argumentative essay on should animals be kept in zoos

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Should Animals Be Kept In Zoos (Argumentative Essay)

Should animals be kept in zoos.

The debate of whether or not confining of animals is right in zoos is a popular one that attracts both opponents and proponents. The increased interests in science and natural history saw the introduction of zoos in 1763, which facilitated up close animal studies and would provide a chance for entertaining and educating the public. Nevertheless, confining the animals into small spaces in unnatural habitats, the constant staring from people and loss of their freedom makes zoos the worst homes for animals.

Zoos provide unnatural habitats for the animals. Animals are naturally born and bred to live and die in wilderness habitats. However, despite the numerous efforts and good intentions by zoo management, it is impossible to provide the perfect environment for various animals. For instance, animals like the wilder beasts live in groups that migrate over long distances while elephants on average walk for over 50 km a day in packs. However, zoos can only provide minimal acres of land for the animals to walk about thereby making the environments unnatural and uncomfortable for the animals.

Zoos are a premise of captivity for animals that makes them crazy. Imprisoning of animals in small cages housed in poorly managed zoos that fail to meet the necessary standards, averts them from behaving naturally. As a result, suffer from zoochosis condition, which elicits stress, strange behavior of hurting themselves due to frustration and boredom; they become inactive and increasingly pace around. Moreover, the animals adopt aggressive behavior that results in them lashing out and injuring or killing people.

Zoos are not educational. Zoos operate on the premise that they provide an opportunity for the public to learn about animals. However, this is untrue, as keeping animals in confined and unnatural environments tend to alter their natural behavior, character, and responses. Thus, persons visiting the zoos observe the altered behavior marred by boredom, stress, and loneliness. Moreover, keeping animals in zoos teach people that it is okay to lock up and make animals miserable for their personal gain. Therefore, by gaining pleasure and entertainment from making animals suffer is a horrible lesson to learn.

Proponents of keeping animals in zoos argue that zoos offer the best forms of protection for animals. According to them, animals receive protection from poaching and predators that are out to kill them. Additionally, by engaging in breeding programs, zoos believe they protect various species from becoming extinct, therefore, making them positive institutions to exist. However, this is untrue as some zoos keep the animals in deplorable environments whey they lack food and adequate medical care. Moreover, based on research, endangered animals living in zoos are only about five species and only a few species undergo breeding.

Proponents also believe that zoos provide the opportunity for people to see a wide array of animals while benefiting children with lessons about the environment and animals. Nevertheless, this is not the case as zoos only house few species of animals as compared to those an individual can observe in the wild. Also, zoos expose animals to neglect and stress that alter their behavior hence impeding true learning for children.

In conclusion, animals just as humans enjoy rights to freedom, protection from abuse, stress, neglect and lack of privacy. There is no denying that zoo violates all these rights by introducing them to unnatural habitats and caging the animals. Hence, in promoting health and happiness of the animals, animals should not be kept in zoos.

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Pros and cons of zoos: Should animals be kept in zoos?

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Animal cruelty or protection? Learn about the pros and cons of zoos and join our debate and poll: Should there be zoos? Should animals be kept in captivity? Vote and explain your view on whether zoos are necessary or should be banned.

Should animals be kept in zoos?

Over 181 million people visit zoos and aquariums every year in the United States, and 25 million in the United Kingdom. Zoos have more visitors than the combined attendance of the four major sports leagues ( NFL , NBA , MLB and NHL ). Despite their immense popularity , zoos have become increasingly controversial institutions. An increasing number of animal rights advocates and animal protection organizations are questioning the role of zoos in modern societies. The shocking evidence of animal abuse in some circuses , dolphinariums and zoos have pushed many environmental and wildlife activist groups to campaign for the closure of many of the institutions that keep wild animals in captivity.

To the question "should animals be kept in captivity?" the initial reaction of most people is rejection. Why should animals be kept in zoos? In an ideal world that would not be necessary, wild animals would roam freely in their natural habitats and we, humans, would find ways to observe them and learn about them without disrupting their lives. However, today on Earth due to population growth and urbanization many animal species are endangered and most people have very few opportunities to observe and learn from animals.

Jane Goodall , the famous British primatologist and one of the most important experts in chimpanzees in the world, has defended the role of zoos in helping us understand and preserve the life of wild animals (see video below). On the other hand, organizations such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), Animal Aid and Born Free have initiated campaigns for the closure of zoos, arguing that most zoos deprive animals from their most basic needs and that animal abuse and suffering should not be a source of entertainment.

Do you think that zoos are an effective way to increase awareness about animal life? Do they really help preserve endangered species or it is more a business and a cruel source of entertainment? Is keeping animals in captivity a good way to ensure their future? Let's take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of zoos before we make up our minds.

Watch this video with Jane Goodall on the role of zoos in saving animals

Pros and cons of zoos

These are the most common arguments in favor and against zoos.

Pros of zoos

• After the famous wildlife conservationist Geral Durrell opened a zoo in Jersey in 1959, zoos all over the world have embraced the mission of saving endangered species in the world. Zoos are not like the exotic animal menageries from the middle ages. They want to provide entertainment but they are greatly concerned with the protection of animals and their natural habitats. Zoos help raising awareness and funding for wildlife initiatives and research projects.
• Animals are not always caged in zoos. Edinburgh was the first British zoo to follow the idea of displaying animals without bars. The Chester and Whipsnade zoological parks where the first two non-urban zoos without cages and larger enclosures. They opened in 1931. In the 1960s The drive-through safari parks became very popular. Ever since there has been an increasing public concern about animal welfare in zoos.
• Zoos are monitored and follow strict regulation in most developed countries. There is less room for animal cruelty in zoos than ever before in history.
• Most people working in zoos are true animal lovers. Veterinary doctors, zoologist, voluntary staff, etc. chose to work in zoos because they like animals, and wanted to work closely with them and help them thrive.
• Education is another positive feature of zoos. Many children and adults in cities can only see wild animals in TV or the Internet. Zoos offer them the unique experience of contemplating real animals. They can smell them, see how they move and listen their sounds. This is a much more vivid and enriching experience than the one you can get through a screen. Thanks to zoos kids and adult develop empathy toward animals.
• Zoos are key for research . Being able to observe and study animals is crucial if we want to contribute to help them and repair the ecosystems. They also help redice human-animal conflicts and better understand the needs and psychology of animals. Zoos serve as laboratories to learn more about how to fight animal diseases and develop effective animal anaesthetics and other treatments to help more animals in the future.
• Another pro of zoos is their role in animal reproduction. Zoos study animal breeding and thanks to them many wild animals in captivity can reproduce. This is particularly important in the case of endangered species. Due to the low density of the population of some animals in their natural ecosystems they struggle to find partners. Some populations in the wild are weakened by endogamy too. In zoos vets and biologist help to prevent inbreeding.

Cons of zoos

• Animal cruelty in zoos continues to be extremely common. There are continuous cases of animals abused by visitors and zoo workers. Many of them are reported every week in the media, however, the large majority are kept secret and those responsible are never held accountable or punished.
• Animals in captivity are deprived of many things that are important to them, as a result they become lonely and bored. Many of them suffer from "zoochosis" , a psychological condition characterized by repetitive and obsessive behaviors including vomiting, excessive grooming, coprophagia and self-mutilation. 
• Most animals in zoos still live in small enclosures and cages . There are Safari Parks and large zoos in which animals have more space and live in an enviroment slightly more similar to their natural habitat .however, the large majority of zoos in the world are much smaller and have less economic means than the big zoos we often see in the media such as the San Diego Zoo, the Berlin Zoological Garden, the San Louis Zoo, etc. 
• In zoos many animals sicken and die because they contract diseases from other animals and species. Zoos usually group animals from many different parts of the world with very distinct immunological systems. People also have been sickened from diseases contracted from animals in zoos.
• Many zoos do little for research or animal protection. They are simply businesses run with the sole purpose of making money . Their concern for animals is secondary. Cost efficiency often means they move animal welfare down in the list of priorities. 
• Zoos and aquariums have incentivized the illegal hunt of animals . Historically poachers have hunted and sold wild animals for zoos all over the world. Although this practice is increasingly prosecuted in most countries, there are still small zoos and aquariums which acquire their animals without paying much attention to their origin. 
• From an ethical point of view zoos are also questionable. Zoos are a typical form of family entertainment, but associating leisure and fun with the contemplation of animals in captivity can send the wrong signals to our children. Zoos can be construed as a sadistic pleasure .

Do you think zoos are necessary? Do the cons of zoos outweight their benefits? Should we boycott or ban zoos? Vote and join our debate (see below)

Watch this video on "zoochosis" and the living conditions of animals in captivity

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Are Zoos Good or Bad for Animals? The Argument, Explained

Debates about the ethics of zoos abound — but when it comes to animal welfare, there are certainly more cons than pros.

Explainer • Entertainment • Policy

Words by Björn Ólafsson

For many people, zoos are the only chance they’ll have in their entire lives to see beautiful animals native to far-flung ecosystems — lions, elephants, pandas, lemurs — the list goes on. And they’re popular — over 181 million people visit a U.S. zoo every year . But zoos face criticism from animal welfare organizations and environmental activists for inhumane treatment of the animals they claim to protect. Zoos maintain that they are important aspects of conservation and education. 

So, what are the advantages and disadvantages of zoos ?  Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of these controversial organizations. 

What Are Some Pros and Cons of Zoos ?

First, not all zoos are created equal. While it is easy to imagine animal ethics as a binary of evil and moral, zoos can vary widely on how they treat their animals, how much space they are given and how the animals are obtained. Still, most zoos tend to have the same positives and negatives overall. 

Arguments Against Zoos

Poor conditions for animals.

Animals Often Only Have Quite Limited Space

Many zoos’ enclosures are too small, especially for animal species that are used to roaming, flying or swimming large distances in the wild. For example, polar bears are used to home ranges of about 1,000 square kilometers in the wild — large swaths of land and ice they enjoy exploring . In zoos, they get a couple hundred square feet. 

