Every day the issue of animal rights becomes a more publicized and more controversial topic. More and more information is given to the public about how animals kept in captivity are being mistreated. Animals were previously objectified by humans, but are now new research shows that some animals are capable of emotions, feelings, and relationships, just like humans. This leads to the issue of just how ethical and humane it is to keep animals in captivity. Keeping animals in captivity is inhumane because animals are intelligent with thoughts and feelings, suffer mental and physical health problems, and also pose a safety threat to humans. 

One major reason that animal captivity is harmful is because of the health effects it places on animals. While in captivity, animals' health and safety is often compromised. SeaWorld is a widely known example of captive animals in poor health. According to Alecia Simmonds, whales in SeaWorld often attack one another, resulting in physical trauma. The average lifespan for a wild orca is up to 100 years, but SeaWorld's orcas only live to be 25-30 years old. (Simmonds, 2013) Zoos and other entertainment groups, such as circuses, have also been known to use physical abuse to coerce animals into doing what they want. These types of abuse include food and water deprivation, isolation, use of bull hooks, chaining, and restricted movement. These actions often result in disease, infections, the development of eating disorders, and digestive malfunctions. (Bradshaw and Lindner) Circus Elephants are often subjected to extreme mistreatment. According to Jessica Bell, internal documents from Ringling Brothers' reported that elephants were "dripping blood all over the arena floor during the show from being hooked." (Bell) The physical abuse of an animal is in no way humane and these animals are very clearly suffering. 

As animal research is furthered many scientists have come to discover that many animals have complex cognitive abilities, including the ability to experience emotions and feelings. Many of the animals who possess these abilities are the animals that are most commonly kept in captivity, mostly because they are fairly easy to train and interact with. Dolphins and great apes are comparable to humans when it comes to links between brain complexity, social complexity, and ecological complexity. Dolphins are also known to have extremely complex social skills. They have differentiated relationships with one another and spend a large amount of time interacting with one another. They even have the ability to recognize themselves as individuals, a strong indicator of intelligence. (Bearzi, 2014) Chimpanzees are also self-aware and experience mental time travel, just like humans. (Wise, 2015) By proving that these animals are intelligent and have thoughts and feelings, similar to humans, it can also be proven that keeping animals in locked away is inhumane. These animals are able to feel stress and sadness when taken away from their natural habitat. Most captive environments also lack the resources to properly mentally stimulate these animals which leads to mental health problems. 

Mental health problems are a common issue among animals kept in captivity. Most animals in the wild migrate thousands of miles throughout their lifetimes and are forced to hunt and communicate with one another to survive. However, in captivity these animals are forced to stay in the same place every day, have their food handed to them, and are kept isolated from other animals. This can easily lead to psychological and physiological problems. According to Laura Kurtycz, learned helplessness is just one of those problems. Animals in captivity have little to no control over their environment, including where they go, what they will eat, and who they will interact with. Once they have been in captivity long enough to realize this they give up and forget how to make their own decisions, relying on their trainers to make their decisions for them. This leads to poor mental stimulation and an altered personality. (Kurtycz, 2015) Keeping dolphins in captivity has been known to put them under so much psychological stress that they attempt to jump out of their tanks. In one reported incident from 2006, a young bottlenose dolphin at the Minnesota Zoo jumped out of his tank and landed on headfirst on concrete. He later died from a fractured skull. (Grimm, 2011) This dolphin had to have had some mental issues that caused him to try to escape his enclosure, most likely due to being in kept in captivity. This shows how captivity affects animals in harmful ways. 

Another important concern about keeping animals in captivity is the safety of the humans that work with and surround the animal. Many people, both trained zookeepers and guests, have been attacked and even killed by animals kept in captivity. There are very few laws that make sure the safety of humans is not at risk when dealing with once wild animals. Even the very few guidelines for human safety are ineffective. One example of this is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). In order for a zoo to be accredited by the AZA appropriate safety procedures must be in place to prevent injury and attack, including specifications for enclosure height. The first problem with the AZA is that only ten percent of zoos and aquariums are accredited. This means that most zoos in the United States do not possess the safety features needed to even be considered to be in the AZA. The second issue is that within those ten percent of zoos and aquariums there have still been several cases of injury and even death to zookeepers and guests by animals. (Roberts, 2008) The death of Dawn Brancheau, a SeaWorld trainer, is another example of human safety issues. Dawn Brancheau was killed during a SeaWorld show when an orca dragged her into the water by her ponytail. Brancheau had been working with this orca for years, proving that experience does not equate safety when working with captive animals. Keeping animals in captivity is inhumane because it is placing our own species at risk, solely for entertainment and money purposes. 

There are many arguments about why keeping animals in captivity is necessary. One is that it allows us to observe and learn more about animals. The problem with this argument is that when animals are in captivity, they are not behaving as they would in the wild. Therefore, this does not give us an accurate account of what these animals are really like. Although observing animals in the wild may be more difficult and expensive, it is possible and provides us with a much more accurate depiction of wild animals. Another popular argument is conservation. Many species that are endangered are kept in captivity to ensure that they do not go extinct. The problem with this argument is that the real problem with endangerment is not being addressed. Instead of capturing these animals and keeping them in poorly made false environments we should take measures to stop what is causing these animals to go extinct such as deforestation and hunting. 

Keeping animals in captivity poses many problems for the animals and for humans. Animals in captivity are often physically and mentally abused, whether that be the intent of the caretaker or not. These animals are too intelligent to be locked up in such small and dull enclosures. They are aware of what is happening to them and suffer from lack of psychological exercise. Human safety is also a large issue when it comes to keeping animals in captivity. There have been many accounts of human injury and death caused by captive animals. Each of these issues shows how keeping animals in captivity is inhumane and dangerous. 

 
