing Animal Extinction

There are multiple reasons behind the loss of habitat: wars, wildfires their homes melting due to the extreme heat, taking over lands and destroying their homes. More than a million species have been at risk due to a massive wildfire in Australia. One-third of the 1,700 square mile island has been burned due to the massive wildfire causing many animals to lose their habitat. Mostly koalas and kangaroos have become affected by the fire, which is believed to go extinct. Habitat destruction is the primary cause of animal extinction. Which Australian Museum has mentioned, scientists believe the sixth mass extinction is taking place. Clearing certain territories for agriculture is the main cause of habitat destruction. It includes mining, trawling, logging, and urban sprawl. There are multiple reasons for animal extinction due to human actions, that damaged our ecosystem and many species.

Numerous animals have gone extinct due to the fact our society’s projects have massively changed our ecosystem, which many species have come across multiple disadvantages. The life extension of many animals has shortened drastically the past decades, which it is assumes, half of the species will be extinct by the 21st century. Even though natural extinction occurs very often, it is happening twice as fast compared to its normal rate. The normal extinction rate is 200 to 2,000 yearly but has increased by 5 times its natural rate, up to 10,000 times deaths. There is yet time for humanity to make changes and save the planet and its creatures from extinction. Therefore, the awareness of animal extinction should be heard and shared to correct our mistakes.

Despite the news of their population decline and the endangerment of their habitats, there are still relentless conservation efforts being made around the world to protect and nurture animal lives. Experts and volunteers behind such efforts have a certain level of knowledge and compassion toward these animals in need. In a recent study, it has been scientifically proven that social learning and understanding of these animals’ lives is essential in helping them thrive again.

Importance of Social Learning

A study released in the Science journal last February 26, 2019 highlighted the fact that more scientific evidences regarding social learning about various animal species–which also includes learning their distinct animal cultures–is crucial in implementing conservation policies and practices.

The international team of researchers behind the study analyzed various species including crows, chimpanzees, elephants, and whales and they claimed that the cultural knowledge about animals should be given priority whenever there are international conservation efforts being planned. Knowing more about animal cultures can give more insights and information regarding specific groups of animals which should be conserved as early as possible. Alongside this, people will also be more aware of the safe and efficient methods that will be needed to conserve them.

As an illustration, it is good to understand how senior killer whales transmit important information to their children or the reasons behind the differences between chimpanzees who break nutritious nuts using stone and other groups of chimpanzees who do not. These examples present both the needs and challenges involved in creating conservation policies that are appropriate for each kind of animal.

An inexperienced offspring adapts and learns survival skills as they observe the elders within their social group and this is common among several animal species. These skills include foraging effectively, finding better habitats to migrate to, and communicating within their groups.

For instance, the passing of knowledge about migration pathways among bighorn sheep and whooping cranes can provide a lot of pertinent information so that future generations can survive as well when they migrate. Contrary to genetic inheritance, social knowledge is transferred within the same generation, hence knowledge such as how to discover a new and rich food source can be shared among members of the group. This will also give them more resilience in the face of challenging conditions in their environment.

How Animal Cultural Behavior Works

The researchers of the study also indicated that social learning processes may possibly lead to the emergence of various cultural subgroups with unique behavior profiles that can eradicate previous social barriers. This is the case observed among the vocal groups of sperm whales in the Eastern Pacific region. The cultural segregation may possess essential conservation clues particularly whenever various animal groups apply different foraging techniques. Each species’ skills also vary in terms of adapting to environmental changes.

In order to conserve social capital, there are populations which can be described best through their cultural behavior instead of simply evaluating the extent of geographic isolation and genetic diversity. Similar to how other species live, the members of the group that have more social knowledge are more protected–like how elder elephant mothers are guarded the most among elephant herds. These factors are equally important in protecting natural habitats that are in danger.

The Crucial Role of Knowledge in Saving Animals

As emphasized by Philippa Brakes, the lead author of the study from the University of Exeter in the UK, aside from genetics, knowledge is a very vital factor for wildlife conservation. As experts are protecting the genetic diversity, it is also a must to work together in protecting the cultural diversity among animal populations to help them thrive, adapt, and become more resilient in these changing times. A reframing of these experts’ current understanding of nature and animals is necessary to enact positive changes in the international laws that seek to protect wildlife.

