 
(above) Gibbon in captivity, gibbon in sanctuary
A survey of the problems with zoos
by Alison Green
Regarding the question about zoos, I think we must oppose them because
the animals' lives are changed for the worst.
Even under the best of circumstances, captivity can be hell for
animals meant to roam free. Captive animals (who, in some zoos, are
kept in small, barren cages, forced to sleep on concrete slabs, and
imprisoned behind iron bars) often suffer from malnutrition,
loneliness, the denial of all normal pleasures and behaviors, and loss
of freedom and independence.
Even at the best zoos, animals are rarely kept in normal social or
family groups. Habitats are usually very small and inhibit or
preclude natural behaviors like flying, swimming, running, hunting,
climbing, scavenging, and partner selection. The animals' physical
and mental frustrations can lead to abnormal, neurotic and even
self-destructive behavior. And, even at zoos considered good,
horrible events such as beatings of animals have occurred to keep them
"manageable." I have an L.A. Times article about an African elephant
who was transferred from the San Diego Zoo to the San Diego Wild
Animal Park--her old caretakers reported seeing her new caretakers
chain her, pull her to the ground, and beat her on the head with ax
handlers for two days. One described the blows as "home run swings."
In the same article, San Francisco zookeeper Paul Hunter was quoted as saying of
elephants. "You have to motivate them and the way you do that
is by beating the hell out of them."
As for conservation, most animals in zoos are not endangered, and
while confining endangered species to zoos keeps them alive, it does
nothing to protect wild populations; returning captive-bred animals to
the wild is difficult and costly, and most zoos can't even attempt
it. (Also, a 1994 report by the World Society for the Protection of
Animals showed that out of 10,000 worldwide zoos, only 1200 are
registered for captive breeding and wildlife conservation.) The
scientific director of the Bronx Zoo wrote in his book, The Last
Panda, that zoos are actually contributing to the near-extinction of
giant pandas by constantly shuttling them from one zoo to another for
display. (And of course endangered animals are no happier in zoos
than their unendangered counterparts.)
The money spent on zoos would be far better spent on programs
to protect wildlife populations and their habitats. The
ultimate salvation for endangered animals lies in protection of their
habitats, not in a life sentence in a zoo. On those occasions when
animals must be kept in captivity (i.e. those who have been born into
captivity or are unable to be rehabilitated) a zoo situation is still
far from ideal. Far better are facilities like non-profit animal
sanctuaries, where the emphasis is on the animals themselves, not on
profits.
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