Assignment:
Insect Zoos and Proper Care and Maintenance of Insects
Do Insects have the same rights as other animals? There are many ways to approach this question but most people don't even consider insects to be animals! At the University, insects are not protected by the same rules as vertebrates and indeed insects do not have the same ability to feel pain and remember like vertebrates do. Oklahoma State University maintains a living insect zoo and uses it for outreach and teaching kids about insects and related arthropods. The insects are maintained in enclosures and provided food and water. The insect cages are much simpler than the exhibits for zoo animals.
For this assignment, read the People for the ethical Treatment of Animals statement about insects: https://www.peta.org/blog/drop-flyswatter-insects-conscious/ and read the counter statement that insects do not feel pain: https://www.thoughtco.com/do-insects-feel-pain-1968409. Finally, check out the website from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Insects: https://insectrights.org/.
Compose a 1.5 to 2 page double-spaced essay where you summarize in one paragraph each of the websites you read. In the fourth paragraph, tell us whether or not insects feel discomfort in your opinion. Based on your argument, should insects be housed in "zoos" and used to teach people about them? In the fifth and last paragraph, tell us about whether you have ever thought about insects as being animals or thought twice about using a fly swatter? Do these articles change your opinions at all?