Should Animals be Kept in Zoos?

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Most zoo visitors usually spend only a few minutes or seconds at each display, seeking entertainment rather than enlightenment. Even the March 2007 issue of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums magazine Connect details a study that found visitors to zoos rarely “ retained even a few basic facts. When asked “What did you learn at this exhibit?” the most popular answer was “Nothing.”

An article in the November 2006 issue notes that: “…learning is not a popular reason for people to visit zoos and aquariums. Everyone would like it to be true, but the specifics and logic of how casual visits to zoos really function in the conservation movement remains unproven.”

Captive animals are mere shells of their wild counterparts. People learn nothing about animals’ natural lives and behaviors by watching them languish in manmade habitats and unnatural circumstances. Zoos often prevent animals from engaging in basic innate behaviors such as flying, swimming, running, hunting, climbing, scavenging, and selecting a mate.  

Instead of using funds to enrich and improve the lives of the animals, zoos consistently spend money to make improvements to entertain and accommodate people. Zoos all over are paying to revamp their entrances, parking lots, concession stands, and other human conveniences.

The only thing zoos teach people is that it is acceptable to manipulate animals for our own purposes. People who truly care about animals—and want to help save them—know that this is the wrong lesson.