It seems like we have forgotten about animals' rights and freedoms so much that we have captured, caged and inbred them solely for our own entertainment. Going to the zoo is a lot of fun and it is great to see with our own eyes what we would otherwise not be able to witness if it weren't for zoos. What we don't realize is the cruelty that takes place behind the scenes of the showings and displays of these animals. These actions exhibit and support the very definition of what it means to be cruel. If cruelty is disposing or inflicting pain causing suffering then cruelty is what is being inflicted on these naturally wild animals. .
According to the Humane Society of the United States animal cruelty can either be deliberate abuse or a simple failure to care properly for an animal. These same cruelties take place in environments that people feel should be safe for animals but are unhealthy and almost like jail for the innocent: Zoos. In The article The Reality of Zoos on, "It instantly became very clear to me that the animals imprisoned in zoos are sad and don't want to be kept in artificial environments, have people gawk at them, listen to children who bang on the windows of their enclosures, or have cameras flashing in their faces"(Carr). Animals don't have written rights like humans because of course they can't agree to them but does that mean that they don't deserve have any?.
Not only are these animals suffering physically because they are put in cages that don't accommodate the space that they were created to utilize in the wild but there is a negative psychological impact as well. According to Bornfree.org Zoochosis is a term used to describe abnormal and stereotypic behavior in captive animals and this is a common thread in zoos all over the world. Animals show the symptoms of zoochosis in many different ways: pacing and circling, bar biting, neck twisting, rocking, self-mutilation and many other traits that come with this depression in captive animals.