Efforts of Experts Throughout the Years

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals or the Bonn Convention has been a leader and a pioneer for different conservation efforts. These movements seek to apply scientific knowledge about animal cultures in an effort to further improve the conservation of migratory animals. Bonn Convention works under the department of the United Nations Environment Program.

The study published in Science journal is the result of a collaboration from the seminal workshop held in Italy and is organized by the Bonn Convention. Throughout the study, various experts with decades of specialization have worked together to outline clearer recommendations in improving conservation efforts.

This study and the process of how it came to be show how animal conservationists and experts are willing to adapt to changes to find better means of saving these animals. This development gives new hope that a future wherein for both animals and humans can live together in a sustainable environment is possible.

People have kept animals captive for thousands of years dating back to ancient Egypt as far back as 2500BC. In the 18th century menageries (a private collection of animals) grew in popularity as it was a sign of wealth and helped them to gain popularity with their peers, but the welfare standards were poor as they did not understand the exotic animals’ requirements for them to survive and be happy. Modern-day zoos have improved drastically with their main roles being conservation, research, education, and recreation. These zoos do a lot of work in and outside of the zoo to ensure their welfare conditions are kept to the highest standards. Recently due to the public being more aware of some of the negative aspects of keeping animals in zoos, some have started a lot of controversy surrounding the moral argument of whether should animals be kept in zoos or not.

There are many reasons for zoos to be open as they are a key part of modern society. They help to educate the public on endangered exotic species that they otherwise would not know existed and how they could help them such as donating money etc. They also allow scientists to learn as much about these species as they can, so they know how to provide care for them in captivity and to find ways to help them in the wild. Zoos have always been popular tourist attractions with regular visitors and for families to have a day out. Going to a zoo and seeing the animals up close provides a much more personal experience for the public and can spark empathy towards the animals and can get the public to care for the future of endangered animals. This inspires the public to make donations and spread awareness of how close to extinction some animals are. Without zoos, some species may go unnoticed by the public which could lead to mass extinctions that could lead to drastic changes in the habitat’s ecosystem. In most zoos, they have breeding programs like EEPs (European Endangered Species Programmes) which are run by species experts of the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) organization outside of the zoo that advises the breeding of species. These involve detailed information about the species and individuals kept by the zoo which prevents interbreeding and advises the transfer of individuals, so they have the best chance of producing healthy offspring. This is used so zoos know what species should be bred and which shouldn’t to prevent overcrowding so zoos can take preventative measures such as using contraception methods or keeping sexually mature animals of the same species in the same enclosure.

There are also arguments against the use of zoos as people should not have to right to capture, confine and breed animals as they wish as animals should have the same rights and access to freedom as humans do. As humans, we feel like we are the superior species to the rest of the planet and therefore feel a sense of responsibility to look after all other species on the planet without having the correct knowledge and facilities to do so. There are many examples of zoos and private collections around the world where the welfare standards are appalling. Evidence of abusing the animals either physically harming them or harming them through other ways such as not providing them with the correct diet leading them to be malnourished or starved, dirty and cramped enclosures, and other factors that can lead to extreme stress and discomfort. By law, there are standards that zoos should be held to, for example, The Animal Welfare Act 2006 in the UK provides zoos with the minimum requirements needed for the animals to survive in captivity, but this is only the bare minimum that zoos should provide. For animals to truly thrive they must be given much more but unfortunately, this doesn’t usually happen. Animals can suffer from a lack of enrichment in captivity which could lead to abnormal and dangerous behaviors such as pacing, bar-biting, and even self-mutilation as a way to stimulate themselves when nothing else would. These behaviors are a result of not allowing the animals to display natural behaviors such as foraging, hunting, etc and them being overstressed from not being able to do so. Another reason against keeping animals in zoos is the breeding aspect within them. Endangered animals are bred in order to save and protect the species, but most if not, all zoos do not release these captive-bred animals back into the wild because they are too reliant on human interference to survive in the wild.

