This question captured my interest because I have always grown up with pets and visiting zoos and aquariums. However, recently programs that keep animals under captivity have been criticized for poor treatment of the animals. I wanted to find out if the animals kept in these sort of programs were being mistreated or experiencing mental or physical harm. This question affects my values because I personally believe that animals should be treated fairly and it is not a human's place to take them away from their natural environment, unless it is to help them. My experience regarding this topic includes visiting zoos, aquariums, circuses, and amusement parks that all contain wild or exotic animals. I am qualified to write about this because I have done lots of research and considered the different ways that the research question could be answered.

This first source is called first article is called Zoochotic: Is Keeping Wild Animals in Captivity Crazy? This article claims that keeping wild animals in captivity is wrong for many reasons. One reason is that it is not safe for animals or humans. There have been many cases of zoo animals acting out, most likely due to being in an unnatural environment, and harming the humans around them. Animals in captivity also provide very little education purposes because they are not in their natural habitat or behaving naturally. Keeping animals in such small enclosures without physical and mental enrichment is cruel.

The major values in this article are safety, education, and whether or not captivity is humane. Roberts argues that animals in captivity pose a safety risk to the humans around them. Under the pressure of living in a false environment these animals are more likely to attack. Animals in captivity are also not good for educational purposes because they are not in their natural habitat. It is also inhumane to keep animals in uncomfortable, unnatural enclosures so different from their homes in the wild. The author of this article is Adam M. Roberts. He is most likely a credible author because he is the CEO of the Born Free USA organization. This means he has a lot of experience and knowledge about wild animals and animal captivity. The Born Free USA organization is also a recognized and credible source. 

The second source is Debunking Captivity: 3 Reasons Not to Keep Dolphins in a Tank. This article was about how it is inhumane to keep dolphins in captivity. Some of the major points of this article were that dolphins are extremely intelligent animals and have complex social structures, which require them to be in the ocean to thrive. Some interests in this article are animal's cognitive abilities, how they interact with one another, and their emotions and personalities. Each of these abilities allows dolphins to prosper in their natural environment, the ocean, and causes them to suffer when held in captivity. This article also discusses the use of captivity for research and education purposes. 

The author of this source is Maddalena Bearzi. Bearzi has studied the ecology and conservation of marine mammals for over twenty-five years. She is also President and Co-founder of the Ocean Conservation Society. This provides her with lots of insight on how marine mammals work and survive, showing that she is a credible source for this topic. 

The last source is called Wild vs. Captivity. This source states facts and compares the differences between cetaceans lives in the wild and in captivity. This article allows you to form your own opinion about captivity by providing you with information about the daily lives of cetaceans. Some interests in this article are how far cetaceans travel in a day, their social interactions, what they eat, they environments they live in, and daily functions. Most of the comparisons are vastly different and provide proof that living in captivity is not the same as living in the wild. 

The author of this article is Dave Tilford. Tilford is the author and editor of the Animal Welfare Institute. The Animal Welfare Institute aims to pass laws that protect animals from inhumane conditions and cruelty. This means that Tilford is a reliable source, though he may be slightly biased because his organization is against animals kept in captivity. 

This research question is arguable because there are many different viewpoints on the topic. These viewpoints are based on even more opinions and values that vary from person to person. What a person's stance on this topic is depends on whether or not they believe that animals have emotions, whether they believe that captive environments are acceptable, and many other factors as well. 