Zoos Are  Crowded

In addition to limited space, many zoos cram in as many animals as possible into the enclosures. Many visitors prefer seeing animals up close, instead of peering at them from afar, hidden in their dens or nests. This encourages zoos to increase the number of animals per exhibit,  increasing the likelihood of visitors seeing animals on the move near the boundaries of the enclosure. 

Animals Are Trapped in Unnatural Environments

Anyone who has visited a zoo knows the exhibits are a far cry from the natural landscape they are trying to imitate. Nearly all zoo enclosures contain fences, glass or other barriers for visitors to look through, which are inherently artificial. And the natural-seeming landscapes can sometimes be made out of astroturf, concrete or plastic.

Confinement May Alter the Behavior of Animals

The lack of space, unnatural environments and crowded conditions can directly affect the behavior of animals ; most notably in the form of what’s known as “stereotypy.” Stereotypy is a condition in which non-human animals engage in repetitive behaviors with no apparent purpose, such as pacing for hours on end, wagging tails abnormally or picking their own fur. 

The structure of zoos increases the likelihood of stereotypic behavior due to a lack of enrichment, mundane environments and boring, repetitive schedules. This prevalence of stereotypy in zoos even has its own name: “zoochosis,” or psychosis caused by zoos . 

‘Surplus’ Animals Can Be Killed

After an animal has reproduced successfully and the zoo no longer requires the animal to maintain an exhibit, the animal is deemed “surplus.” At this point, the animal’s welfare is no longer profitable . Zoos can sell the animal to private owners (who may keep the animal in tiny cages for amusement or kill the animal for taxidermy purposes), sell the animal to other zoos or enclosures, or “euthanize” the animal. 

Animals Are Often Mistreated 

Animal mistreatment is much more than hitting or beating an animal. It also includes harmful training techniques, separation from family members and forcing animals to behave in abnormal ways. 

In a report from World Animal Protection, three-fourths of zoos include human-animal interactions , many of which can be very stressful or physically harmful for animals. In some extreme cases, visitors rode on the backs of animals (causing injury) or encroached on the animals’ enclosure (causing stress).

Investigations into popular zoos sometimes reveal that caretakers don’t always clean the exhibits frequently , leaving the animals to live near their feces. The research also reveals many zookeepers hitting animals who “misbehave,” and not helping animals with injuries sustained in the enclosures. While not all animal caretakers behave this way, the reporting suggests many zoos around the world are lax with animal welfare. 

Animals Don’t Like Being Visited

The mere presence of human beings can negatively affect wild animals, especially in massive crowds that are common at zoos. Being bombarded by the sounds, smells and appearances of swaths of humans can trigger the stress responses of some animals . Some studies show that the number of visitors correlates with the amount of stress hormones in many animal species. 

Animals Struggle to Form Connections

Many animals are highly social creatures. Elephants, lions, pigs, cows and many more species are shown to have complex connections, hierarchies and relationships with members of their own kind — especially with friends and family. However, zoo animals rarely stay with the same herd or family for their entire lives. Instead, zoos opt to transfer, sell, buy or relocate animals throughout their lifespans, making it difficult for animals to form social connections . This lack of bonding can harm the animals emotionally. 

Zoos Are for Humans, Not Animals

Most zoos are for-profit enterprises, meaning they have one goal in mind: maximizing revenue. It is easy to see how making more money can come at the expense of animal welfare. For example, a zoo is unlikely to fund an exhibit expansion if it isn’t cost-effective, regardless of its benefits for the animals inside. While many zookeepers form real bonds with their animal companions, the animals still exist under a for-profit, human-centered organization. 

Zoos Promote Human Superiority

The aesthetic nature of zoos — animals in panopticon-like enclosures, viewed 24/7 by members of a different species — can reinforce human superiority. As moral philosopher Lori Gruen writes in her book, “visitors leave the zoo more convinced than ever of human superiority over the natural world.” Of course, zoos also reinforce the idea that humans have a right to take away animals’ freedom and bodily autonomy.

Zoos Don’t Always Help with Conservation — Some Wild Animals Have to Be Caught to Bring Them to Zoos

Many animals in zoos are born in captivity, but that’s not the case for all. Many animals are taken directly from the wild , often when they are babies, to make the transition to captivity a bit easier. At times, this is done in the name of conservation, or when a wild animal is very ill. But many zoos will take animals from the wild, or buy animals from unethical animal traders. 

It’s Often Not Possible to Return Animals to the Wild

Releasing an animal into the wild isn’t always successful, especially if the animal has spent time in climates different from their native regions, like jungles, savannas or ice caps. Properly preparing animals for success in the wild is a multi-stage process that can require thousands of dollars — and it doesn’t always work . Captive-born predator species — disadvantaged by being born and raised in an artificial environment — only have a survival rate after being released into the wild of 33 percent , according to one study. As a result, re-release is not a priority for many zoos.

Zoos Are Poorly Regulated

While there exist many laws that protect animals, such as the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and the Endangered Species Act , they only offer minimum protections . For example, the AWA excludes entire species of animals, like mice, farmed animals, birds and all cold-blooded animals. Its “minimum” standards of care usually ensure the animals’ safety, not their welfare or happiness. Many animal law experts say these regulations don’t go far enough . 

What Are the Pros of Having Zoos?

They Can Be Important for Researchers

Biologists and zoologists can benefit from studying animals in zoos. Some breakthroughs in animal behavior and treatment, like why elephants swing their trunks or how gorillas develop heart disease, have been made possible because of zoos’ ease of access . However, not all animals behave the same in captivity as they do in the wild, so not all research is possible in zoos. 

Zoos Are Educational — People May Behave “Eco-friendlier” After Going To the Zoo

Zoos can kickstart individuals’ interest in biodiversity, which is a critical aspect of environmental protection. Many zoos include calls to action in their exhibits, highlighting how endangered animals are being poached, driven away, or otherwise killed by human activity. This can inspire some people to behave more conscientiously. One limited survey found that 35 percent of eco-friendly people learned sustainable behavior from zoos . ‘

Zoos Can Help Educate Children About Animals

Zoos are a quintessential school experience for many young people. Children love learning about animals up-close in a safe environment — in fact, education is possibly the biggest advantage of modern zoos. Many programs, like school presentations, guided tours, informational exhibits, and talks with zookeepers can trigger a lifelong love of animals in children .  

But zoos aren’t perfect in this regard. According to a study of zoo visitors in the UK, only 34 percent of children learned more about animals at zoos (the result was slightly better when the children were given  a guided tour). Worse, children did not feel empowered to help with conservation efforts after visiting a zoo. This suggests that if zoos care about education, they need to more actively reach out to schoolchildren for empowerment and education. 

Going to the Zoo Is Affordable

More ethical ways of engaging with animals without removing them from their natural habitats — like whale watching, safaris, hikes, or excursions — are usually expensive or inaccessible for many people. Zoos tend to be relatively cheap for the average family that wants to learn about animals. 

Conservation

Zoos Can Protect Endangered Species from Extinction

Zoos often claim they can protect entire species from extinction through conservation programs that involve breeding more animals in captivity and then releasing them into the wild. This is especially important for endangered species like pandas. 

While these conservation efforts are truly important, they don’t represent the majority of a zoo’s activities, nor are zoos leaders in conservation worldwide. At the National Zoo, for example, only one-fifth of animals are endangered . In North America, zoos only contribute about 14 percent of all animals reintroduced into the wild as part of a conservation program. Zoos also tend to focus on headline-grabbing endangered animals to bring in visitors, like pandas, elephants or tigers, as opposed to lesser-known but crucial species, like tamarins, kakapos or wombats. 

Are Zoos Good or Bad for the Environment?

Zoos claim to support global biodiversity through conservation efforts like protecting endangered animals. This is somewhat true, although it varies greatly from zoo to zoo. 

On the other hand, zoos are big polluters and use up lots of resources , especially energy and water . Aquariums in particular use tons and tons of water. Zoo animals also generate waste that may or may not be composted or disposed of correctly.

Should Zoos Exist or Be Banned?

Given the many ways that zoos are unethical to animals, the flawed attempts to contribute to conservation, and the positioning of humans as superior to animals, many animal ethicists believe zoos should not exist — or at least, not exist in their current form . 

For example, animal philosopher Dale Jamieson says in his book Ethics on the Ark that zoos primarily “alleviate our sense of guilt for what we are doing to the planet, but they do little to help the animals we are driving to extinction.” He continues to argue that zoos exist for humans alone , and that it is very difficult to wave away the inherent immorality of depriving animals their liberty for the sake of human amusement. 

Instead, private conservation programs can benefit endangered animals without showcasing them to the public. Animal sanctuaries, which are  areas of land in which endangered and other animals are protected by humans, are also advantageous for both individual animals and global biodiversity . 

Zoos do have advantages — fostering curiosity and education chief among them. But experts believe there are other ways of accomplishing these goals without resorting to zoos with tiny enclosures. Excursions, nature documentaries, safaris, local gardens, hikes, boat tours and other ways of interacting with nature don’t involve taking animals out of their natural habitats. 

The Bottom Line

If you do choose to visit a zoo, opt for zoos that have certifications from independent animal welfare organizations. If you are interested in animal conservation, you’d be more impactful donating to a non-zoo animal protection organization instead. And if you do want to visit animals, consider an animal sanctuary or an ethical safari, where you can see animals in their native environments.

Independent Journalism Needs You

Björn Jóhann Ólafsson is a science writer and journalist who cares deeply about understanding the natural world and her inhabitants through stories and data. He reports on the environmental footprint of the meat industry, the alternative protein sector and cultural attitudes around food. His previous bylines include the EU Observer and Elemental. He lives in Spain with his two lovebirds.

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Opinion Guest Essay

Modern Zoos Are Not Worth the Moral Cost

  Credit... Photographs by Peter Fisher for The New York Times

Supported by

By Emma Marris

Ms. Marris is an environmental writer and the author of the forthcoming book “Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World.”

