A call to respecting life and shifting our relationship with nature

Caged Orange-headed thrush, Geokichla citrina

In a world where technology, science, and compassion are progressing rapidly, our relationship with animals still lingers in the past. Every day, countless creatures are born, bought, confined, and discarded—not because we need them for survival, but often for entertainment, convenience, or curiosity. It's time we take a collective breath, step back, and ask ourselves: Is this what respect for life looks like?

Cages Are Not Homes

Whether it’s a parrot in a pet shop, a tiger in a zoo, a dolphin in an aquarium, or a rabbit in a laboratory—there is one common theme: a life limited by confinement and stress. Behind the glass or the bars, these animals lose the freedom to express their natural behaviors. They’re denied choice, space, and often, dignity.

It’s not just about physical space—it’s about quality of life. Can a bird soar in a cage? Can a lion run in circles for a lifetime without losing its mind? These are not rhetorical questions. The science is clear: confinement causes stress, psychological damage, and physical health problems. It also strips animals of their agency—one of the most basic rights we owe any sentient being.

Animals Are Not Entertainment

Zoos and aquariums may claim to be educational, but what are we really teaching future generations? That it’s acceptable to imprison a creature for a lifetime so we can observe it for five minutes? That the price of a fun afternoon is a lifetime of boredom and suffering for another species? This is especially true when knowing that even in modern establishment, most facilities are not able to meet the minimum necessary conditions for many of their captive's wellbeing. This leads to stress, depression, injuries, sometimes self inflicted by the animals and much decreased lifespan than in the wild. This is especially the case for large animals kept in captivity in small enclosures such as cetaceans, elephants, sharks, girafe, rhinos, primates, and so on. But it also impacts many small ones who simply cannot handle the stress of captivity. Philippine tarsier for example is a famous example of a animal that not only refuses breeding in captivity but also commonly commits suicide. Education must evolve. Real learning should foster empathy, understanding, and respect—not passive observation of animals who have no say in their own fate.

Most of the time, seeing animals in cages from a young age, teaches kids that animals are here for our entertainment. It fuels the desire / nurse the feeling of entitlement to “play with" or “own” and control animals and nature in general without a care for their consent or wellbeing. After a visit at the zoo, how many kids cry or beg to have an animal at home? How many of us, have or have had animals caged or trapped at home for our entertainment ? Fish in a bowl? Hamster, bunny, snake, bird, dog, cat, monkey, ..., as a pet ? Before judging if this is right or wrong, a simple question: how many pet owners truly did their research about the kind of environment and conditions their pet need to thrive ? Not to survive: to thrive. And are these conditions provided? The proper care, healthy diverse food, large space, environment, social bonds, ... Anything they might need and could get in nature in their own environment if only they were free and there. 

Objectively, caring for pets responsibly can get extremely time consuming and costly. Let alone, long domestically animals such as cats, dogs or horses, but it gets even more difficult for fishes, birds or exotic species because of lack of specialized shops and veterinary care and how costly it is. But so many still go for it, because their kids wants an animal. But then the kid gets bored. If that animals dies sooner than later, it is often a relief for the parents. Neglect is the most common form of cruelty, often involving inadequate food, shelter, medical care, or social interaction. Violence, tying up or caging animals in too tight spaces, commonly dirty, are also common form abuse.

And this is not a hidden fact. Animal cruelty is everywhere and often not even realized because so normalized in our societies. 

Every day we see dogs caged or tied up with strangling a half meter rope outside who will never be unleashed. We see monkeys in diapers with heavy chains on their feet. Birds caged that will never fly again. Or with wings that were clipped or trimmed so they simply cannot fly properly anymore. We see snakes being kept in the worst conditions. Turtoises in plastic boxes. Live reef fishes sold by street vendors approaching cars at red light.

And even when well care for. Aside from cats and dogs, domesticated for a long time, we see a rise of many exotic animals in pet shops who commonly come from the wild, legally or not.

The Exotic Pet Trade Problem

Amphibians, snakes, lizards, parrots and birds, primates, reef fish, and so on. The exotic pet trade fuels an underground world of breeding mills, smuggling, and suffering. Animals are stolen from the wild, transported in horrific conditions, and often die before they ever reach a home. Those who survive may live in solitary confinement, far from their natural habitat, with little stimulation or proper care. 20% or more of exotic pets die within the first year—some surveys report mortality as high as 80% for certain species. 