In conclusion, there is no definitive answer to say if zoos are good or bad as everyone has their own point of view on the matter and it has always been a controversial topic. There are many just reasons for and against keeping animals in zoos, but my own opinion is that zoos are a key part of society and should stay that way. Zoos contribute a lot to the study and conservation of animals which will help to secure the future of our ecosystem and the animals within it. They have been around in some form for thousands of years and have improved so much in that time so they can only evolve and get better in the future.

At one time everyone has liked or maybe loved tigers. They are amazing creatures, they’ve been threw so much as a species they should be adored. We’ve all seen a tiger sometime in our lives so we aren’t blind to their existence. At this moment tigers are the most endangered animals in the world and this needs to be fixed The tiger is the largest cat species in the world; the largest tiger subspecies is the Siberian tiger. The weight of the male is 500-600 pounds and the female is 300-400 pounds. The average length of the male tiger is 8-10 feet and the female 6-8 feet. The appearance of the tiger depends to a great extent on where the animal lives. Tigers that live in colder places are paler in color, larger in size, and their fur is long and thick. In warmer places, tigers are smaller in size and more colourful and they have shorter, thinner fur. All the fur on the tiger’s back is very thick and the stripes aren’t as bold. The color of the Siberian tiger is yellowish-brown, while the Indian tiger is reddishbrown. Like all cats, tigers have sharp claws and teeth.

Before tigers would have lived from Java, Bali, southern Asia, eastern shores of Asia, and the west of India. Today, tigers are no more found west of India or on the islands of Java and Bali. The few living tigers are in China, Southern Asia, which these are mostly isolated habitats. Tigers could be found in a variety of habitats. They range from tropical forests, evergreen forests, woodlands, grasslands, and savannas. Some other preferred habitats include dense thickets or long grass along river banks. Tigers rely on cover for stalking and killing their prey, they seek areas with ample food, water and moderately dense cover. Tigers are adaptable animals, so they can adapt to many different surroundings, as long as they have sufficient water, shade and food.

The main predator of tigers are humans. Tigers have been trapped, chemically killed and heavily hunted by humans for sport for simple gain like trophies and skins. Humans have also affected the natural habitats of tigers by their destruction and intrusion on the tigers feeding range. Humans are destroying their habitats by cutting down trees, polluting the water, and hunting their prey. In 2006 india’s tiger population was at 1,411. The numbers are now thought to have fallen to 1,000 and the world tiger population numbers to about 5,000 to 7,000 animals. Unfortunately, tigers are still hunted illegally for their fur, bones and other parts and this needs to stop immediately before the are forever gone.

Tiger are strong powerful animals and a time ago they were free to live on their own and not be bothered by humans. Now tho tigers have been hunted to near extinction by poachers. An intense effort is under way to save the endangered tigers, but still their population numbers are dropping. What we’re doing for them is not enough. This is why tigers are the most endangered animals in the world.

Animal Enrichment, is actions in which allows different species to show their natural behaviour. There are many different types of enrichment for animals, some of these include sensory enrichments for example smell and taste. Also includes food enrichments, which creates a way to challenge the animal for them to receive their food. Another is toy enrichment which can include the animal using parts of their body. Environmental is using different objects such as swings. The last one is behavioural which increases behaviour choices.

Elephants are very sociable animals that like to have all kinds of fun. As elephants are herbivores, one main type is food enrichment. Elephants each large amounts of food each day an example being browse this is an essential food item as it is nature and elephants prefer it. It also helps keeps them busy for many hours, as they strip of the bark. Altering the way in which food is presented this is an easy way to keep elephants busy. As elephants sleep very little, they spend a significant amount of active time. A good way to challenge these animals is allowing them to forage for their food such as hanging food up high by placing it in buckets from the ceiling. This stimulates the elephants both mentally (like figuring out how to get at the food by pushing the tire in a certain way) and physically (it’s a great workout for their trunk and neck muscles!). As elephants consume vast amounts of food day to day, a disadvantage of this is that it can be very cost worthy. However, providing elephants with different types of food, although pricey. An advantage of this is it keeps them busy and helps maintain their natural behaviour and keep them healthy to prevent obesity. Food enrichment is beneficial to elephants as it’s a way of challenging them, as in the wild elephants may have to travel far to find food and water, so by using items such as puzzle feeders it helps challenge them as if they were in the wild.