• June 11, 2021

After being captives of the pandemic for more than a year, we have begun experiencing the pleasures of simple outings: dining al fresco, shopping with a friend, taking a stroll through the zoo. As we snap a selfie by the sea lions for the first time in so long, it seems worth asking, after our collective ordeal, whether our pleasure in seeing wild animals up close is worth the price of their captivity.

Throughout history, men have accumulated large and fierce animals to advertise their might and prestige. Power-mad men from Henry III to Saddam Hussein’s son Uday to the drug kingpin Pablo Escobar to Charlemagne all tried to underscore their strength by keeping terrifying beasts captive. William Randolph Hearst created his own private zoo with lions, tigers, leopards and more at Hearst Castle. It is these boastful collections of animals, these autocratic menageries, from which the modern zoo, with its didactic plaques and $15 hot dogs, springs.

The forerunners of the modern zoo, open to the public and grounded in science, took shape in the 19th century. Public zoos sprang up across Europe, many modeled on the London Zoo in Regent’s Park. Ostensibly places for genteel amusement and edification, zoos expanded beyond big and fearsome animals to include reptile houses, aviaries and insectariums. Living collections were often presented in taxonomic order, with various species of the same family grouped together, for comparative study.

The first zoos housed animals behind metal bars in spartan cages. But relatively early in their evolution, a German exotic animal importer named Carl Hagenbeck changed the way wild animals were exhibited. In his Animal Park, which opened in 1907 in Hamburg, he designed cages that didn’t look like cages, using moats and artfully arranged rock walls to invisibly pen animals. By designing these enclosures so that many animals could be seen at once, without any bars or walls in the visitors’ lines of sight, he created an immersive panorama, in which the fact of captivity was supplanted by the illusion of being in nature.

Mr. Hagenbeck’s model was widely influential. Increasingly, animals were presented with the distasteful fact of their imprisonment visually elided. Zoos shifted just slightly from overt demonstrations of mastery over beasts to a narrative of benevolent protection of individual animals. From there, it was an easy leap to protecting animal species.

The “educational day out” model of zoos endured until the late 20th century, when zoos began actively rebranding themselves as serious contributors to conservation. Zoo animals, this new narrative went, function as backup populations for wild animals under threat, as well as “ambassadors” for their species, teaching humans and motivating them to care about wildlife. This conservation focus “ must be a key component ” for institutions that want to be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit organization that sets standards and policies for facilities in the United States and 12 other countries.

This is the image of the zoo I grew up with: the unambiguously good civic institution that lovingly cared for animals both on its grounds and, somehow, vaguely, in their wild habitats. A few zoos are famous for their conservation work. Four of the zoos and the aquarium in New York City, for instance, are managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is involved in conservation efforts around the world. But this is not the norm.

While researching my book on the ethics of human interactions with wild species, “Wild Souls,” I examined how, exactly, zoos contribute to the conservation of wild animals.

A.Z.A. facilities report spending approximately $231 million annually on conservation projects. For comparison, in 2018, they spent $4.9 billion on operations and construction. I find one statistic particularly telling about their priorities: A 2018 analysis of the scientific papers produced by association members between 1993 and 2013 showed that just about 7 percent of them annually were classified as being about “biodiversity conservation.”

Zoos accredited by the A.Z.A. or the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria have studbooks and genetic pedigrees and carefully breed their animals as if they might be called upon at any moment to release them, like Noah throwing open the doors to the ark, into a waiting wild habitat. But that day of release never quite seems to come.

There are a few exceptions. The Arabian oryx, an antelope native to the Arabian Peninsula, went extinct in the wild in the 1970s and then was reintroduced into the wild from zoo populations. The California condor breeding program, which almost certainly saved the species from extinction, includes five zoos as active partners. Black-footed ferrets and red wolves in the United States and golden lion tamarins in Brazil — all endangered, as well — have been bred at zoos for reintroduction into the wild. An estimated 20 red wolves are all that remain in the wild.

The A.Z.A. says that its members host “more than 50 reintroduction programs for species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.” Nevertheless, a vast majority of zoo animals (there are 800,000 animals of 6,000 species in the A.Z.A.’s zoos alone ) will spend their whole lives in captivity, either dying of old age after a lifetime of display or by being culled as “surplus.”

The practice of killing “surplus” animals is kept quiet by zoos, but it happens, especially in Europe. In 2014, the director of the E.A.Z.A. at the time estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 animals are euthanized in European zoos each year. (The culling of mammals specifically in E.A.Z.A. zoos is “usually not more than 200 animals per year,” the organization said.) Early in the pandemic, the Neumünster Zoo in northern Germany coolly announced an emergency plan to cope with lost revenue by feeding some animals to other animals, compressing the food chain at the zoo like an accordion, until in the worst-case scenario, only Vitus, a polar bear, would be left standing. The A.Z.A.’s policies allow for the euthanasia of animals, but the president of the association, Dan Ashe, told me, “it’s very rarely employed” by his member institutions.

Mr. Ashe, a former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, suggested that learning how to breed animals contributes to conservation in the long term, even if very few animals are being released now. A day may come, he said, when we need to breed elephants or tigers or polar bears in captivity to save them from extinction. “If you don’t have people that know how to care for them, know how to breed them successfully, know how to keep them in environments where their social and psychological needs can be met, then you won’t be able to do that,” he said.

The other argument zoos commonly make is that they educate the public about animals and develop in people a conservation ethic. Having seen a majestic leopard in the zoo, the visitor becomes more willing to pay for its conservation or vote for policies that will preserve it in the wild. What Mr. Ashe wants visitors to experience when they look at the animals is a “sense of empathy for the individual animal, as well as the wild populations of that animal.”

I do not doubt that some people had their passion for a particular species, or wildlife in general, sparked by zoo experiences. I’ve heard and read some of their stories. I once overheard two schoolchildren at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington confess to each other that they had assumed that elephants were mythical animals like unicorns before seeing them in the flesh. I remember well the awe and joy on their faces, 15 years later. I’d like to think these kids, now in their early 20s, are working for a conservation organization somewhere. But there’s no unambiguous evidence that zoos are making visitors care more about conservation or take any action to support it. After all, more than 700 million people visit zoos and aquariums worldwide every year, and biodiversity is still in decline.

In a 2011 study , researchers quizzed visitors at the Cleveland, Bronx, Prospect Park and Central Park zoos about their level of environmental concern and what they thought about the animals. Those who reported “a sense of connection to the animals at the zoo” also correlated positively with general environmental concern. On the other hand, the researchers reported, “there were no significant differences in survey responses before entering an exhibit compared with those obtained as visitors were exiting.”

A 2008 study of 206 zoo visitors by some members of the same team showed that while 42 percent said that the “main purpose” of the zoo was “to teach visitors about animals and conservation,” 66 percent said that their primary reason for going was “to have an outing with friends or family,” and just 12 percent said their intention was “to learn about animals.”

The researchers also spied on hundreds of visitors’ conversations at the Bronx Zoo, the Brookfield Zoo outside Chicago and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. They found that only 27 percent of people bothered to read the signs at exhibits. More than 6,000 comments made by the visitors were recorded, nearly half of which were “purely descriptive statements that asserted a fact about the exhibit or the animal.” The researchers wrote , “In all the statements collected, no one volunteered information that would lead us to believe that they had an intention to advocate for protection of the animal or an intention to change their own behavior.”

People don’t go to zoos to learn about the biodiversity crisis or how they can help. They go to get out of the house, to get their children some fresh air, to see interesting animals. They go for the same reason people went to zoos in the 19th century: to be entertained.

A fine day out with the family might itself be justification enough for the existence of zoos if the zoo animals are all happy to be there. Alas, there’s plenty of heartbreaking evidence that many are not.

In many modern zoos, animals are well cared for, healthy and probably, for many species, content. Zookeepers are not mustache-twirling villains. They are kind people, bonded to their charges and immersed in the culture of the zoo, in which they are the good guys.

But many animals clearly show us that they do not enjoy captivity. When confined they rock, pull their hair and engage in other tics. Captive tigers pace back and forth, and in a 2014 study, researchers found that “the time devoted to pacing by a species in captivity is best predicted by the daily distances traveled in nature by the wild specimens.” It is almost as if they feel driven to patrol their territory, to hunt, to move, to walk a certain number of steps, as if they have a Fitbit in their brains.

The researchers divided the odd behaviors of captive animals into two categories: “impulsive/compulsive behaviors,” including coprophagy (eating feces), regurgitation, self-biting and mutilation, exaggerated aggressiveness and infanticide, and “stereotypies,” which are endlessly repeated movements. Elephants bob their heads over and over. Chimps pull out their own hair. Giraffes endlessly flick their tongues. Bears and cats pace. Some studies have shown that as many as 80 percent of zoo carnivores, 64 percent of zoo chimps and 85 percent of zoo elephants have displayed compulsive behaviors or stereotypies.

Elephants are particularly unhappy in zoos, given their great size, social nature and cognitive complexity. Many suffer from arthritis and other joint problems from standing on hard surfaces; elephants kept alone become desperately lonely; and all zoo elephants suffer mentally from being cooped up in tiny yards while their free-ranging cousins walk up to 50 miles a day. Zoo elephants tend to die young. At least 20 zoos in the United States have already ended their elephant exhibits in part because of ethical concerns about keeping the species captive.

Many zoos use Prozac and other psychoactive drugs on at least some of their animals to deal with the mental effects of captivity. The Los Angeles Zoo has used Celexa, an antidepressant, to control aggression in one of its chimps. Gus, a polar bear at the Central Park Zoo, was given Prozac as part of an attempt to stop him from swimming endless figure-eight laps in his tiny pool. The Toledo Zoo has dosed zebras and wildebeest with the antipsychotic haloperidol to keep them calm and has put an orangutan on Prozac. When a female gorilla named Johari kept fighting off the male she was placed with, the zoo dosed her with Prozac until she allowed him to mate with her. A 2000 survey of U.S. and Canadian zoos found that nearly half of respondents were giving their gorillas Haldol, Valium or another psychopharmaceutical drug.