Even animals bred in captivity are often kept in environments that fail to meet their complex needs. Many suffer silently, their symptoms dismissed or misunderstood.

Aquariums 

Fishes are amongst the most common and widely accepted animal caged. And although, their small size allow them a less cruel than a caged bird who will never fly again, their path is far from ethical either. Between 25 to 30 million marine fish are collected annually for the tropical fish trade, notably in regions like the Philippines and Indonesia. Shockingly, “nearly all will die within a year of capture” according to the non-profit organization Sea Shepherd. The Center for Biological Diversity reports that around 6 million marine fish imported into the U.S. each year are subjected to cyanide poisoning and linked with destructive "harvesting" methods. Up to 50% dying during collection. This not only highlights the wasted lives of so many fishes for the purpose of a few kept in aquarium, but impacts negatively extremely valuable coral reef ecosystems with destructive methods. And if only the loss was kept to that, but mortality is extremely high in pet shop - majority of the animals fails to adapt and die after transport - and equally short at home. 50% of newly purchased fish may die within the first day or two. 

Was it worth it? 

It’s About All Life

When we talk about loving animals, loving nature, we cannot pick and choose. And it is time enough that as a society we change the norms and learn to set new standards in how we treat life in general. With respect. 

This means rejecting systems that exploit, harm, and devalue living beings—human and non-human alike. It means looking beyond tradition, questioning our conveniences, and being brave enough to imagine a world where compassion leads the way.

Of course, this means questioning your diet and how your food source arrived in your plate, it means questioning the products you buy and whether they were tested on animals rather than using cruelty free technology we now have, but it also means rethinking your attitude towards animals and nature in general. How you treat your pets. Wondering about their consent. The activities you choose to support or refuse. How entitled do you feel to use the planet, nature and animals in ways that does not benefit them? 

Animals don’t need our pity—they need our respect. They don’t need us to “save” them—they need us to stop putting them in situations they were never meant to endure. And that, is a mirror to how we treat nature in general. 

This article is not meant to judge anyone, it is only a humble invitation to think and reflect. Every generation is the fruit of the education of the previous one. We are meant to evolve from it so that we may educate better the future ones. Let that evolution include how we treat nature. Let’s choose a better legacy—one of empathy, awareness, and deep, unwavering respect for all life.

What You Can Do

• Think before you visit: Skip zoos, aquariums, or animal circuses. Support true wildlife sanctuaries and rescue centers instead.

• Adopt, don’t shop: If you want a companion animal, adopt from a shelter and make sure you can honor the responsibility of caring properly for your animal. Give them back their dignity and allow them freedom of choice. And never support the exotic pet trade.

• Question the norm: Learn about alternatives to animal testing. Support cruelty-free products. 

• Rethink your diet: Question your food source, learn about more ethical alternatives than meat based diet. 

• Speak up: Share information, write to policymakers, and educate those around you.

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Read more on these topics ?

• "An Unnatural Order" by Jim Mason – Explores the roots of human supremacy over animals and nature.

• "Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?" by Frans de Waal

• "Animal Liberation" by Peter Singer – The classic that ignited the modern animal rights movement.

• "Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel" by Carl Safina

Studies & Reports

• "The Welfare of Animals in Captivity" – Report by the Born Free Foundation

• “Do Zoos and Aquariums Promote Attitude Change in Visitors?” (2007, Conservation Biology)

• “The Case Against Marine Mammal Captivity” (Humane Society International, 2020) 

• “Animal Research Is Wasteful and Misleading” (BMJ, 2004) 

• “Captive Animals’ Distress Behaviors” (Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science) 

Documentaries

• Blackfish (2013) by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Chronicles the life of Tilikum, a captive orca involved in the death of three trainers, and raises ethical concerns about keeping orcas in captivity.

• The Elephant in the Living Room (2010) Focuses on the issue of keeping exotic animals as pets in the U.S., exploring both the risks and the ethical questions involved.

• Speciesism: The Movie (2013) Explores the philosophical and ethical foundation of animal rights, including interviews with Peter Singer and others.

• Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014) by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn. While focused on environmental issues, it reveals how animal agriculture is a leading cause of environmental destruction — and how animal rights are often ignored in sustainability discourse.

• Earthlings (2005) or Dominion (2018) by Joaquin Phoenix. Uses hidden cameras to expose the daily practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely on animals. It covers pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research.