Kyle Esten
Prof. Stephen Shade
English 101
Argumentative Research paper
Do The Benefits of Keeping Animals in Captivity for Entertainment Purposes Outweigh the Dangers?
Animal cruelty encompasses acts of violence towards animals as well as the neglect or the failure to ensure the welfare of animals under a person’s control. Animal cruelty does not only apply to cases where physical harm is inflicted on an animal, but it also includes psychological harm to animals in the form of distress, torment or terror. For many years, mankind has interacted with diverse species of animals. During these interactions, animals have provided man with great benefits. Mankind has used animals as pets to provide companionship, as guides for those living with disability, for medical experimentation, to provide labor, for clothing and commercial products and to provide entertainment in zoos, wildlife shows and circuses. The capture of wild marine mammals especially dolphins and whales continue around the world in many regions. Keeping dolphins and whales in captivity for entertainment purposes brings more danger than benefits to these animals. The proliferation of these capture operations raises global concern because they do not seem to consider the welfare of these animals.
Animals suffer varying degrees of stress and trauma during the time of capture and during the period they are in captivity. Most dolphins remain languishing in their cages or tanks and wait until the next show or next feeding. Scientific evidence has demonstrated that the nature of the captivity itself, as well as the elements in the captive dolphin's environment, is stressful to the animal. Those who support captivity have argued that it is impossible to know how the dolphins in captivity are feeling since the dolphins don't speak. However, it is possible to know when an animal is under stress because stress is a response that affects animals both behaviorally and physiologically. Stress induces behavior such as stereotypy in animals. According to Weiner (57). stereotypy in captive animals results from the distress, boredom and frustration emanating from being held in an abnormal or unnatural environment. The unnatural environment prevents the dolphins from satisfying their natural repertoire of behaviors. The dolphins then form destructive habits or resort to behaving abnormally in a bid to ease the ensuing tension. The stereotypy exhibited by captive cetaceans include head bobbing, vomiting, self-mutilation, chewing at the environment, pacing or circling, tongue playing, biting on gates and bars and engaging in lethargic and comatose-like behavior. However, the irony is that those who visit the marine parks to see these animals fail to perceive these behaviors as indicators of stress but rather see them as idiosyncrasies or play.
Besides behavior, physiological responses can also help demonstrate that captive cetaceans experience stress. The hormone levels, blood chemistry, respiration rates and the overall health give scientists an idea of how the cetaceans in captivity are feeling. To put this into perspective, consider a kind of white blood cells known as eosinophils. The level of eosinophils in an animal's blood determines the body's level of stress hormone cortisol. The implication of fewer eosinophils is that the body is overproducing the stress hormone cortisol. According to Marino (105), a comparison of the level of eosinophils in wild bottlenose dolphins and captive bottlenose dolphins will usually reveal that the wild dolphins have higher eosinophils than captive bottlenose dolphins. This implies that the captive dolphins have higher levels of stress hormone in their bodies than their wild counterparts. It has also been established that certain procedures and situations such as capture, removal from the water, transport, social instability, and the presence of swimmers in the cetacean's pool lead to the overproduction of stress hormones. It therefore comes as no surprise that captive dolphins who interact with humans on a daily basis are more disturbed by captive programs such as swim-with-the-dolphins than their wild counterparts who interact with these swimmers in the natural ocean.
Cetaceans held in captivity are also endangered by the unsuitable living conditions of their artificial habitats. Captive cetaceans are always housed in isolation or in groups that they are not compatible with. Even though the public display industry has always attempted to justify such captivity as enhancing the lives of the cetaceans by protecting them from the rigors of the natural environment, the reality is that such inconsistent and unnatural housing situations are detrimental to the health of the captive cetaceans. Corkeron (183) notes that the general trend with every marine mammal exhibit is that the needs of the visitors are given priority over the needs of the captive animal. The structures where these animals are housed are designed in such a way that the animal is made readily visible but not necessarily comfortable. In petting pools and in the swim-with-the-dolphins encounters, the cetaceans do not get the freedom to choose the levels of interaction with human beings nor the amount of rest they prefer (Corkeron,185). The effect of such coercion is that it can elicit submissive behavior towards people. Within the social groups of the dolphins, such submissive behavior may interfere with the dominance structure. Moreover, the continuous feeding of the dolphins by the visiting public in the petting pools places the dolphins at the risk of ingesting foreign objects or becoming obese. The claim that captivity enhances the lives of the cetaceans is therefore baseless given that marine mammals have evolved physically and behaviorally and are able to survive the rigors in their natural environment.
The captivity of cetaceans that once lived in the wild may lead to the animals gradually experiencing the atrophy of a number of their natural behaviors. According to Parsons (197), the captivity cuts off the cetaceans from the conditions that permit the expression of natural behaviors. Consider a type of whale known as a beluga. Belugas are social animals and in the wild, they live together in small groups known as pods. They communicate with each other using a language of clangs, clicks and whistles. Captivity suppresses the expression of these specialized vocalizations and prevents the animal from displaying their unique foraging techniques. When the public views these captive cetaceans, they get a false picture of the natural lives of the animals. This false picture desensitizes the public to the inherent cruelties of captivity. For virtually all captive cetaceans, their life lacks naturalness. The foraging patterns and natural feeding are completely lost in captivity. Other natural behaviors that are altered in captivity include those associated with mating, dominance and maternal care. As noted by Parsons (212), the alteration of these natural behaviors may substantially affect the mammal as it may lead to stereotypical behaviors such as pacing, self-mutilation and vomiting. It has also been found that dolphins and whales denied the opportunity to forage frequently develop abnormal aggression within their groups.