Some zoo animals try to escape. Jason Hribal’s 2010 book, “Fear of the Animal Planet,” chronicles dozens of attempts. Elephants figure prominently in his book, in part because they are so big that when they escape it generally makes the news.

Mr. Hribal documented many stories of elephants making a run for it — in one case repairing to a nearby woods with a pond for a mud bath. He also found many examples of zoo elephants hurting or killing their keepers and evidence that zoos routinely downplayed or even lied about those incidents.

Elephants aren’t the only species that try to flee a zoo life. Tatiana the tiger, kept in the San Francisco Zoo, snapped one day in 2007 after three teenage boys had been taunting her. She somehow got over the 12-foot wall surrounding her 1,000-square-foot enclosure and attacked one of the teenagers, killing him. The others ran, and she pursued them, ignoring all other humans in her path. When she caught up with the boys at the cafe, she mauled them before she was shot to death by the police. Investigators found sticks and pine cones inside the exhibit, most likely thrown by the boys.

Apes are excellent at escaping. Little Joe, a gorilla, escaped from the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston twice in 2003. At the Los Angeles Zoo, a gorilla named Evelyn escaped seven times in 20 years. Apes are known for picking locks and keeping a beady eye on their captors, waiting for the day someone forgets to lock the door. An orangutan at the Omaha Zoo kept wire for lock-picking hidden in his mouth. A gorilla named Togo at the Toledo Zoo used his incredible strength to bend the bars of his cage. When the zoo replaced the bars with thick glass, he started methodically removing the putty holding it in. In the 1980s, a group of orangutans escaped several times at the San Diego Zoo. In one escape, they worked together: One held a mop handle steady while her sister climbed it to freedom. Another time, one of the orangutans, Kumang, learned how to use sticks to ground the current in the electrical wire around her enclosure. She could then climb the wire without being shocked. It is impossible to read these stories without concluding that these animals wanted out .

“I don’t see any problem with holding animals for display,” Mr. Ashe told me. “People assume that because an animal can move great distances that they would choose to do that.” If they have everything they need nearby, he argued, they would be happy with smaller territories. And it is true that the territory size of an animal like a wolf depends greatly on the density of resources and other wolves. But then there’s the pacing, the rocking. I pointed out that we can’t ask animals whether they are happy with their enclosure size. “That’s true,” he said. “There is always that element of choice that gets removed from them in a captive environment. That’s undeniable.” His justification was philosophical. In the end, he said, “we live with our own constraints.” He added, “We are all captive in some regards to social and ethical and religious and other constraints on our life and our activities.”

What if zoos stopped breeding all their animals, with the possible exception of any endangered species with a real chance of being released back into the wild? What if they sent all the animals that need really large areas or lots of freedom and socialization to refuges? With their apes, elephants, big cats, and other large and smart species gone, they could expand enclosures for the rest of the animals, concentrating on keeping them lavishly happy until their natural deaths. Eventually, the only animals on display would be a few ancient holdovers from the old menageries, animals in active conservation breeding programs and perhaps a few rescues.

Such zoos might even be merged with sanctuaries, places that take wild animals that because of injury or a lifetime of captivity cannot live in the wild. Existing refuges often do allow visitors, but their facilities are really arranged for the animals, not for the people. These refuge-zoos could become places where animals live. Display would be incidental.

Such a transformation might free up some space. What could these zoos do with it, besides enlarging enclosures? As an avid fan of botanical gardens, I humbly suggest that as the captive animals retire and die off without being replaced, these biodiversity-worshiping institutions devote more and more space to the wonderful world of plants. Properly curated and interpreted, a well-run garden can be a site for a rewarding “outing with friends or family,” a source of education for the 27 percent of people who read signs and a point of civic pride.

I’ve spent many memorable days in botanical gardens, completely swept away by the beauty of the design as well as the unending wonder of evolution — and there’s no uneasiness or guilt. When there’s a surplus, you can just have a plant sale.

Emma Marris is an environmental writer and the author of the forthcoming book “Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World.”

Photographs by Peter Fisher. Mr. Fisher is a photographer based in New York.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Should Animals Be Kept in Zoos?

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Update: Our award-winning video series Above the Noise took a fresh look at the pros and cons of zoos.  Students can watch the video to get a primer on the facts then write their own responses on KQED Learn.

This post is part of KQED’s Do Now U project. Do Now U is a weekly activity for students and the public to engage and respond to current issues using social media. Do Now U aims to build civic engagement and digital literacy for learners of all ages. This post was written by Sophia Buscher and Victoria Staudenraus , students at St. Mary’s College of California , in partnership with the Lindsay Wildlife Experience .

Featured Media Resource: VIDEO:  Zoo Conservation Raise Debate  (CNN) Hear opposing thoughts from a field biologist at the University of York and the president of the Born Free Foundation about keeping animals in zoos for conservation purposes.

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Learn More about Animals in Zoos

Although wild animals have been held captive for thousands of years, the first modern zoo opened in 1763 in Paris, France. As people became more interested in science and natural history, zoos served as a way to display and study animals. Today, zoos provide opportunities for public education and entertainment, as well as scientific research and conservation. There are about 2,800 licensed animal exhibitors throughout the U.S., which include zoos, circuses, petting farms, wildlife and marine mammal parks, and some sanctuaries. Out of these, 233 are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The AZA “ holds animal exhibitors to high standards of animal care, science and conservation ” in the United States and all over the world. Even though many animal exhibitors are still considered zoos, they have not met the requirements of the AZA and, therefore, have not been accredited.

Proponents of zoos point to the fact that they educate the general public, are beneficial for scientific research, and work toward conservation efforts and captive breeding. At the San Francisco Zoo, there are educational programs for children ages 1-17. From camps, to mobile programs that bring smaller animals to schools, to family activities that look at local wildlife near the zoo, the public is able to get hands-on education about animals they may not be able to meet and learn about otherwise. The Lindsay Wildlife Experience in Walnut Creek, California, offers similar experiences to connect locals with wildlife and educate people on how they can do small things to help benefit wildlife in urban areas. Zoos can also be beneficial for scientific research. Studies are sometimes better able to be completed in zoos because of the controlled environment of a zoo. Lastly, zoos help endangered populations by using captive breeding and release. The AZA’s Species Survival Plan Program is a long-term plan that incorporates conservation breeding, preservation of habitat, education and research to support the survival of threatened and endangered species. Many zoos also work on local conservation efforts to maintain local wildlife populations.

On the other hand, many would say that wild animals should not be held in captivity. It has been argued that captive breeding isn’t always effective, zoos do not provide natural habitats, and that zoos put unnecessary stress on animals. Some studies have shown that reintroduced animals have high mortality rates because they are poorly adapted and lack the skills needed to survive in the wild. Since an animal’s well-being is dependent on their environment, some contend that zoos do not provide healthy habitats for animals. Enclosures–even when designed to mimic an animal’s natural habitat–are still not really natural. And, zoos can’t really provide the space that large or wide-ranging animals, like elephants, are used to. Due in part to unnatural enclosures, animals in zoos are under stress . Animals are often bored and, as a result, some become aggressive and can lash out at other animals or zookeepers. In a study done on 40 chimpanzees in six different zoos, all of the chimps exhibited behavior their counterparts in nature did not. Some of these behaviors included rocking back and forth, tearing out their hair, self-mutilation, and the drinking of their urine. This behavior is not seen in their wild counterparts suggesting that being in the zoo is causing these chimps to develop mental illness due to stress.

What do you think? Should animals be kept in zoos? Why or why not?

More Resources

Video: DNews The Pros & Cons of Zoos Hear about some of the benefits zoos and some of negative effects that they have on animals.

Video: BBC Horizon: Should We Close Our Zoos? This clip briefly examines the history of zoos, and questions experts and professionals about keeping animals in small enclosures.

Audio: WNYC A Passionate Call to Leave Animals Alone and Zoos Behind Not everyone enjoys their visit to the zoo. Hear why Tim Zimmerman believes we should reconsider our arguments for keeping zoos open. He offers an alternative to traditional zoos that can make both animals and human visitors happy.

Article: The Washington Post At Zoos, Not Every Resident is a Spring Chicken From protecting elderly animals to preserving endangered species, read more about the benefits of holding animals in captivity.

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Are Zoos Ethical? Arguments for and Against Keeping Animals in Zoos

Zoos, if done right, could be a good thing for the animals and the public—yet many so-called zoos get it terribly wrong.

• University of Southern California

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• Northeastern University
• Animal Rights
• Endangered Species

A Brief History of Zoos

Arguments for zoos, arguments against zoos, the last word on zoos.

A zoo is a place where captive animals are put on display for humans to see. While early zoos (shortened from zoological parks) concentrated on displaying as many unusual creatures as possible—often in small, cramped conditions—the focus of most modern zoos is conservation and education. While zoo advocates and conservationists argue that zoos save endangered species and educate the public, many  animal rights activists believe the cost of confining animals outweighs the benefits, and that the violation of the rights of individual animals—even in efforts to fend off extinction—cannot be justified.

Humans have kept wild animals for thousands of years. The first efforts to keep wild animals for non-utilitarian uses began about 2500 BCE, when rulers in Mesopotamia, Egypt kept collections in enclosed pens.  Modern zoos began to evolve during the 18th century and the Age of Enlightenment, when scientific interest in zoology, as well as the study of animal behavior and anatomy, came to the fore.

Early zoos were a dismal affair. Animals were kept in small enclosures with little if any, greenery. With a scant understanding of what the various animals needed, many perished relatively quickly. In accredited U.S. zoos (and elsewhere) things are better now, fortunately. Primates, for example, have gone from barren cages with little furniture to naturalistic and sometimes semi-free-ranging designs. But is it enough?

