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Written by IELTS Mentor

IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

A zoo has no useful purpose.

Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer.

You should write at least 250 words.

Model Answer 1: (Agreement: A Zoo has no useful purpose)
Keeping wild animals in cages for public exhibition is a tradition that people are performing for a long and for majority people this is an amusement and educational purpose for kids while others think it to be a very inhuman act. This is a much-debated issue and I personally find no usefulness of a zoological garden where these animals and birds of different kinds are kept for public entertainment.

First of all, the idea of keeping wild animals in cages is really a brutal one and human should not be proud of act like this. Who has given us the power and authority to forcefully bring animals to zoos and then being hilarious watching their activities? Do our weapon and brain makes us superior and powerful enough to decide the lives of other species? No, if we are superior to those wild animals, it is our humanity and superiority of thinking power and where would that humanity is when we encage other species? There are thousands of amusement parks and children parks and we should not make a zoo that would only represent our brutality and the outcry of the animals.

Have we ever though if a more intelligent species arrives in our territory and encases us like we do to other animals, how pathetic that would be for us? Many people would say that those are educational purposes and to let the kids know about those animals. But in a zoo what we see are encaged animals with their dismay and helplessness. Children would never learn the true nature of those animals when they would learn it from a zoo. Animal Planet and Discovery channels are two better alternatives for children to learn about those wild animals than the zoo.

Zoo is many countries are used for commercial purposes and no matter what the authorities do; they can’t ensure a free life for a bird which should be flying in the sky rather than trying to escape from the cage.

In conclusion, the zoo serves no useful purpose and there are no good reasons to put the animals and birds in cages.  

Model Answer 2: (Agreement)
Some people believe that zoo has no useful purpose while others argue that zoo is used for recreational purposes. This is an issue which is greatly debated and controversial but I strongly believe that a zoo interrupts our ecological system. There are several reasons for my standing on the side why the zoo is worthless.

Firstly, animals always look beautiful in the forest which is their natural inhabitant. Whenever we put animals in cages from the forest, we interrupt the natural law. Thus forests lose their beautiful natural environment. It is also inhuman to put the free animals in cages. Because day-by-day animals which are used for human entertainment purposes get deteriorated in their physical growth as well as get interrupted their normal proliferation.  Thus many animals have become extinct. Besides, without the interruption an animal wondering in a natural forest keeps our natural environment safe.

Secondly, sometimes many animals cannot cope with the cages. Moreover, many zoo authorities don’t provide necessary foods and proper accommodation and right treatment which are required for the survival and production of the animals. Furthermore, zoo authorities earn a lot of money to display these wild animals among the general peoples but this money is not properly utilised among this wild animals. As a result, these animals suffer from various kinds of diseases and scarcity of foods.

Thirdly, another important point is that Zoo is destroying our food chain system. It is actually destroying the food ecosystem nature preserves. At least not at least, Kids who captive animals for their fun and entertainment, get a bad impression and this is not good for their mental growth. Safari park, which is an alternative system of a zoo, where animals get large places and greener trees and foods at the same time, can be a better alternative than a zoo. General people can learn about the animals from these short of natural parks and this way we can cause less harm to the wild animals and to the mother nature.

In conclusion, we can say that zoo is inhuman and serves almost nothing for us while it destroys the natural equilibrium.

(Submitted by Rashedul Islam)

Model Answer 3: (Neutral Opinion)
I think that the question about whether a zoo has no useful purpose is the one that is open for debate. It is a common question nowadays. Some people believe that a zoo has an essential and cognitive purpose for instance; a zoo can save some species that might have been lost forever. However, other people believe that a zoo has no useful purpose and people should observe wild animals in their nature and it is completely unjust to put the wild animal into a case for public exhibition. Personally, I think that both options have reasons to believe.

From the one side, a zoo has many benefits for people. First of all, children can learn about animals not only from books and TV programs but from actually watching them alive and observing them. They can see animals, touch them and even feed them. I think it is an amazing experience for a child. He gains more knowledge and experience from this "communication" with an animal. Secondly, a zoo is a perfect place for adults to see many animals that people are not able to see in their lives. A zoo creates the opportunity for people who otherwise could never watch these animals. The authority takes great care of the animals they preserve and normally earns a lot of money which is used for the development of the country.  

However, from the other side of the view, I keep asking myself "What kind of benefits we get by confining wild animals in the cages in a zoo?" Unfortunately, I think that wild animals should live in their nature environment. Moreover, I think that we should observe them through TV programs sitting in our favourite chairs, or people who like danger should try to observe them in the native environment. I think that animals are not toys. I know that most zoos try to keep their animals in the environment which is close to their native, but they can not give them as much freedom as animals want to. It is a frequent matter that many wild animals die after they are confined in the cages and this is really an abominable act.

