Recently, The Oaklawn Zoo in Canada published so-called 'comic' photos of their felines on their Facebook page.
It is Obi who stands out, a young two-year-old lion sat awkwardly in a wheelbarrow, staring out into the distance.
Source : @Facebook
Clearly ignorant of the tragedy of the scene, one of the zoo's employees told Buzzfeed :
Obi is a bit of a clown and is always trying to be a part of whatever I am doing in the enclosure.
Several other photos published by the zoo show these wild animals in captivity in other distressing situations.
Like this lion cub sat on an armchair inside someone's house.
Source : @Facebook
Or this lioness sniffing the corrugated iron of a car which was carelessly parked in her enclosure.
Source : @Facebook
And finally this lion sitting on a big plastic container.
Source : @Facebook
These photos may amuse some people, but they should appall us. They depict the sad fate of most animals in zoos who spend their lives prisoners in artificial surroundings which do not satisfy their basic needs.Whilst some zoos do make more of an effort to create a stimulating environment for their animals, they all hold wild animals captive against their will and show them off as if they were objects of amusement.
Source : @Jo-Anne McArthur
No matter how big their enclosure is, all zoo animals are solitaryprisonerswho lead a sad and boring existence for most of their captive lives.As the animal rights associationPeTAsays:
Zoos teach the public that it is acceptable to keep animals in captivity, bored and unstimulated, confined and isolated, far from their natural habitat, and all thanks to humans.
Source : @Jo-Anne McArthur
And if some zoos argue that their work is essential for the preservation of endangered species, we must remember that very few of the confined animals are endangered species. What's more, an animal who has grown up in captivity can never be let back out into its natural habitat in the wild.In fact, the best way to protect animals in danger of extinction is by preserving their natural habitat. There is no need to make them live in a cage.We hope that the viral photo of the poor lionObiwill raise awareness!If you'd like to jointhe fight to end animal captivity, you can support The Born Free Foundation which strives to end animal's suffering in captivity and phase out zoos.
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