1/2 The Importance of Different Types of Enrichment for Elephants Animal Enrichment, is actions in which allows different species to show their natural behaviour. There are many different types of enrichment for animals (https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/a-narrative-of-my-love-for-animals-andhow-they-have-strengthened-my-compassion-for-all-living-things/), some of these include sensory enrichments for example smell and taste. Also includes food enrichments, which creates a way to challenge the animal for them to receive their food. Another is toy enrichment which can include the animal using parts of their body. Environmental is using different objects such as swings. The last one is behavioural which increases behaviour choices. Elephants are very sociable animals that like to have all kinds of fun. As elephants are herbivores, one main type is food enrichment. Elephants each large amounts of food each day an example being browse this is an essential food item as it is nature and elephants prefer it. It also helps keeps them busy for many hours, as they strip of the bark. Altering the way in which food is presented this is an easy way to keep elephants busy. As elephants sleep very little, they spend a significant amount of active time. A good way to challenge these animals is allowing them to forage for their food such as hanging food up high by placing it in buckets from the ceiling. This stimulates the elephants both mentally (like figuring out how to get at the food by pushing the tire in a certain way) and physically (it’s a great workout for their trunk and neck muscles!). As elephants consume vast amounts of food day to day, a disadvantage of this is that it can be very cost worthy. However, providing elephants with different types of food, although pricey. An advantage of this is it keeps them busy and helps maintain their natural behaviour and keep them healthy to prevent obesity. Food enrichment is beneficial to elephants as it’s a way of challenging them, as in the wild elephants may have to travel far to find food and water, so by using items such as puzzle feeders it helps challenge them as if they were in the wild.

Furthermore, Socialisation and training enrichment are important, in maintaining a relationship with keeper and animal, also helps maintain normal animal behaviour. Social interaction is a critical component of caring for elephants. Elephants can be trained to participate in exercise routines including activities such as stretching and staff-directed walking. Exercise programs have been implemented, in part, because zoo elephants are prone to developing pododermatitis and degenerative bone disease. So therefore, an advantage of training enrichment is it prevents obesity and healthy problems such as bone diseases. Elephants are trained to partake in daily foot and skin care checks. An example of training with elephants is called target training. Such as taking a tool then using this tool such as a bamboo pole, then the elephant will be trained to make contact with the target. Once the elephant makes contact with the tool, they will earn a treat such as a banana. This reinforces behaviour, and maintains or creates a healthy relationship with keeper and elephants. Social enrichment is important as it can encourage a range of behaviours such as breeding. Enrichment can also be important in reducing abnormal behaviours. If an animal becomes bored or stressed, this can lead to more serious behavioural or health problems. Training enrichment is beneficial for elephants as, it helps protect them from health-related problems. It also helps to boost a relationship with keeps and elephants, as the elephants through training learn to trust the keepers, also again maintaining healthy behaviour.

Although food enrichment is important so is cognitive and toy enrichment as it keep elephants busy, if not kept busy this can lead to aggressive and abnormal behaviour. An example of this is in the enclosure having well planned rockwork or faux termite mounds. These provide great places for elephants to scratch, thus maintaining healthy skin, or giving them tyres to play with also helps to provide good mental and physical health. Mud baths are quite popular with elephants as on hot days it allows them to cool down. Captive animals tend to live in highly predictable and structured environments where they are challenged infrequently or inappropriately an example of a cognitive enrichment is puzzle feeders. As though they keep animals busy for longer, it has been well-documented that primates can lose interest in puzzle-feeders within several hours of exposure. Another disadvantage of cognitive enrichment is there has to be a lot of time and money into keeping up with the means of the elephants. Cognitive enrichment is beneficial for elephants as, it’s another way to challenge and maintain animal behaviour.

