Your Entertainment Is Their Misery

The above photo is of a little African girl in an ethnographic village (human zoo) in 1958. This
is where she lived. This is where she stayed. People were there to see a black girl on exhibit.
How happy do you think she is? She does not have the opportunity to go where other people can
go and do what they do. Most of the people back then saw nothing wrong with this because this
was entertainment. Now to make things clear this is not about race, but rather about the true
meaning of how ALL lives matter.
Today I would have to guess that the above photo would be appalling to say the least to people.
Captivity, slavery, abuse, and, confinement all forms of abuse for nonhumans today. These
places are called circuses, aquariums, and zoos. All places for animals to be miserably on
display for human entertainment. A good way to determine if something is appropriate is to
switch places with that individual. According to Estrada (2013), Zoo animals are robbed of their
right to exist naturally. Their lives are not their own and they are prevented from fulfilling basic

needs such as hunting, grazing, roaming, and developing important social structures. Elephants,
for example, have the need to travel and forage for miles and miles a day. They cannot do this in
a circus or a zoo. Bottom line, WILD animals belong in the wild. If this is not an option then
they should be homed in a sanctuary (FYI, real sanctuaries do not breed the animals outside of
conservation efforts). I am writing about this because of the horrible situation with Harambe and
a few individuals who dont seem to understand that wild animals, as well as any animal, should
be used as entertainment. The behavior in which Harambe caring for the little boy was obvious
that he meant no harm and was actually wondering what was going on. A human child falls from
the sky into his home? According to an Australian animal behavior expert (FYI Jack Hanna is
NOT), The silverback wouldve understood that it was a defenseless small child. They would
not normally attack, they are not an aggressive species (and) in the wild Im certain the boy
wouldnt have been killed. Prof. Gisela Kaplan (animal behavior expert) expressed that since
Harambe is the leader of this group, it was his duty to investigate and his role to protect the
family. According to Kaplan, If he was going to attack he wouldve warned him first. The first
thing they do is charge and beat their chests and as far as I know that didnt happen.
She also went on to say, Harambe likely moved the boy away from the screaming crowd of
people because of the noise.
Screaming is only used in extreme situations with primates and it wouldve only raised stress
levels. I think its wrong that they shot it dead. According to Kaplan this death is going to have
a devastating impact on this group of gorillas. Just like humans, the love and bonding of this
family has been destroyed.
I find is highly inappropriate that Jack Hanna gave his opinion. First of all there is no why that he
did not know that Terry Thompson of Zanesville was housing 49 wild animals. These animals
were released and Terry Thompson killed himself. Of all people, Jack Hanna should be speaking
out against people having wild animals as pets. All 49 animals were shot dead. Plus the huge
risk of other animals and people being injured. Jack Hanna is only interested in dragging little

animals on the Maury Polvick show and ignoring little kids trying to say hello to him at the zoo
(my I.A. saw this first hand some years ago).
I also want to clear up the belief that somehow zoos are saving animals from the horrible
poachers in the world! Give me a break. As Tatia Kennedy puts it, zoos are all about exploiting
animals and profiting off of them. There have been numerous studies that have shown that
elephants do not live as long in zoos as they do in the wild. If people are so concerned about the
poaching of animals in the wild then maybe spending money to help the ongoing fight against
poaching instead of the enslavement of animals in zoos. Which there have been several incidents
where poachers were caught or killed.

Kinessa Johnson is a U.S. Army combat veteran who fought in Afghanistan and is now hunting poachers of
endangered rhinos and elephants in Africa.

References: Heres my evidence so that you dont conclude that I went on a crazy animal rights
activist rant
Caron, C. (2011, October 19). Zanesville Animal Massacre Includes 18 Rare Bengal Tigers.

Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/US/zanesville-animal-massacre-included-18-rare-bengaltigers/story?id=14767017

Estrada, O.C., (2013, December 9). 10 Reasons to Skip Your Next Zoo Visit.
Retrieved from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/10-reasons-to-skip-your-nextzoo-visit/
Smith, R. (2016, May 30). Animal Behavior Expert says Silverback Gorilla Harambe was not
Trying to Harm defenseless child.
Retrieved fromhttp://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/animal-behaviour-expertsays-silverback-gorilla-harambe-was-not-trying-to-harm-defenceless-child/news-story/94d833
Willis, T. (2014, August 17). Rarely Seen History: 22 Photos showing Historical Racism in
America.
Retrieved from
http://www.liberalamerica.org/2014/08/17/rarely-seen-history-22-photos-showing-historicalracism-in-america/