• By bringing people and animals together, zoos educate the public and foster an appreciation of other species.
• Zoos save endangered species by bringing them into a safe environment, where they are protected from poachers, habitat loss, starvation, and predators.
• Many zoos have breeding programs for endangered species. In the wild, these individuals might have trouble finding mates and breeding, and species could become extinct.
• Some zoos have conservation programs around the world that use the zoo's expertise and funding to help protect wildlife against poaching and other threats.
• Reputable zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums are held to high standards for the treatment of their resident animals. According to AZA, its accreditation guarantees that the organization has undergone strict evaluation by recognized experts to ensure the highest standards of "animal management and care, including living environments, social groupings, health, and nutrition."
• A good zoo provides an enriched habitat in which the animals are never bored, are well cared for, and have plenty of space.
• Seeing an animal in person is a much more personal and more memorable experience than seeing that animal in a nature documentary and is more likely to foster an empathetic attitude toward animals.
• Some zoos help rehabilitate wildlife and take in exotic pets that people no longer want or are no longer able to care for.
• Both accredited and unaccredited animal exhibitors are regulated by the federal Animal Welfare Act, which establishes standards for animal care.
• From an animal rights standpoint, humans do not have a right to breed, capture, and confine other animals— even if those species are endangered . Being a member of an endangered species doesn't mean the individual animals should be afforded fewer rights.
• Animals in captivity suffer from boredom, stress, and confinement. No pen—no matter how humane—or drive-through safari can compare to the freedom of the wild.
• Intergenerational bonds are broken when individuals are sold or traded to other zoos.
• Baby animals bring in visitors and money, but this incentive to breed new baby animals leads to overpopulation. Surplus animals are sold not only to other zoos, but also to circuses and hunting facilities. Some zoos simply kill their surplus animals outright.
• Some captive breeding programs do not release animals back into the wild. The offspring may be forever part of the chain of zoos, circuses, and petting zoos.
• Removing individual specimens from the wild further endangers the wild population because the remaining individuals will be less genetically diverse and may have greater difficulty finding mates. Maintaining species diversity within captive breeding facilities is also a challenge. 
• If people want to see wild animals in real life, they can observe wildlife in the wild or visit a sanctuary. (A true sanctuary does not buy, sell, or breed animals, but instead takes in unwanted exotic pets, surplus animals from zoos, or injured wildlife that can no longer survive in the wild.)
• The federal Animal Welfare Act establishes only the most minimal standards for cage size, shelter, health care, ventilation, fencing, food, and water. For example, enclosures must provide "sufficient space to allow each animal to make normal postural and social adjustments with adequate freedom of movement. Inadequate space may be indicated by evidence of malnutrition, poor condition, debility, stress, or abnormal behavior patterns." Violations often result in a slap on the wrist and the exhibitor is given a deadline to correct the violation. Even a long history of inadequate care and AWA violations, such as the history of Tony the Truck Stop Tiger, does not necessarily ensure abused animals will be freed.
• Animals sometimes escape their enclosures, endangering themselves as well as people. Likewise, people ignore warnings or accidentally get too close to animals, leading to horrific outcomes. For example, Harambe, a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla, was shot in 2016 when a toddler accidentally fell into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. While the child survived and was not badly injured, the gorilla was killed outright.
• Petting zoos have been linked with numerous incidents of diseases including E. coli infection, cryptosporidiosis, salmonellosis, and dermatomycosis (ringworm).

In making a case for or against zoos, both sides argue that they're saving animals. Whether or not zoos benefit the animal community, they certainly do make money. As long as there is demand for them, zoos will continue to exist.

Since zoos are likely an inevitability, the best way to move forward is to ensure that zoo conditions are the best possible for the animals that live in captivity and that individuals who violate animal care health and safety sanctions are not only duly punished but denied any future access to animals.

One day we may look back at zoos and marvel at their barbarity. Or, one day we may look back at zoos and be grateful for the species they saved from extinction. Of these two scenarios, only time will tell.

Hosey, Geoff, et al. Zoo Animals: Behaviour, Management, and Welfare . Oxford University Press. 2013.

Hosey, G. (2023). The History of Primates in Zoos . In: Robinson, L.M., Weiss, A. (eds) Nonhuman Primate Welfare. Springer, Cham.

“ Species Survival Plan Programs .” Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

“ Accreditation Basics .” Association of Zoos & Aquariums .

“ Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations .” U.S. Department of Agriculture .

Meagher, Rebecca K., Georgia J. Mason. “ Environmental Enrichment Reduces Signs of Boredom in Caged Mink .” PLoS ONE , vol. 7, 2012, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049180

Kleiman, Devra G., et al. Wild Mammals In Captivity: Principles And Techniques For Zoo Management, Second Edition . University of Chicago Press. 2010.

Gunasekera, Crystal Allen. “ The Ethics of Killing “Surplus” Zoo Animals .” Journal of Animal Ethics , vol. 8, 2018, doi:10.5406/janimalethics.8.1.0093

Brichieri-Colombi, Typhenn A., et al. “ Limited Contributions of Released Animals from Zoos to North American Conservation Translocations .” Conservation Biology , vol. 33, 2019, pp. 33-39., doi:10.1111/cobi.13160

Krasnec, Michelle O., et al. “ Mating Systems in Sexual Animals .” Nature Education Knowledge, vol. 3, no. 10, 2012, p. 72.

“ 9 CFR § 3.128 - Space Requirements .” Cornell University Legal Information Institute .

“ Animal Welfare Act Enforcement .” U.S. Department of Agriculture .

Conrad, Cheyenne C. Conrad et al. " Farm Fairs and Petting Zoos: A Review of Animal Contact as a Source of Zoonotic Enteric Disease ." Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, vol. 14, 2017, pp. 59-73., doi:10.1089/fpd.2016.2185

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Should Animals Be Kept in Zoos?

Should animals be kept in zoos? Depending on your values, your answer may be straightforward. However, like any ethical consideration, it’s not as black and white as we’d like it to be.

When I became vegan , I stopped supporting any form of animal entertainment, including racing, circuses, zoos and aquariums.

It was a simple decision for me. Generating profits off the backs of animals is exploitation. So that was that.

Admittedly though, I haven’t dug deep on the topic of zoos and aquariums. When I was doing some research for this post, I was surprised to see that some vegans work in zoos, and are passionate about the conservation programs for animals.

This raised my eyebrows, and I wanted to give my take on the question; should animals be kept in zoos?

Before I answer this, it’s essential to reflect on society’s fascination with zoos.

Society’s obsession with zoos

Like many, I LOVED animals as a child.

I was regularly reading books, reviewing CD encyclopaedia’s, and watching David Attenborough’s documentaries—so I could learn about animals.

Most kids entertainment is based on animals characters. Just walk down the aisle of a toy store, and you’ll see how many animals represent fun and love for kids.

Then you turn to film and video. How many of our favourite movies, cartoons, educational programs are created from animals? It’s clear, as a society we’re obsessed with animals !

So if there’s an opportunity to see animals in person in a safe environment, while being able to eat candy and soft drink, of course, we’re going to do it!

Some smart entrepreneurial thinkers noticed our fascination with animals and saw an opportunity to showcase them to the public in the form of a zoo.

What is a zoo?

A quick google search reveals that a zoo is an establishment that maintains a collection of wild animals, typically in a park or gardens, for study, conservation, or display to the public.

Zoos have been around for thousands of years—as far back as 3500 BC in Egypt. Kings would keep hippos, baboons and large cats. At this point, kings were keeping animals purely to feed their egos.

Public zoos as we know them today started in the 1800s, and have grown into a massive market.

A survey conducted by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums showed that over 700 million people visit zoos and aquariums worldwide each year. 700 million people!

How do you start and operate a zoo?

I have a business mind, so naturally, I like to look at the operations of an organisation to get an idea of its needs and motivations.

So hypothetically, if you and I were to start a successful zoo together, how would we go about doing it?

Well first of all, when you consider licensing, acquiring animals, paying zookeepers, land space, feed, research, and in-house vets, startup costs for a conventional zoo often cost hundreds of millions of dollars .

So financing would be our first barrier although it’s common practice for zoos to raise funding through donations.

Another option is to start a petting zoo, which is a small zoo with mainly domesticated animals and some wildlife, where children can pet, feed and interact with the animals.

Petting zoos are smaller scale than conventional zoos and typically cost between $10,000 and $50,000 to start.

Basic rules for operating a zoo

In addition to money, we’ll need to ensure we’re following the rules of running a zoo. This varies from country to country, but let’s take the UK’s Zoo Licensing Act of 1981 as an example. Here’s what the guidelines look like:

• Mandatory participation: a zoo must legally participate in at least one activity outlined in the Act, either in conservation research, training, or breeding of wild animals in captivity.
• Promote education and awareness: Zoos must educate the public on conservation and biodiversity.
• Accommodate animals properly: The Act requires zoos to offer conditions that satisfy the biological and conservation requirements of a species. You can’t have tropical animals out in English winter, or penguins out during summer, for example.
• Escape countermeasures: Zoos are required to prevent animals from escaping, and be prepared in the unlikely event any species breaks out or is released by accident.
• Pest control: Zoos are also required to prevent the intrusion of pests and vermin.

Reference: Want to run your own zoo? Here’s what you need to know

How a zoo generates revenue

Once we have a zoo up and running, we’ll need to create enough income to cover the costs of operation and hopefully turn a profit for our efforts.

The most effective way to make money for our zoo is going to be through ticket sales. In fact, over 90 per cent of total revenue from zoos come from gate fees!

Local admission prices where I live in Australia, range between $26 and $47, depending on whether you are underage, a student or a pensioner.

Most zoos offer group sessions for schools and work events, creating high volume packages.

And many modern zoos offer annual memberships to increase customer loyalty and create recurring revenue.

What makes a successful zoo?

So far, we know to cover costs and turn a profit in our zoo, we need to sell more tickets.

How do we do that? Advertising. Sure. But advertise what? The animals, of course.

The more exotic the animal, the more interest we can create to increase admissions.

Jurassic Park is one of the most iconic movie franchises at the box office, based on the premise of showcasing dinosaurs in a zoo. I mean, if there were a real-life Jurassic Park, it would be hard not to be interested, right? It’s because dinosaurs are unique, exotic and rare.

So we need to find exciting animals to bring in the crowds.

