A country’s wealth is not determined by the economical development but also the natural resources available in the same. The natural resources include numerous species of Flora which includes one cellular plant to giant trees and Fauna which includes variety of animal species. IUCN (1990) lists approximately 25 vertebrate species and 2000 invertebrate species of fauna are threatened or possibly threatened. During the last 400 hundred years 491 described species of animals are known to have become extinct. This is undoubtedly an underestimate of actual extinctions for several reasons. First, the majority of animal species have not yet been described by science. Many species particularly invertebrates, will therefore have disappeared undocumented before being collected and described.
Second, extinction is registered only when a species has not been recorded despite significant efforts, for a considerable length of time – arbitrarily taken to be 50 years by both the World Conservation Union and the Conservation on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Accurate information on current status and abundance is available for only a tiny fraction of the world’s described species, so many are certain to have become extinct with out our knowledge. The cause of extinction includes hunting (10%), habitat destruction (16%), Introduced animals (17%), other causes (2%), and no cause assigned (55%). Human activity has contributed to the overwhelming majority for the extinction of animal species (WCMC, 1992).
With the alarming increase in endangered species zoos will be probably needed in the future to preserve and protect many of our finest creatures. Primary aim for keeping the animals in captivity is to conserve the animal species. The visit of the captivity institutions by the people develops appreciation of wild life and interest in its protection of its habitat. These captive breeding institutions can play an important role in mobilizing public awareness of conservation issues. Captive population of animals can play a significant conservation role as demographic and genetic reservoirs from which infusions of ‘new blood’ may be obtained from wild populations, as sources from which new populations can be founded, and as last redoubts for species which have no immediate chance of survival in the wild. There are approximately 1150 zoos, aquaria and affiliated captive facilities world wide, of which 878 reported their addresses to the International Zoo Year book (IZY) (Olney and Ellis, 1991).
Captive breeding is widely regarded as less cost –effective than in situ preservation. In the public imagination zoos and aquaria are still all too often identified as animal prison camps. One way for zoos to counter these criticisms is to expand their contribution to conservation. Captive breeding of animals so far saved only a handful of species form total extinction, but cold potentially save may others for which in situ efforts alone may prove to be inadequate. They need not only publicize their conservation-oriented activities, but to increase the allocation of resources to their breeding programs for threatened taxa. Ideal zoos of the future should concentrate on species of their own region, their breeding and their conservation (Magin et al.,1994).
Animals have their feelings of their own. The behavior of animals varies depending upon the species of animals. They will not able to express their discomforts and pleasures like human. But by observing their behaviors of animals we can identify the discomfort of animals in their environment. In captive conditions the animals should be provided with an environment similar to that of natural habitat. If it is not possible, it is highly essential to provide adequate feed, bedding and minimum space for their movement is necessary to make the animal more comfortable in captivity. By providing these basic amenities we can make the captive condition more pleasurable for animals. Second important thing to do in captivity is we have to understand the feelings of animals as our own and their feelings should not be taken as granted.
Human is powerful, recently evolved mammal in the animal kingdom. Just because we are in the upper order of zoological taxonomy with sixth sense we are capable of utilizing the other animal species and plants living in the earth. Animals are useful to human being in numerous ways including as a source of high quality nutritious food in the form of food animals, helping the human in various day to day activities such as in agriculture, hunting etc, useful as laboratory animals in discovery of numerous medicines and other research areas to improve the quality of human life, act as a good companions in the form of pet animals and zoo animals and finally used for preparing the human apparels by giving their skin after their death.
The animal-rights view rejects the concept that animals are merely capital goods or property intended for the benefit of humans. The concept is often confused with animal welfare, which is the philosophy that takes cruelty towards animals and animal suffering into account, but that does not assign specific moral rights to them.
Peter Singer and Tom Regan are the best-known proponents of animal liberation, though they differ in their philosophical approaches. Another influential thinker is Gary L. Francione, who presents an abolitionist view that non-human animals should have the basic right not to be treated as the property of humans. Singer argues that the way in which humans use animals is not justified, because the benefits to humans are negligible compared to the amount of animal suffering they necessarily entail, and because the same benefits can be obtained in ways that do not involve the same degree of suffering.
According to Regan, we should abolish the breeding of animals for food, animal experimentation, and commercial hunting. Regan’s theory does not extend to all sentient animals but only to those can be regarded as “subjects-of-a-life.” He argues that all normal mammals of at least one year of age would qualify in this regard.
Animals are protected under the law, but in general their individual rights have no protection. There are criminal laws against cruelty to animals, laws that regulate the keeping of animals in cities and on farms, the transit of animals internationally, as well as quarantine and inspection provisions. These laws are designed to protect animals from unnecessary physical harm and to regulate the use of animals as food. In the common law, it is possible to create a charitable trust and have the trust empowered to see to the care of a particular animal after the death of the benefactor of the trust. Some individuals create such trusts in their will. Trusts of this kind can be upheld by the courts if properly drafted and if the testator is of sound mind. Animal ethical laws are vary from country to country. But all these laws are mainly legislated for protecting the animals from unnecessary pains and suffering.
In conclusion captive environments are playing an important role in preserving the animal species and also act as an educational system to create awareness in human about wild life. But it is extremely necessary to make the animals more comfortable with out any suffering in captive conditions by providing a similar environment to that of natural habitats.
References
- IUCN, (1990). 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened animals, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
- Magin, C.D.,Johnson, T.H., Groombridge, B., Jenkins, M. and Smith, H., (1994). Species extinctions, endangerment and captive breeding. In. Creative Conservation, (eds.) Olney, Mace, G.M. and Feistner, A.T.C, Chapman and Hall, 2-6 Boundary Row, London, UK.
- Olney, P.J.S. and Ellis,P. (eds)(1991) 1990 International ZooYear Book Volume 30, Zoological Society of London, London.
- WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Centre)(1992) Global Biodiversity:Status of the Earth’s Living Resources, Champman & Hall, London.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_rights
