Conservation without cages: Boycott zoos
Visiting animal zoos might feel like a harmless day out, but there’s a bigger story behind the fences and glass. Many zoos promote themselves as havens for education and endangered species, but that’s not really the truth. Also read of reasons to avoid tourist aquariums.
- Most creatures are not in environments where they can behave like in nature. Polar bears have one million times less space, the climate is too hot or cold for most ‘big animals’, and most lick bars and head-bob, due to severe boredom.
- The average child spends around 20 seconds viewing each creature. This is entertainment, not education.
- Most bird habitats are tall cages. But wild birds fly horizontally (think of an eagle flying over a canyon).
- Reptile experts say they should be in glass tanks, but in swamps akin to their natural habitats.
- Due to wanting profits, some zoos and ‘wildlife parks’ have in the past bred more animals than needed, then killed the cubs. That’s not animal conservation.
Kate on Conservation writes how wild elephants roam in herds, the size of a city. But zoos give around a hectare of space (they can walk that in a minute) and are usually housed in groups of three (in the wild, this could be hundreds).
Although animal circuses are now illegal in England, zoos aren’t and have many welfare issues (after years of campaigning, a Cumbrian zoo has finally closed, though some animals were so ill or injured, they had to be put to sleep).
Support Born Free Foundation (over zoos)
Born Free is the charity that focuses on conservation of endangered species in their natural habitats abroad, run by the founders’ son Will Travers. He says that zoos never educate, as you are not viewing how an animal would behave in the wild.
Many animals develop medical problems due to the wrong weather and homes, and there is high infant mortality for polar bears, lameness in elephants and mental health issues for apes.
Presently there is a campaign to rescue 15 penguins from London’s Sea Life, who are housed in a dingy basement, rather than live akin to how they would naturally.
Submit reports to Born Free about animal concerns for zoos (or circuses abroad) and for animals used in the media. Take photos and videos if you can. Also contact the polar, local animal shelter and tour operator.
Also Support Freedom for Animals
Freedom for Animals is the other main welfare charity for captive animals, which investigates and educations (it sells nice organic cotton and beanies, to help raise funds).
You can also report a mobile zoo, be a whistle-blower (anonymous) and download a free activist pack. This charity also campaigns to stop reindeer being used to ‘entertain children’ at shopping centres, as long journeys, bright lights and noise terrifies them.
New Welfare Laws for Zoo Animals
The UK government is soon to bring in new welfare laws for zoo animals, which at least is an improvement. This will make it mandatory to provide larger habitat enclosures for elephants, improved public safety measures and better training for staff.
However, it still won’t be as good as conserving animals in their natural habitats.
There are still around 300 licensed zoos (this includes aquariums) in England, which is quite surprising, considering most of us don’t like the idea of caged animals, for bored children to gaup and point at.
When asked why so many people in England still visit zoos (around 20%), the answer is always the same. There are welfare concerns, but they have been duped into believing that we need zoos to conserve endangered species, when this is just not true.
Born Free published a report Conservation or Collection, showing that nearly all UK zoos don’t have endangered species, and if they do, they make little conservation effort, it’s more about tourism income. Key findings included:
- Only just over 25% of species are endangered
- Over half at classified as ‘least concern’ on the IUCN Red List (endangered species)
- Only a third of species born at zoos are endangered.
- Most zoos house more domestic animals, than endangered species.
While an elephant enclosure containing a tiny number of often unrelated individuals costs many millions, field conservationists are crying out for even a fraction of those resources, to protect wild elephants and their habitats. Bluntly, the multi-billion-pound zoo world promises much, but delivers very, very little. Will Travers
Lowdown on England’s Three Most Popular Zoos
England’s three most popular zoos by far are London, Chester and Whipsnade. Let’s look at what they do, and how much they protect endangered species, compared to field conservationists in the wild (say in Africa).
London Zoo is one of the largest near Regent’s Park. It no longer houses elephants due to not enough space, but there are other concerns.
Whipsnade Zoo (owned by the same organisation that runs London zoo) does however house elephants, even though Born Free campaigns for no elephants to be housed in zoos in England. The herd of Asian elephants are in 30 acres, a tiny amount of space, compared to the wild.
Chester Zoo again has welfare issues, with Born Free to urge it (and Blackpool zoo) not to keep wild apes there, who are bored out of their brains. These include orangutans (the argument being that they are critically endangered).
They are, but that’s because most junk food and bar soaps are made with palm oil. If this issue was sorted out, their forest homes in Indonesia would be safe. Shoving our orange cousins (who are highly intelligent, they even make umbrellas from leaves when it rains) is not the answer.
Born Free states that keeping wild apes in captivity leads to chronic stress, obesity, heart disease and poor mental health, echoed by Chris Packham, who says that ‘great apes mustn’t be imprisoned for our entertainment any longer’.
And if the above is not enough to convince, here are some genuine reviews of recent months, by first-time visitors to all three zoos:
Visitors to London zoo reported that the lions and tigers looked sick, and animals were not living in nice conditions. Some saw enclosures not ‘full enough for a full-growing animal, and the creatures looked depressed, including a ‘seriously depressed gorilla’ staring at them’.