Since the 1970s zoos typically do not source animals directly from wildlife unless they’re rescued. Again, this varies depending on the country, and it’s not a perfect system. There’s no doubt some zoos still take animals from wildlife to add diversity to their portfolio.

The best practice is to either breed animals, or trade animals with other zoos.

Outside bringing in exotic creatures, another approach is to create experiences for humans to interact with animals.

That’s where “meet a cheetah, or sleep with a lion” campaigns can be incredibly useful to promote our zoo.

We can also charge a premium price for these experiences, helping increase our revenue.

Hopefully, this exercise has given you an idea of how a conventional zoo operates.

An argument for keeping animals in zoos

Before I cover the ethical considerations of running a zoo, I want to acknowledge some of the benefits of zoos.

Firstly, beyond entertainment, it’s argued that zoos help educate the public about animals, so we can do a better job of protecting them. If we know about animals, we increase the chances of loving them, and therefore fighting for them and protecting them

Secondly, zoos provide a platform for animal research. Over the past 20 years, zoos and aquariums have produced over 5000 research papers covering topics like disease transmission with humans, to ways to stop poaching of endangered species.

Lastly, zoos run conservation programs that take endangered species, breed them, and put them back in the wild to restore their populations. For example, in 1982, only 22 Californian Condors were living in the wild. Because of zoo programs, in 2019, there are now over 300 Californian Condors .

As a vegan, I can understand some of the benefits of zoos but, do I agree with them as a viable justification to keep animals in zoos? Not quite. Let me explain.

Should animals be kept in zoos? Ethical considerations

Whether animals should be kept in a zoo or not depends on whether zoos exploit animals.

Exploitation is the act of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work . The someone, in this case, is animals in zoos.

Let’s break this down, starting with whether animals are treated unfairly in a zoo system.

What do animals lose from being in a zoo instead of their natural environment?

Wildlife is meant to be in the wild. Wild animals, unlike domesticated animals, have particular needs to thrive and survive.

For instance, elephants are incredibly nomadic, social creatures who love to walk. According to Elephants for Africa , in the wild, elephants walk can walk up to 195kms a day but generally choose to walk 25kms a day. Accommodating such movement for elephants in a zoo is impossible.

Furthermore, elephants are part of herds with up to 58 elephants. According to RSPCA , female elephants, in particular, are intensely social, often helping other females raise their babies in a shared community.

Again, this kind of behaviour is unable to be replicated in a zoo. It’s often documented that elephants are found pacing and swaying in zoos as they become distressed and bored. As a result, elephants in the wild live twice as long as elephants in zoos.

This is not surprising. I mean, can you imagine living in the same room, or even being confined to your house day in and day out?

You’d go crazy and probably wouldn’t live as long as you would if you had the freedom to venture outside of your confined space to interact with the world.

Wait, I think there’s a name for that. Oh yeah, jail!

Elephants are just one example of many when it comes to mistreating animals in zoos.

Birds are designed to migrate thousands of miles each year, and yet they’re kept in captivity in cages at zoos. Is that fair?

Study after study, shows large cats, monkeys, sea mammals going crazy in captivity. Many of these animals need to exist in their natural habitats for their development.

Chimpanzees in captivity are far more likely to show signs of mental health in the form of plucking their hair, self-biting and even self-hitting.

Animals are designed for hunting, grazing, to migrate, to fly. It’s these experiences that make an animal, an animal.

Aren’t zoos critical for saving endangered species?

We’re regularly told that the primary function of a zoo is to educate people about animals and to preserve them through conservation programs. It’s part of the legislative requirements of operating a zoo.

As I explained above, there have been a select few case studies of successful conservation programs—like the Californian Condors.

Unfortunately, humans are responsible for disrupting wildlife, contributing to the extinction of many species. We destroy homes by polluting habitats and routine logging and burning of forests. We also hunt wildlife further adding to their extinction.

Because of our destructive behaviour, we try to recover by saving endangered species through breeding practices.

Sometimes it works, but quite often it doesn’t.

Studies have shown that animals saved and raised in captivity lack the necessary skills to survive in the wild. It’s like throwing your pet dog in the wild after living under your roof for five years. Good luck with that!

While it’s a thoughtful gesture to save a variety of species through zoos, a life in captivity is not productive to the cause. Animals need to be bred and nurtured in their natural habitats, so they don’t lose their instinctual skills to survive in the wild.

But such an undertaking is perhaps too idealistic and expensive to expect without the benefits of funding through ticket sales in conventional zoos.

What percentage of animals in zoos are endangered?

Let’s revisit the definition of exploitation.

Exploitation is the act of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work .

So far, I’ve discussed how zoos keep animals in captivity, thus mistreating them. But now I want to quickly dissect whether zoos are benefiting from the work of animals.

Perhaps the most indicative exercise to determine the level at which a zoo benefits from the work of animals is to measure the percentage of non-endangered species versus endangered species in a zoos inventory.

If the primary purpose of a zoo is to save endangered animals, shouldn’t then their entire portfolio consist of endangered animals?

Well, as it turns out, this is far from the case.

A study published in the journal PLUS ONE found that 695 of 3,955 (23%) of land animals in conventional zoos are endangered. That means 67% of the animals held in captivity are not threatened.

If such a large portion of zoo inventory is not threatened, why do zoos continue to source these animals? What’s the motivation?

One could argue that the motivation is about educating the public about animals. But even then, is it justifiable to hold animals in captivity for the sake of education, when such information is available through non-exploitative methods?

The only conclusion I can draw from this ratio is that zoos are ultimately financially benefiting from the work of animals. I can’t see any other way around this. It’s exploitation. And that’s why I believe animals should not be kept in zoos.

Alternatives to going to the zoo

So if zoos are exploiting animals, but we still want to find ways to connect with them, and to save them, what can we do? Here are three alternatives to going to a zoo.

1) Animal Sanctuary

Animal sanctuaries rescue farmed animals from the food and entertainment industry and offer them food and shelter.

Donations usually support sanctuaries and offer the public regular visits and opportunities to help the animals with whatever skills they have.

Visiting sanctuaries may also help us feel more connected with where our meat comes from and therefore preventing the consumption and exploitation of farmed animals.

Now, are all sanctuaries perfect? No. In many cases, people running animal sanctuaries are so selfless, that they end up taking on too many animals which they can’t support effectively.

That’s why it’s more important than ever to support these organisations and more importantly, reduce or stop our meat and dairy consumption.

2) Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre

Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres rescue injured wildlife and hold animals captive while they get veterinary care—before being returned to their natural habitat.

The goal of these centres is to get animals back into the wild as quickly as possible, with the least amount of human intervention.

Centres are generally open to visitors, and the types of animals you’ll see will be based on local wildlife. As it should be. There are no African Elephants in Australia like you’d find in a zoo.

3) Challenge yourself to go on adventures in the wild

One of the most magical ways you can connect with animals is organically seeing them when you’re in nature.

Humans are also animals that are designed to be in nature with other animals. Think about how much indigenous cultures know about their local wildlife. It’s because they lived together in the same environment.

Unfortunately, with technological advancements, we’ve become increasingly disconnected from nature to the point where it’s scary or risky to be immersed in the environment.

Have you tried walking around your neighbourhood barefoot? I have. It’s terrifying. What should be a natural movement, is riddled with anxiety looking out for glass, insects and anything that would present potential harm.

How many of us go deep in the woods when hiking? Or go sailing in the ocean? Or climb trees?

Sure, there’s a small segment of us that love these activities. But for the majority, these experiences are foreign.

So if we want to see wildlife, we can. It starts with pushing ourselves past our comfort zone and seeking out experiences in nature.

Please do so with care, of course. See, there I go again!

What do you think? Should animals be kept in zoos?

Okay, I’d love to hear from you now. Maybe you work in a zoo, or you know someone that does.

What are your thoughts on keeping animals in captivity as part of a business? Is it ethical? Why? Why not?