I think that wild animals should be kept in a zoo only if the authority can ensure their safety and good care of them.
 
(Approximately 380 words)

(This model answer has been prepared by the site developer. However, please note that this is just one example out of many possible answers.)

Model Answer 4: (Disagreement: A Zoo has MANY useful purposes)
Whether a zoo has useful purposes or not and should we put the animals in a zoological garden or not is an issue that has been much debated. People are divided in their opinions and when one group says that, zoos should not exist; other group presents the usefulness of it. In my opinion, a zoo has many useful purposes.

People, who are against the establishment of zoos, always show the logic that we should not keep the free animals in cases and that’s completely a mockery of our true humanity. They have their logics and to a degree this is logical but when they question humanity for this act, they are wrong from many perspectives.

A zoological garden does not keep all the animals in cages and many recent zoos ensure the natural environment for the animals they keep in their places. In most of the countries, a zoological garden is monitored strictly and the health, treatment and food of animals are ensured. The authority makes sure that the animals are properly taken care of and do not die in diseases.

A zoo keeps only a few animals and this is not a threat to the natural inhabitants of animals. When we talk about humanity about the ruthless act of keeping the animals in a zoo, where is our humanity when we are killing thousands of animals and birds and selling them in well-decorated shops?

The zoo sometimes saves the endangered species and becomes a safe house for many animals. People do not visit the zoo to boast their superiority; rather they go there for recreational and educational purposes. A child who visits a zoo can learn many things which otherwise would not have been possible.  

In conclusion, zoo indeed has many useful purposes and it is a great educational and recreational place for many people.

Model Answer 5: (Agreement )
Captive animals are kept in closed enclosures for public viewing and entertainment, this charade is named as "zoo". Does this place stand any purpose in our betterment as the human being? In my opinion, a zoo does not serve any such purpose and it should be exiled.

Many incidents of animal attacks on humans and vice versa reports from zoo across the world are readily available on the internet these days. The former takes place because these animals are at times traumatised or ill-treated which attributes to the attacks, whereas latter is a case where they are moulded to our purposes using insane methods . An exemplification would be in India, where elephants are being trained through such methods to serve human purposes.

A zoo is basically animals devoid of their natural environment and lifestyles. Animals are bound to roam around the jungle and we, as humans, have no right to put them behind bars. Though they are fed and groomed well by some, most of the zookeepers are known to poses notorious approach towards the zoo animals. The situation were animals and birds are caged and displayed to feed human eyes is chaotic.

On what grounds would such a place could even be considered to serve a useful purpose? A broader perspective would be, people especially children visiting a zoo have a recusant impact about our fellow primates in their minds due to the over dominating nature of human beings being displayed.

Considering the mentioned problems, any favours in running a zoo is outweighed. Thus it is high time that all zoos should be either be shut down or replaced by natural sanctuaries where animals are more close to their natural realm of life.

[ Written by - Vineeth V. ]

Model Answer 6: (Disagreement )
I had a great childhood and one of the most precious memories of my life was visiting the zoo in my childhood. While I disagree with the statement that a zoo has no useful purpose, I also agree that animals kept in a zoo might lose their freedom and this is sometimes disgraceful to put them in iron cases just for our entertainment.

First of all, I have a very cherished and vivid memory that I visited a zoo in Singapore when I was 6 years old. In another time I went to a circus and I saw that an elephant was so unhappy and tired when it was performing. At that moment, I was so sad and felt pity for those animals. Those animals were supposed to be in their natural inhabitants rather than entertaining people. They either had been caught from a jungle or was sold out from a zoo. Furthermore, the area for the animals in most of the zoos is limited and it is quite cruel for animals. It's like taking away the freedom of a living animal and this is not justified according to many.

On the other hand, zoos in general serve some useful purposes. The most useful purpose of a zoo is to educate people, especially children. Children who visit a zoo get the chances to know about different animals and can broaden their perspective. From my experience I can say that zoos are educational for young and adults as well. A zoo is one of the best places for family to go for a short trip. Furthermore, many animals kept in a zoo get good care and researches show that saving endangered animals is one of the main purposes of many zoos nowadays. In my opinion, if the proper environment, care, food and treatment are ensured for animals kept in a zoo, it can further improve the true purpose of a zoo.   

To conclude, some of the traditional zoos with limited area, fewer staffs and less facilities should be changed to bigger and better zoos. A zoo has many useful purposes including educating people and safeguarding endangered animals though keeping animals in a zoo actually takes away their freedom.

[ Written by - XiaoHui Chu ]

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