Zoos: Rescue Centres or Cages?

Few places attract as many families as the zoo, and few attract as much criticism. For some people, a zoo is a place where children fall in love with wildlife and where endangered species are protected from extinction. For others, it is a relic from a time when people thought nothing of keeping wild animals in confinement for entertainment. The truth lies somewhere between these extremes, which is why the debate continues. Supporters of modern zoos begin with conservation. They point to the Arabian oryx, a graceful desert antelope that disappeared from the wild in the early 1970s. Animals kept in captivity, however, were bred carefully, and from the 1980s onward some were returned to protected areas in Oman, where the species survives today. Without zoo breeding programmes, defenders argue, such rescues would have been impossible. They also say that zoos fund research and education, and that a child who has stood a few metres from a giraffe is more likely to care about the animal's future than one who has only seen it on a screen. Critics respond that these success stories are the exception. Only a small proportion of zoo animals belong to species that are ever released into the wild, and many are kept simply because they are popular with visitors. Some animals, such as elephants and polar bears, need enormous territories, and campaigners claim that no enclosure can truly meet their needs. Signs of stress, such as repeatedly pacing back and forth, are well documented in a number of species. Money spent on zoos, they argue, would be better used to protect habitats where animals live naturally. Some zoo directors acknowledge part of this criticism. A growing number of institutions have stopped keeping the largest species, or have moved them to spacious sanctuaries, and have concentrated instead on animals that adapt well and whose survival genuinely depends on breeding programmes. Visitors, in turn, can influence the future: choosing zoos that publish their conservation work and treat their animals well sends a stronger message than simply staying away. The question, then, may not be whether zoos should exist at all, but which kinds of zoos deserve public support, and how we should judge them. That is a harder question than either side would like, but it is the one that actually matters.