More and more animals are now used to be confined into the zoo’s, reservations or other preserved and groomed by people areas. It is important to differentiate between a wild animal, a domesticated animal and an animal that has been tamed. This allows understanding the importance of laws protecting wildlife.Some people choose keeping a wild animal in their home that has been found or captured. Why? What motivates this choice? Let us try and make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of capturing animals to the zoo’s and of taking over an animal in order to tame it.Generally speaking, animals live longer in captivity than in the wild, because keepers and vets are available to look after their health and diet. If an animal sickens, there are people available to help it. Furthermore, good zoos provide a balanced diet, including necessary medicines. This helps the animal to be as healthy as possible. Animals are also safer in zoos than in the wild. Vulnerable animals are even brought in at night to protect them from predators. The down side is that people know where zoos are and can break in and capture or kill some species.The first disadvantage of living in a zoo is that zoos may not have enough space to keep increased numbers of animals, so may have to choose which animals to put down. The second con is reproduction: mostly the only other example of the species are close relatives, so, according to this sometimes there have been degeneracies. Some animals adapt well to captivity and can show the same kinds of behaviour, which they would show in the wild. Unfortunately, some other animals do not adapt well to captivity. They show stereotyped behavior, for example by rocking from side to side, and may suffer great stress. Polar bears and some other species seem to be prone to these problems.
Some people think that animals do not suffer stress in the wild. This is not true – animals are hunted, they compete with other group members for food, territory or mates and have to adapt to changing environments. They are also at risk from hunters and habitat destruction. Both environments have their advantages and disadvantages. Obviously, it is better for animals to live naturally, but this is becoming increasingly difficult due to habitat destruction. Zoos can save species from extinction.