To conclude I think although all types of enrichment are important, that training and food enrichment are most beneficial for elephants. As training enrichment, allows for elephants to maintain being physically healthy but food enrichment also allows for elephants to maintain being mentally healthy. As training the elephants allows them go through health checks with keepers, also allows them to be prevented from being obese as keepers can take them on supervised walks around enclosures. Food enrichment keeps elephants both mentally and physically healthy as food is key to a healthy balanced diet, as food enrichment such as puzzle feeders help to challenge them as they would be challenged in the wild to find food and water.

What will come up in your mind when you think of animals in the zoo? Is it an enormous but tame elephant or is it a lazy and cute little Koala? With no doubt, that’s exactly what we see in the zoo. Speaking of which, the origin of the zoo can be chased back to early 19th century in European countries. During that period of time, they considered it a way to show their conquests to their colonial countries. According to Lori Marino, Gay Rradshaw and Randy Malamud, they stated that “As time went by and colonial empires expanded, the traditions of public participation in zoo and marine park enterprise is just as enthusiastic as elsewhere. Since then, the zoo has existed to entertain human beings until now. However, the place that we find it interesting and entertaining isn’t really that wonderful as it seems to be, especially for those animals. There are some existing problems, such as being forced to leave their original inhabitation, the insufficient living space in the zoo, and even being used to be a tool to make money in the circuses which is connected to specific zoos. Therefore, we shouldn’t support this kind of cruel business industry to continue existing in the world. To do so, we are ought to understand the plight that those animals are facing until today, instead of viewing it solely as a relaxing place to go.

First of all, animals aren’t like human that have the ability to say NO to whatever we don’t agree with; instead, they can only be forced to do so. As a result, because of human’s greed and own good, they move those animals from where they live originally to the zoo. You may think that it is not really a big deal to live in another place; then let’s look at an example: One good example is Maggie, the young African elephant who almost perished in the zoo where she was being kept. Maggie lived in Anchorage’s Alaska Zoo until 2007. After losing the companionship of another elephant, Maggie’s health declined. Zoo personnel, veterinarians, scientists and public advocates feared that Maggie’s survival was threatened after so many years of living in inhospitable conditions (including, most obviously, the drastic difference between her native African climate and Alaska’s extreme cold).

From the passage above, we can tell that it is extremely brutal for them. That is to say, when animals are forced to live in other places, they need to deal with so many obstacles, including the different types of climate, the changing environment and also the loss of companions. As a result, this behavior may even lead to the increases death rates of animals eventually if they can’t adjust the totally different environment. Thus, we shouldn’t neglect their needs for living but to just fulfill our own good without any considerations.

Second, according to one website; it claims that “Take elephants for example, they can live up to 50 years in the wild whereas in captivity they live a minimum 16-18 years. The small spaces prevent the animals from having any privacy, mental stimulation, and physical exercise.” Although that Dave Hone once stated that “Degree of care and degree of enclosure make the idea of ‘captivity’ fluid and not absolute”, we can still think about it. Here, we can simply picture the contrast between the savannahs in Africa and the little tiny cage in the zoo. With such little space for them, they absolutely feel lost and upset. It is just like us human beings who are diagnosed with serious depression. For those people, they may not even have any motivation to live. So as those animals in the cage, that’s not how their lives should be like under no circumstances. More than that, once animals suffer from too much oppression, they may even do some unusual behaviors, such as shaking their heads and entire body or keeping walking in circles. For people who don’t understand the true meaning and reasons behind it may find them cute; however, the reason why they do so is because they are bored or even sick.

Third, some of the animals in the zoo are even forced to do entertaining performances, including the interactions with certain audience. Maybe some of you have had the experiences to go to a circus, and watched those amazing tricks performed by animals, such as elephant and so on. However, you may not know the exact situation about how violent and brutal the trainers are when they train animals. It is not that hard to imagine the way they treat those animals behind the stage just to earn as much money as they can. Moreover, there are even some activities in aquariums to offer opportunities for the views to swim with dolphins or throw some tools to fool them. Above all, those are not even what the animals are supposed to be doing. But why do they need to do so? Yes, it is because of us again. We take advantages with animals to earn money, even when it is absolutely wrong.