Captivity interferes with the freedom of choice of cetaceans. As noted by Armstrong and Botzler (36), the issue of cetaceans, especially dolphins being denied the freedom of choice is of great ethical concern because dolphins may well merit a moral stature equal to that of humans. Behavioral and psychological literature have given evidence of the sophisticated cognition of dolphins. A research by a scientist at Emory University determined that the relative brain size of bottlenose dolphins is second only to that of humans. This finding further exposed that complexity of the neocortex of many dolphins can be compared to that of humans. The intelligence of dolphins is said to match that of human toddlers. According to Grimm (526), dolphins are self-aware and capable of abstract thinking. They make choices and decisions about their life. Dolphins, for example, seek people and other dolphins whose company they enjoy while avoiding those whose company they don't enjoy. Grimm (527), adds that dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors meaning that they have distinct personalities. Cetaceans being complex, intelligent and self-aware beings are therefore deserving of greater consideration by humans. Imprisoning such beings for entertainment purposes is dangerous to them as it denies them their freedom of choice.
Owners of dolphinariums have frequently claimed that the keeping of dolphins and whales in captivity provide great educational opportunities. These captivity proponents contend that such educational opportunities may lead to increased public concern for conservation of dolphins. In asserting the educational effectiveness of public display facilities, the owners frequently cite annual figures of visitors to these display facilities. They are apparently convinced that by walking through a turnstile or getting to play with these cetaceans the visitors learn about these marine mammals. But according to Marino, Bradshaw and Malamud (79), the truth is that the response that the mere exposure to captive cetaceans elicits does not translate into heightened ecological awareness. The educational value of these marine parks is clearly doubtful. The educational experience a person gets while at a marine park does not enable the individual to understand the life of these animals. Watching or interacting with these animals in an environment where their natural space and social structure is constrained shows little if anything of the everyday life of these animals. Marino, Bradshaw and Malamud (73) add that captive dolphins have experienced atrophy in many of their natural behaviors over time and hence may have very little or nothing in common with those in the wild. An alternative that would lead to a valuable and meaningful educational experience would be to go out in the sea on a whale or dolphin-watching trip or swim with the wild dolphins in the ocean. A trip out into the ocean will most certainly give one the chance to have a glimpse into the real life of these marine mammals. At sea, one gets a better understanding of the behavior of dolphins and whales in the company of their own families.
A misleading notion perpetuated by owners and operators of public display facilities such as dolphinaria is that keeping the cetaceans in tanks saves them from pollution, overfishing and even extinction. Captive breeding programs have also been claimed to have conservation motives. The claim is at its best misleading for conservation is not the primary purpose of the captivity industry as a whole. According to Rose, Farinato and Sherwin (16), less than ten percent of the public display facilities are involved in substantial conservation programs. Moreover, where such facilities are involved in conservation programs, the amount that they spend on these programs is an almost insignificant fraction of the incomes that these facilities generate. Environmental issues are not appropriately addressed by removing dolphins or whales from their natural habitat. These programs equally do not aim at protecting endangered or threatened species. This is because the animals kept in captivity for amusement are generally not the endangered species (Rose, Farinato and Sherwin, 17). It is evident that captive breeding programs at these facilities have the major goal of ensuring a constant supply of dolphins and whales for the amusement of humans. If one was to visit these animals out in the ocean or sea, they would see the need to protect not only the cetaceans but also their environment.
True conservation efforts will only come when humans stop regarding these animals as their resources to be exploited and managed. Indeed, the dolphins and whales will only be saved when human begin to see these self-aware and social animals as fellow creatures with clear rights that must be acknowledged and protected. Of central importance in acknowledging the rights of the cetaceans is the need to address the issues of the protection of animal habitat and giving them their freedom. Paramount in the list is the freedom from captivity. From a Christian perspective and echoing the Bible, human beings were tasked with the responsibility of "managing" the Earth. This does not mean humans must assert their dominance over other creatures. What is emphasized here is a more caring management. It is high time that humans learned to be custodians of the earth without assuming the role of an exploiter. Humans must employ non-invasive research programmes. Scientific background is needed to know when the population of these marine mammals are in trouble and what human can do to help them. Concerted efforts must also be directed towards fighting the individuals and companies distorting this scientific information with the view of exploiting animals.
Conclusion
Animal cruelty encompasses acts of violence towards animals as well as the neglect or the failure to ensure the welfare of animals under a person’s control. For many years, mankind has interacted with diverse species of animals. During this period humans have domesticated some animals and continue to manage the rest even in their wild habitats. Within the marine environment, the capture of wild marine mammals especially dolphins and whales continue in many regions around the world. The benefits of such captivity do not outweigh the dangers. Where there exist benefits, they have continually flowed in one direction with humans being the beneficiaries. Meanwhile, these cetaceans continue to suffer grave harm both physically and psychologically. The comfortability of these unnatural environments lead to stress and trauma, injury and atrophy of the animals’ natural behaviors. Such activity interferes with the mating, maternal care, foraging and natural feeding patterns. Moreover, the captivity denies them the freedom of choice. Given the advanced traits and self-awareness of these animals, treating them with a commercial attitude as if they are the property of human beings can be likened to the practice of human slavery. The claims by owners of public display facilities that the captivity of such animals provide educational opportunities which enhance awareness for their preservation are misleading. Humans must therefore acknowledge that they have a moral obligation to show humane treatment to animals and a special responsibility to respect and preserve them as part of the natural environment.