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

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19 Comments

I am half and half, please just hear me out here. I agree with animals (including elephants) in good zoos as long as they are being properly taken care of as the majority of species live longer in good captivity than they would do in the wild and they are far safer than their wild cousins are as they are far less likely to be hunted, shot, run over, trapped in snares, caught for the illegal wildlife trade, die from preventable diseases etc. There are good zoos but then there are also a lot of bad zoos, such as the one Mali the elephant was kept in and many others. Admittedly, I can’t comment on zoos in the USA or Canada etc as I have never seen them for myself but where I live in the UK, Virtually all the zoos really care deeply about their animals (I have seen this first hand) and have made tremendous progress for elephants and other animals. Please look at these links if you don’t believe me and say that good zoos haven’t helped animals in captivity and in the wild in some way: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60222464 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10538826 https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/65410327 All these things above wouldn’t have been possible without good zoos. Also, don’t forget that Jane Goodall seems to support good zoos here: https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/jane-goodall-on-zoos-and-tech-as-conservation-tools/ and here: https://news.janegoodall.org/2016/06/19/tragic-death-harambe-raises-questions/ . A quote from herself: “6. ‘I’m always being asked again and again, “Jane, what do you think of zoos?” Groups who believe all zoos should be closed clearly have not spent the time I have out in the wild. They haven’t seen the threats destroying chimpanzee habitat; they don’t understand what it’s like to watch a chimp struggle, wounded and lame from a wire snare. But I do. I remember sitting with a group of chimps in an American zoo once. They had a really nice enclosure and I was watching the adults groom each other and the young ones play. As I watched, I remember thinking of the chimpanzee groups I had seen in the wild who are living day to day in fear. Put yourself in the position of chimpanzees for a minute. A chimp living in a zoo where people know them, love them, understand them and protect them or a chimp in the wild who may have lost their mother the week before, watching another member of the troop as they’re wounded by a bullet from a poacher. Which would you rather be? I’d rather be in the group in the zoo. And certainly in the group here at Monarto Zoo; now that’s a good life for a chimp.” In this article here: https://www.adelaidezoo.com.au/jane-goodall-quotes-2019/ and even David Attenborough and great conservation charity Fauna & Flora agree with and are sponsors of good zoos too. As David Attenborough once said “in an ideal world, we wouldn’t need zoos” but sadly, we don’t live in an ideal world. We live in a world where nature and wildlife is sadly disappearing all around us, human overpopulation is growing and the only places one day you will be able to see animals if we all don’t change soon enough would be in a good zoo, such as what it was like for partial snails (who were extinct in the wild not long ago), if it wasn’t for good zoos breeding them, releasing them and saving them from extinction, they would be gone forever! Other animals that would also have been gone forever if it wasn’t for good zoos also include the Scimitar oryx, the Przewalski’s wild horse, Socorro Dove, Wyoming Toads, condors and so many more. You cannot “Tar all zoos with the same brush”! But I will agree that yes, sadly there are zoos out there that are bad that only care about profit and don’t care about the animals at all, such as Copenhagen zoo but not all zoos are bad! Not all zoos still have 19th century conditions for animals anymore! Good zoos are now for research, education and conservation, not pure entertainment anymore! All zoos need money to properly care for their animals and help in conservation, that is true but then again, sanctuaries also need money to properly care for their animals too, so isn’t that exploitation in a way too? There are also zoos that rescue animals from awful situations and give them a good, species specific home like a sanctuary does here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-a-refugee-bear-from-a-bombed-out-ukraine-zoo-finds-a-new-home-in/ There are multiple discussions around all this: https://www.treehugger.com/zoos-and-endangered-species-conservation-1182068 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/02/zoos-time-shut-down-conservation-education-wild-animals?sf229434080=1 https://a-z-animals.com/blog/discover-amazing-us-zoos-with-elephants-and-best-time-to-visit/ One very interesting thing I found was that PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) claim to want to shut down all zoos yet there is a link here where they actually worked with accredited zoos and sent some animals rescued to accredited zoos. Why would an organisation so against zoos send animals to an accredited zoo of they claimed all zoos are bad? The link is here: https://plantbasednews.org/culture/ethics/animals-rescued-lawsuit-shuts-down-maryland-roadside-zoo/ and the text reads: “Now, Courthouse News reports that the zoo is totally empty. Through another legal settlement, PETA was given permission to relocate all of its animals to sanctuaries and accredited zoos.”

Thank you – I also feel torn about this topic. I categorically agree that animals should not be exploited and the information you presented certainly suggests that most zoos in some form or other will be responsible for this. In particular I found the point about animals that are not endangered being a large percentage of the zoo animals a display of this exploitation.

Where I am torn is the aspect of conservation. No doubt there is exploitatation of the non-endangered animals. I presume having these animals however helps generate revenue that then can also be plugged into conservation. Does this make it right however?

Equally – if I could wish for a perfect world, there would not be any endangered species in the first place, as first and foremost we would be concentrating on all the human impact we are having that makes us responsible for this as a race in the first place.

Unfortunately here we are though – in a world where we have driven a multitude of animals to the point of extinction. So do we accept that endangered species will more than likely become extinct, or do we plug some money into conservation with zoos?

Ultimately I think that working and supporting sanctuaries, and supporting organisations that rally to address the human impact we are having on the world is probably where I will put my efforts and money.

I came to read this article as I was not sure if it was ok for me to buy tickets for a ‘light creatures’ show at the Adelaide Illuminate festival. After reading this , I feel it would not sit right with me if I went so I have decided against it.

Hoping and wishing for a world where we all are connected to nature and are looking after all our animals.

Thank you for this article.

Thanks for the article! I’m writing an essay on this, and it really helped!

Glad it helped! All the best with your essay.

I have to write an argumentative essay about why animals should or should not be kept in zoos. It was very interesting hearing other people’s thoughts, and I definitely agree with you. I went to a zoo yesterday to see how things worked, and I feel like the animals would be happier and more comfortable in the environments that they belong in.

Yeah, it really brings things home when you visit a zoo. Good luck with your essay. I’m sure it will be interesting!

Without zoos, many animals would be extinct at this point. There are many great zoos in the world doing excellent work in conservation. There is always a place for a good zoo, the problem is the bad zoos give them all a bad name. Without zoos in the future, a good majority of animals will go extinct. Animals typically live longer healthier happy lives in the great zoos.

animals should be not kept in a zoo

I couldn’t agree more. They don’t work for us.

Tommorow we are going to write an persuasive essay, I chose the topic: Should animals be kept in zoos and circus? This article help me a lot! Thanks so much! I also doesn’t think that animals shouldn’t be kept in captivity because: Animal’s mental health (Elephant walk 25km a day, zoochosis) Behavioral probs (They get depressed, psychologically disturbed, frustrated, they harm each other, become ill, go hungry, and are forced to endure extreme and unnatural temperatures) Loose freedom (Bird clip wings, can’t migrate) Lost unique characteristics (Forced to perform tricks because afraid) Children learn animal okay to be in cage Animals live longer in wild (more happy, already adapted) Animals experienced cruelty during performance (Elephant ride people hit elephants with axe, perform because they’re afraid of what will happen if they don’t.) Organism fairness (animal entertaining is only for human)

And a lot more! Thanks so much! 😀

Hi Nicole, your essay topic sounds very interesting! I especially like the point of children thinking it’s okay for animals to be in zoo cages. I may have to update this post 🙂 I’m glad you found this article to be helpful, and thank you for taking the time to comment and add your ideas.

Thank you for this article! I think that animals shouldn’t be kept in zoos. Zoos do not provide natural habitats, and that zoos put unnecessary stress on animals.

You’re welcome, Joshua, and nicely said. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on zoos 🙂

Thanks for your well balanced approach/argument. I have to admit that I have struggled with this and the possible benefits that zoos provide. Plus, I loved going to them both to connect with animals in some way and the be in some kind of nature since the grounds are sometimes lovely. Also, in more urban areas such as I am now, zoos provide some of the only means to make those connections. However in the time since i have moved from being a vegetarian to being vegan, I have found my views have changed and I know longer feel that zoos are acceptable. Though I do wonder what one then does with wild animals that do need to be rehabilitated as most wildlife rehabilitation places I know of deal with native animals rather than larger marine and exotic animals. Also, I continue to question whether animal sanctuaries are actually not another form of a zoo. Thanks again for the post.

I wonder if you would consider taking a similar looking at animals that are used to assist people such as guide dogs and monkeys.

Hi Jacquie, it sounds like we’re on the same page. I wonder the same things when it comes to exotic wildlife, but I’m sure some services provide support. How it gets funded is another question. But I think it’s the question we should focus on, instead of lumping it together with the often exploitative institution of zoos. I do feel that sanctuaries, while far from perfect, are different from zoos, in the sense that their business model and the kind of animals they keep is entirely different. Hmm, I never thought about animals who are used to assist humans. I’ve put it on my list to investigate. Thank you for the suggestion.

Thanks for this article! I‘ve always had the same conflicting feelings about zoos, but ultimately agree with you about the ethical issues. I volunteer at a wildlife rehab center that will nurse and release injured wildlife if they can be released; if they’re not able to be released because of the extent of their injuries, they live permanently at the center. It’s amazing how many people have never seen common animals and birds in our region of the country! It’s a great opportunity to educate people and get them excited to go on their own adventures outdoors.

Hi Cece, it’s so refreshing to get insights for someone who has experience at wildlife centres. You’re right—there are so many beautiful animals to see within your area. Thank you for volunteering and helping animals.

Very interesting read. I agree completely. In the end, as you also state, it is really very simple. No animal should be kept in captivity unable to live the life they could and should be living. And also, it is truly the most magical and exciting when you encounter an animal in the wild. <3

Thanks, Sarah! You’re so right. Even just this morning Maša and I relocated a lost frog—it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it was a magical experience to interact with a wild animal in the yard.

There is a moral argument for keeping great apes in zoos

Michael Gwyther Jones/Flickr

by Richard Moore   + BIO

I get apprehensive whenever someone asks me about my job. I’m a philosopher who works on the question of how language evolved, I reply. If they probe any further, I tell them that I work with the great apes at Leipzig zoo. But some people, I’ve discovered, have big problems with zoos.

Plenty of philosophers and primatologists agree with them. Even the best zoos force animals to live in confined spaces, they say , which means the animals must be bored and stressed from being watched all the time. Other critics claim that zoos are wrong even if the creatures aren’t suffering, because being held captive for human entertainment impugns their dignity. Such places ‘are for us rather than for animals’, the philosopher Dale Jamieson has written , and ‘they do little to help the animals we are driving to extinction’.

But I want to defend the value of zoos. Yes, some of them should certainly be closed. We’ve seen those terrible videos of solitary apes or tigers stalking barren cages in shopping malls in Thailand or China. However, animals have a good quality of life in many zoos, and there’s a strong moral case for why these institutions ought to exist. I’ve come to this view after working with great apes, and it might not extend to all species equally. However, since great apes are both cognitively sophisticated and human-like in their behaviour, they offer a strong test case for evaluating the morality of zoos in general.

The research my colleagues and I conduct isn’t harmful to the animals and, if it goes well, it will help us get a better grasp on the cognitive differences between humans and apes. For example, we did a study with pairs of orangutans in which we tested their ability to communicate and cooperate to get rewards. We hid a banana pellet so that one orangutan could see the food but couldn’t reach it. The other orangutan could release a sliding door and push the pellet through to her partner, but wasn’t able to take it for herself. They did okay (but not great) when playing with me, and they mostly ignored each other when playing together. We then performed a similar set of studies with human two-year-olds. Compared with the apes, the two-year-olds were very good at getting the reward (stickers) when they played with an adult.

Taken together, these studies tell us something about human evolution. Unlike apes, humans are good at pooling their talents to achieve what they can’t do alone. It’s not that the apes don’t care about getting the food – they got frustrated with one another when things were going wrong, and one orangutan in particular would turn his back and sulk. However, unlike humans, they don’t seem to be able to harness this frustration to push themselves to do better.

