In France, since March 15, 2020, we can no longer leave our homes as we wish. We are, however, fortunate to be able to go out shopping to be able to eat (what we want, when we want), to get some fresh air for an hour a day (but not more than a mile from our home) and to keep in touch with our loved ones thanks to new technologies.
With the confinement we have been experiencing for over a month, we can feel isolation, loneliness, anxiety and even depression…. But what about the billions (I say billions because I imagine there are billions…) of animals locked up in zoo cages, in circuses, in marine park ponds or in aquariums? Well, animals also feel these emotions.
Kidnapped in their natural environment, they are very often separated from their families, with the simple aim of entertaining us. These separations cause severe trauma.
Accustomed to foraging independently in the wild, they are forced to eat meals and meal times. If no one brings them food, they will be condemned to die since they can no longer hunt on their own.
Accustomed to traveling long distances, they end up in narrow cages or pools.
As for the natural reproduction of animals, they can no longer choose their partner, as they would in their environment.
This dependence on humans and the conditions of life in captivity also leads to behavioral disorders in the various animal species (stereotypy, self-destruction, aggressiveness, etc.).
Deprived of our freedom, will we be able to learn from it? Can we be more empathetic towards other animal species? Wouldn’t animals have the right to live free on Earth? Who said that a group of individuals had the right to own these sentient beings in order to transform them into animal-objects, into animal-shows, in the name of “pedagogy” or profit?
Wouldn’t it be a good idea to close all these “prisons for the innocent” and reinstate these animals in their natural habitats? Isn’t the planet big enough to be shared by all living beings?
Here are some articles to deepen the subject on animal exploitation in zoos, circuses, marine parks and aquariums:
N.B.: They all come from petafrance.com because I found them to be extremely well written.
Photo : Patrice Letarnecs
Take care of yourself.