To believe that zoos are unethical and should be abolished?

128 replies

YourHonestOchreBeaker · 30/01/2025 18:25

Keeping animals in cages for human entertainment seems cruel, no matter how ‘nice’ the enclosures are. AIBU to think that zoos have no place in a modern society?

OP posts:

fluffyfurryfeatherythings · 31/01/2025 22:12

politickie · 31/01/2025 18:56

Here are some of the journals I found most useful in looking at this subject! Some investigate the specific question of whether or not exposure to a species increases interest in welfare and others cover some of the surrounding context, such as how zoos communicate conservation goals with visitors and the popularity of charismatic species.

I've tried to stick to texts which should be available to read without an academic library or journal membership, since I don't know what access you may or not have, but there's a few I didn't want to leave out despite the accessibility issue. I hope these journals satisfy.

Zoos and animated animals increase public interest in and support for threatened animals
Fukano, Tanaka, & Soga

Debut of an endangered bird in zoos raises public interest, awareness and conservation knowledge of the species
Fukano, Soga, Fukuda, Takahashi, Koyoma, Arakawa, Miyano, Akiba, & Horiguchi

Public Support for Biodiversity After a Zoo Visit: Environmental Concern, Conservation Knowledge, and Self-Efficacy
Clayton, Prévot, Germain, & Saint-Jalme

Conservation learning in wildlife tourism settings: lessons from research in zoos and aquariums
Ballantyne, Packer, Hughes, & Dierking

Charismatic Species and Beyond: How Cultural Schemas and Organisational Routines shape Conservation
Krause & Robinson

Identifying factors influencing attitudes towards species conservation – a transnational study in the context of zoos
Kleepsies, Montes, Álvarez, Bambach, Gricar, Wenkel, & Dierkes

(and an interpretation and summary of the previous journal: Zoos can increase wildlife conservation attitudes in visitors)

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Fantastic, thank you - I have some rainy day reading to do!

politickie · 31/01/2025 22:28

fluffyfurryfeatherythings · 31/01/2025 22:12

Fantastic, thank you - I have some rainy day reading to do!

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You're more than welcome! Conservation psychology is fascinating- it's not technically my area but I have worked in a tangential field with a lot of crossover when it comes to visitor psychology. I believe these sorts of studies are so important in learning how organisations like zoos can get the most out of the necessary evil of being "entertainment" and use it to educate and promote their conservation goals.

RampantIvy · 31/01/2025 23:21

redboxer321 · 31/01/2025 20:48

They are @waitingforoneday
I was getting a bit frustrated because of course 7 acres is better than a small or even large cage for a lion but while I don't really know over what sort of land areas lions live in, 7 acres doesn't sound much to me.
Better is not good enough.
And it is not only about land area either. They are still captive, they still have people gawping at them, they still don't get to hunt, they and their environment are still controlled by human beings.
We need to try harder.

But what would you do with lions who have been born and bred in small cages all their lives? Setting them free in the wild straight from that kind of captivity is cruel.

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