The value of research aside, there’s an argument for zoos on the grounds of animal welfare. In the best zoos, such as Leipzig, great apes live in spacious enclosures modelled on their natural habitats, and are looked after by zookeepers who care about them deeply. Large jungle gyms keep them stimulated and stave off boredom; they’re also kept busy with ‘enrichment’ puzzles, which they can unlock with tools to get food. Zoos recognised by the two main accrediting bodies in Europe and the United States are rigorously vetted and required to take part in education and conservation programmes. And there’s no solid evidence that apes living in well-designed enclosures get stressed or disturbed by human observation.

Of course, zoos can’t provide their animals with conditions such as those in an untouched forest. But for the great apes in captivity, there’s rarely a viable alternative. There are estimated to be more than 4,000 great apes living in zoos worldwide. Most of the regions where they are found in the wild – orangutans in Indonesia, chimpanzees and gorillas in Central and West Africa, bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – are ravaged by habitat loss, civil war, hunting and disease. As few as 880 remaining mountain gorillas survive, in two small groups in the eastern reaches of the DRC, while orangutan habitats have declined 80 per cent in the past 20 years. While some conservationists dream of rehoming zoo apes in the wild, these vanishing forests mean that it’s rarely feasible. The orangutans in Leipzig are certainly better off than they would be trying to survive in forests razed to make way for palm-oil plantations.

Since zoo apes cannot be returned to their natural environments, specialised sanctuaries are another option. But these require large plots of land that are both safe and uninhabited by existing populations, and such locations are scarce. As things stand, sanctuaries are already struggling to survive because they’re almost exclusively dependent on charitable donations. And most of them are full. In Africa and Indonesia, inhabitants are typically orphans that have been taken from the forest by hunters or palm-oil workers, who kill larger apes and kidnap the babies to sell or keep as pets. Elsewhere, sanctuaries are overflowing with retired lab apes or rescued pets. These institutions lack the capacity to accommodate the thousands of apes currently living in zoos, let alone the money that would be needed to support them.

Given the obstacles and the great expense of rehoming apes, very few places try to do so. Damian Aspinall of Howletts Wild Animal Park in England leads one of the few programmes that release gorillas back into the wild, by taking them to a protected reserve in Gabon. His intentions are heroic and hopefully the plan will succeed. Some gorillas have resettled well. But the results so far have been mixed; in 2014, five members of a family of 11 were found dead within a month of their release. We also don’t really know whether zoo-born apes possess the skills they need to survive, including the ability to retrieve different local foods, and knowledge of edible plants. Young apes learn these skills in the wild by watching the knowledgeable adults around them – but that’s an opportunity that creatures in captivity simply don’t have.

Now, all of this isn’t necessarily an ethical argument for continuing to breed apes in zoos. You might argue that if we can’t save the apes already in captivity, we should at least end breeding programmes and let the existing populations die out. However, captive breeding helps preserve the genetic diversity of endangered species. Moreover, research shows that visiting zoos makes people more likely to support conservation efforts – an effect that’s amplified by more naturalistic enclosures. So first-person encounters in zoos serve to educate visitors about the incredible lives animals lead, and to raise money for wild conservation programmes.

Allowing the ape populations in zoos to wither assumes – without justification – that their current lives are so bad as to be not worth living. It also risks inflicting harm. Boredom is a real risk for zoo animals, and it’s widely believed (although not yet scientifically established) that the presence of infants brings both interest and happiness to the families. Mixed-aged groups create collective dynamics that more closely resemble those in the wild. If we care about the welfare of captive apes, we should allow them to breed – at least in controlled ways.

One day, the prospect of returning captive apes to their natural habitats or housing them in well-funded, spacious sanctuaries might be realistic. Currently, it is not. Instead of condemning zoos, we should dedicate our efforts to supporting them: to pushing bad zoos to reform or close; to funding more research into the welfare of captive animals; and to encouraging all zoos to strive to do more for their inhabitants. That way, perhaps, I will no longer need to shy away from telling strangers what I do.

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We need highly formal rituals in order to make life more democratic

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Why the world needs zoos

The ongoing extinction crises shows that zoos are needed - even for common species

I have written before about the importance of zoos and the role they have to play in the world for conservation and education. They are in particularly important for endangered species – many animals are critically endangered in the wild and may go extinct there soon but are going strong in zoos. Many others are already extinct in the wild and only survive because of populations kept going in captivity. Even those critical of zoos often recognise this role and that it is better to have species preserved somewhere than be lost for all time. However, even species that are common can come under severe threat very quickly or without people realising.

Take the ring-tailed lemur of Madagascar for example. This animal is almost ubiquitous in zoos and few do not keep groups of these pretty primates as they breed well in captivity and the public are fond of them. However, despite their high numbers in collections around the world, they are under severe threat in the wild. A recent survey suggested that a huge 95% of the wild populations have been lost since 2000 . This is clearly catastrophic and also means that the remaining individuals are greatly at risk. One bad year or a new disease could wipe out those that are left, and small and fragmented populations will be vulnerable to inbreeding so even a single loss can be keenly felt.

Such trends are not isolated. Giraffe are another species that are very common in zoos and unlike the lemurs are very widespread being found in numerous countries across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Anyone who has been on safari in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa or plenty of other countries will have had no trouble in seeing plenty of them in the wild and yet giraffe populations have gone down by a third in the last thirty years . While less dramatic than the lemurs, this is obviously a major loss and again, whole populations (which some scientists think are in fact unique species) are on the verge of extinction.

Cheetahs too, despite protection and efforts to support populations, are showing a major decline in their wild populations, primates as a whole are doing badly (it is suggested some 60% of species are at risk ) and that’s on top of the major crisis facing huge numbers of amphibian species . Many other species are probably facing sudden drops in numbers and some estimates are particularly worrying with suggestions that 50% of species could be gone at the end of this century . Conservationists struggle to monitor even species known to be vulnerable, so it is easy to see why common species might be overlooked especially if the perception is that they are not at risk because there are large numbers. Even a dramatic local loss might be overlooked on the assumption they are populous elsewhere but clearly that’s not always the case.

Ongoing and future issues from climate change (more extreme weather events, as well as things like overall warming and sea level changes) can have dramatic and unexpected effects on wildlife and we will likely struggle to predict which might be at risk. The numbers of species showing major losses, and the number that we overlook until things are already critical is only likely to rise. A new study suggests that climate change has already harmed over half of all mammal species on the endangered species list for example, and that is only likely to increase as more species are put under pressure from climate change and other environmental pressures.

In short, while zoos do provide a critical reservoir for endangered species, many other animals may yet become endangered very soon, or already are and we don’t know about it. Those species that are held in zoos are already protected from any such events and trends. In may not be long until ring tailed lemurs and many other species are only held in zoos and their loss from the world would be otherwise both tragic and irreversible.

There will, I suspect, always be resistance to the arguments for keeping animals in captivity and I will not defend those bad zoos desperately in need of improvement or closure . But if we wish to keep any real measure of biodiversity on the planet, we may lean on zoos and aquaria far more than many realise. If even common and popular species can lose a huge percentage of their populations in a few years, it may be too late to save them with even the best breeding programs or conservation efforts in the wild. As seen here, too often we do not even know a species is under threat until their numbers have crashed to dangerously low levels and this is a trend that is only likely to continue.

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80 Zoo Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best zoo topic ideas & essay examples, 🎓 good research topics about zoo, ⭐ simple & easy zoo essay titles, ❓ research questions about zoo.

• Should Animals Be Kept in Zoos? Some people are of the opinion that animals are inferior to human beings. On the issue of competition, it would be unfair to let animals live free and compete against human beings in the natural […]
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• Which Is the World’s Largest Zoo and What Is Its Area?
• Where Is Largest Zoo in India?
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• When Is the Best Time of Day to Visit the Zoo?
• Is It Ethical to Release Live Prey Into the Enclosure of a Carnivorous Zoo Animal?
• What Is the Difference Between a Zoo and a Wildlife Sanctuary?
• What Kind of Toys Do Large Predators Get at the Zoo?
• What Is It Like to Work at a Zoo?
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• What Factors Influence Stereotyped Behavior of Primates in a Zoo?
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• What Effect Do Visitors Have on Zoo Animals?
• What Is the Main Purpose of Zoo?
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• What Is the First Zoo in Asia?
• Which Is the Oldest Zoo in India?
• What Is the Most Visited Zoo in the World?
• Which Zoo Has the Most Animals?
• Why Is San Diego Zoo So Famous?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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IvyPanda . "80 Zoo Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." March 2, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/zoo-essay-topics/.

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Home / Essay Samples / Science / Zoo / Keeping Animals in Zoos: Contemplating Ethics

Keeping Animals in Zoos: Contemplating Ethics

• Category: Social Issues , Science

Pages: 1 (434 words)

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Introduction

The positive aspects of zoos.

• Education and Awareness: Zoos serve as valuable educational tools, providing the public with the opportunity to observe and learn about various animal species. They offer insights into animal behavior, habitat, and conservation efforts, fostering a sense of appreciation and understanding for the natural world.
• Conservation Efforts: Many modern zoos are actively engaged in conservation efforts, aiming to protect endangered species from extinction. By breeding and maintaining endangered animals, zoos contribute to global conservation initiatives and safeguard genetic diversity.
• Research and Science: Zoos provide researchers with access to study animals up close, offering valuable insights into their biology, behavior, and physiology. This knowledge aids scientific understanding and contributes to conservation efforts both within and outside zoo settings.
• Animal Welfare: Critics argue that captivity in zoos may compromise the physical and psychological well-being of animals. Limited space, unnatural environments, and restricted movement can lead to stress, anxiety, and behavioral abnormalities.
• Loss of Freedom: Zoos restrict animals from experiencing the natural behaviors they would exhibit in the wild. Some animal rights activists argue that keeping animals in captivity denies them the opportunity to roam freely, forage for food, and socialize in their natural social structures.
• Educational Limitations: While zoos aim to educate the public about animals, the limited space and artificial settings may not provide a comprehensive understanding of wild animals' natural behaviors and habitats. This can perpetuate misconceptions about the true lives of animals in their natural environments.

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