Topics / Animals
Is it right to keep animals in zoos and aquariums?
Should animals be kept in zoos and aquariums, and if so, which animals and for what purposes? The disagreement turns mainly on how to weigh individual animals' welfare and freedom against conservation, education and public benefit, alongside contested evidence on how well zoos deliver those benefits.
Positions
- Yes, good modern zoos do real good: Yes. Well-run, accredited zoos and aquariums do real good: they breed endangered species as insurance against extinction, fund conservation in the wild, and inspire millions of visitors, especially children, to care about nature.
- Only for conservation, rescue and species that cope well: Zoos and aquariums should keep only animals that genuinely benefit from it or cannot survive in the wild, such as endangered species in conservation programmes and rescued animals, and should phase out keeping wide-ranging or highly social species, such as elephants and orcas, for display.
- No, captivity for display is wrong: No. Keeping animals captive for public display is wrong, because animals are not exhibits. Even good enclosures cannot give wide-ranging, intelligent animals the lives they need, so conservation effort should go into protecting habitats, with sanctuaries for animals that cannot be released.