How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments - mostly for entertainment purposes - is fair and respectful?
我们怎么可能认为把动物关在非自然环境的笼子里——主要是为了娱乐目的——是公平和尊重的呢？
Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. However, most zoos remain "collection" of interesting "things" rather than protective habitats. Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes.
动物园官员表示，他们很关心动物。然而，大多数动物园仍然是有趣“物品”的“收藏”，而不是保护栖息地。动物园告诉人们，让动物感到无聊、孤独、远离自然家园是可以接受的。
Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having leamed anything meaningful about the animals' natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species' name, diet, and natural range.
动物园声称可以教育人们，拯救濒危物种，但游客离开动物园时，对动物的自然行为、智力或美没有任何有意义的了解。动物园把动物关在狭小的空间或笼子里，大多数标志只提到物种的名称、饮食和自然范围。
The animals' normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don't usually take care of the animals' natural needs. The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusual and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis. A world-wide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.
动物的正常行为很少被注意到，因为动物园通常不会照顾动物的自然需求。这些动物被关在一个狭小的空间里，没有隐私，几乎没有机会进行身心锻炼。这导致了一种不寻常的、自我毁灭的行为，称为动物园精神病。一项世界范围的动物园研究发现，在小空间或笼子里饲养的动物中，动物园精神病很常见。另一项研究表明，大象22%的时间都在重复头部运动或咬笼子的栅栏，而熊30%的时间都在来回走动，这是不快乐和痛苦的表现。
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven't we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?
此外，动物园里的大多数动物都没有濒临灭绝。圈养繁殖濒危的大型猫科动物、亚洲象和其他物种最终并没有将它们送回野外。动物园经常谈论他们的圈养繁殖计划，因为他们不想让人们担心某个物种逐渐消失。事实上，小动物也吸引了很多付费顾客。我们难道没有看到足够多的比赛来给小动物命名吗？
Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals' natural habitats.
事实上，只有拯救濒危物种的栖息地，消除人们杀害它们的理由，我们才能拯救濒危物种。我们不应该支持动物园，而应该支持致力于保护动物自然栖息地的团体。
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