However, according to Weston, he states that “The argument for zoos is often that they serve to educate the public, they give people who can’t afford to travel a chance to see the animals, and that zoos serve as important conservation centers.” There is no doubt that people can get to see them without travelling abroad, but we should not treat any creature in this way no matter what. However, as for the conservational aspect, most of the zoos don’t really do that. According to Dale, he claims that: Even if all of these difficulties are overlooked, the importance of preserving endangered species does not provide much support for the existing system of zoos. Most zoos do very little breeding or breed only species which are not endangered. Many of the major breeding programmes are run in special facilities which have been established for that purpose.

With the information above, we can realize that zoos aren’t really in charge of preserving endangered species. Then, it means that it only exists to entertain human beings, doesn’t it?

Above all, zoos are not a wonderful and fun place to visit, but a harsh jail for those animals to live in. When they are forced to leave where they originally live, they start to suffer. Moreover, they are closed in the tiny cages, which make them hard to do whatever they want; and some zoos even train them to do some tricks and performances. All and all is due to the greed deep in human’s minds. We tend to take advantages with animals, and force them to do whatever they should not be doing, just to earn money. Some people claim that zoos are important place to preserve some rare or endangered species; as a matter of fact, there is no apparent evidences to back up for it. As a result, when we truly want to protect those endangered animals, we shouldn’t simply keep them in the zoo. Instead, we should spend the money constructing some animal preserving institutions. Over there, animals can receive the best caring unlike the way in the zoos. In addition, they won’t be enclosed in a tiny space but a real ground to do some physical exercises. Therefore, there are something that we can do, including not going to the zoos and any performances with animals, where so many beloved animals are treated badly. Moreover, let’s tell as many as people the dark situation behind this lovely place. Although it may seem like a small favor to do, it is really a big step to let people understand the prices those animals are paying just to entertain us. Once we can live in harmony with all the animals, we can claim that we truly love them.

“Shark finning refers to the removal and retention of the shark fins and the discard at sea of the carcass. The shark is most often still alive when it is tossed back into the water. Unable to swim, the shark slowly sinks toward the bottom where it is eaten alive by other fish.” or starve to death. Many don’t bother taking the meat from a shark other than its fins due to its price it can be bought for.

Fins make a lot more money. Over past years the demand for shark fins have increased dramatically. They are used for shark fin soup, which is a showing of wealth in the Chinese culture, and traditional cures and with the advancement we have made in technology for catching them, it can be easy. Many fisherman just bring the shark fins to shore instead of the entire shark because fins are worth a lot more money than the rest of the body. A pound of fin can be sold for as much as $500. Approximately, 100 million sharks are killed each year. With their slow reproduction rates, this puts their population at a high risk. Today some shark populations have decreased by 60-70%. Losing sharks can not only affect the population but can affect what happens to the ocean. Sharks indirectly maintain the seagrass and coral reef habitats and the loss of sharks have has led to a decline in both those and the loss of commercial fisheries. Without coral reefs and sharks there is a huge decrease to the herbivores due to the increase of those who feed on them.Finally people are starting to realize what we are doing to these sharks are not right. Since 1994, 22 countries have placed regulations in their area on shark finning.

According to the 2010 Shark Conservation Act, all the sharks caught in the United States must be brought to shore with all their fins still attached. To decrease the cultural value of fins in China, Chinese government began prohibiting the serving of shark fin soup at banquets in 2012. But since then, a survey claims that only 6% of luxury hotels in the cities of Beijing, Shenzhen, and Fuzhou have stopped serving the dish. Again said in the paragraph above, if shark finning isn’t outlawed worldwide we will see a massive negative change of our ocean economy and food web.Over time we have seen an decrease of people who support shark finning. We went from it not being illegal anywhere to now only a few countries, like Norway and Iceland, where it is still legal to kill sharks for their fins.

I believe in the next new decades we will rarely kill sharks for their fins and realize they aren’t as harmful to us as we are to them and that their money isn’t worth ruining our ocean ecosystem and food chain.