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Zoochosis: Trapped in Captivity

Updated: Nov 20, 2025

Writer: Bejan Yilmaz


Every animal has the right to live freely, where they can express their natural behavior. But this right is taken away from millions of zoo animals. Most of them suffer from zoochosis, a psychological disorder caused by confinement. Zoochosis appears when animals are kept in unnatural, restrictive environments that prevent them from behaving as they would in the wild (World Animal Protection, 2023).


Zoochosis can be seen through repetitive and abnormal actions, including pacing, rocking, or self-harming. Wild animals do not tend to show these behaviours. These are symptoms of mental distress caused by boredom, isolation, and lack of stimulation. Concisely, zoochosis is the mind’s way of showing what captivity does to the spirit (Defense of Animals, 2024).


Why Captivity Causes Suffering


Animals in the wild travel vast distances, build family bonds, hunt or forage, and make choices freely. In zoos, they lose everything, their free will. Suddenly, their “home” is a small cage or a concrete enclosure. For instance, elephants naturally walk up to 30 miles a day but in zoos, they are forced to stand in a few hundred square meters (World Animal Protection, 2023).


This deprivation breaks their instincts and sense of purpose. Captivity limits movement, social interaction, mating, parenting, and even sensory experiences. Deep frustration and psychological pain are the results of captivity. Zoochosis is not a disease; it’s a sign of the suffering humans create (Animals, 2024).


The Ethical Problem


When zoochosis exists, we must ask whether zoos can ever be ethical. World Animal Protection calls zoochosis “a symptom of a system that values entertainment over ethics.” Zoos claim they protect species and educate people, but what they often protect is profit.


A polar bear named Tongki, who lived alone in a concrete cage for 21 years, spent most of his life rocking and head-bobbing, which are classic signs of zoochosis. Tongki's story demonstrates how a lifetime of misery cannot be justified by the promise of "education." Seeing a trapped, anxious animal does not teach empathy; it teaches domination.


Defending animal rights means recognizing that animals are not objects for display. They think, feel, and deserve dignity like any other living being. If humans claim the right to freedom and mental well-being, animals deserve the same consideration. Keeping them in captivity violates their most basic rights.


Can Zoos Be Replaced?


Some argue that zoos aid in conservation, yet true conservation takes place beyond bars. Most zoo breeding programs rarely release animals into natural habitats. Instead, they breed animals only to live and die in captivity (SAFE New Zealand, 2022).


True alternatives are sanctuaries, places built for not profit, but recovery and care. Animals can dwell in more natural settings and with less human intervention in sanctuaries. Animals and ecosystems can flourish without exploitation when sanctuaries and wildlife reserves are supported (World Animal Protection, 2023).


Protecting animals from zoochosis is part of a larger movement to defend their rights. Animals have the right to freedom, safety, and emotional health. When we take away their liberty for entertainment, we betray our moral responsibility.


We should encourage people to stop visiting zoos and to support ethical alternatives. By refusing to fund cruelty, we send a message that animal suffering is not acceptable. Education should inspire compassion, not normalize captivity.


We can all take action by supporting laws that protect wildlife and ban the capture of animals for display. Moreover, encouraging schools and families to learn about animals through documentaries, not cages, will also help address this issue.


Conclusion


Zoochosis is a reflection of our failure to respect animals as living beings.  It is a disease of captivity itself, not an illness of the animals. Tigers and elephants are not amusing us when they pace in circles or sway incessantly; instead, they are pleading for freedom.


If we truly care about animals, we must stop pretending that confinement can ever be humane. The defense of animal rights begins with empathy. Every creature deserves to live in a world that honors its nature, not one that breaks it. The only way to end zoochosis is to end captivity.


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