Whipsnade Zoo visitors reported again that the animals looked thorough miserable, and all you could do was ‘stare at the animals that did ‘absolutely nothing’.
Chester zoo reviews were even more depressing. As rather than be upset about animal welfare, nearly all the negative reviews were from people complaining that there were not enough animals for their children to gaup at, and heaven forbid, some of them were asleep?
Many parents seemed more concerned about the price of a slushie drink, than the animals living their lives in small cages.
Boycott Tourist Aquariums (here & abroad)
Tourist aquariums (whether in England or abroad like Florida’s Sea Life) do not offer the massive wild space and social networks needed for marine creatures like dolphins, whales and orcas (killer whales). These beautiful creatures should never be used as ‘entertainment’ for children.
All marine creatures in the wild live in very deep waters. Freedom for Animals reports that 90% of all UK aquariums have creatures that exhibit signs of stress
Not enough space for wild orcas
One campaigner said the space offered for wild orcas is akin to you living in a bath tub for the rest of your life. Plus in hot countries, the water is too shallow, leading to permanent sunburn on their backs.
In Europe, one beached itself, some wondered if it was trying to commit suicide.
Dolphins are not ‘smiling’
Dolphins can’t move their facial muscles, so are not ‘smiling’, they always look that way.
Seahorses can die from shock (flash photos)
Endangerd seahorses are easily spooked. And can die from shock, when people use flash photography.
Marine creatures should not perform ‘tricks’
Marine creatures may perform ‘tricks’ for tourists’. But the rest of the time, most are living in small tanks, swimming in circles. And going mad, bored out of their big brains.
Freedom for Animals campaigns against tourist aquariums
Here are excerpts from an essay by an investigator at Freedom for Animals
I noticed a giant albino gourami fish, swimming almost motionless in a small tank alone. People were walking past and laughing. His eyes locked with mine. In the wild he would travel long distances to enter marshland and forest lakes
During the same visit, I witnessed a green turtle pressing her flippers against the walls of the tank, desperately trying to escape. In nature, she would migrate thousands of miles in a lifetime, back to the same beach to lay precious eggs.
Yet all of these natural instincts and ancient journeys are denied to them in aquariums. Simply so humans can gawp at them, through glass.
Accidents are common in tourist aquariums
Many keepers have been killed by stressed orcas in tourist aquariums, and accidents are common. One orca died, when a pool gate shut on his head, and fractured his skull.
A Beluga whale died of a broken jaw, after encounter another creature he would not have encountered in the wild. And a blind walrus died in San Diego, having ‘gone insane’ from decades of confinement.
Penguins need Antarctica (not aquariums)
In 2024, The Canary (an independent newspaper) reported that Sea Life had been ‘slammed’ for keeping penguins in dungeon-like conditions, with no daylight or fresh air. In the wild, most penguin species dive up to 600 feet to hunt for food and swim 20 miles a day.
It was only due to a campaign by Freedom for Animals, that a planned ‘ice-skating penguins’ bonanza for entertaining children, was thankfully cancelled.
In 2011, 10 dependent penguin chicks were removed from their parents in Antarctica and shipped to San Diego, for a study by an ocean research institute. Friends of the Earth’s Bob Tait said the penguins were subjected to long flights, for profit-driven reasons.
Why do councils promote aquariums?
Most council tourism websites promote aquariums. Instead, they should educate themselves on the issues, and instead promote nature walks and local indie shops instead.
People don’t visit towns to gawp at miserable creatures in tanks. Most online reviews show that unaware families take their children alone. Then all end up sad, seeing social otters on their own (in nature, they hold hands while sleeping, to stop them floating away from each other).
Many tanks were shockingly small, overcrowded and in visibly poor condition. Several fish appeared lifeless or were displaying signs of stress, some desperately trying to escape enclosures, I found myself on the verge of tears. I deeply regret supporting this business.
It was so sad. The lung fish barely had enough room to move. The octopus section had a few small tanks with a prawn at the front of each, obviously to lure them out for visitors to view. They were having none of it. We viewed dead prawns.
For a business linked to nature and conservation of wildlife, the amount of plastic packaging and items on sale was quite shocking.
Alternatives to visiting tourist aquariums
- Take your child out in nature! Don’t disturb wildlife. But you could track otter prints, teach your child how he fishes in nature etc.
- Don’t distress children with films of orcas hunting baby seals, but there are plenty of great fun documentaries. Watch Billy and Molly, a love story between an otter and a man living on the Shetland Isles. It follows their friendship, as the man stumbles on the hungry otter, one rainy day. The relationship saves them both. And the otter ends up finding a mate, but comes back to visit!
Is the government acting on tourist aquariums?
Not much, although Welsh councils have banned live goldfish (and other pets) being given as prizes on council-owned land. It’s a start.
2025 New Zoo Standards will ban children and adults from ‘touching creatures’ in tourist aquariums, which causes immense stress to marine mammals. It has however given aquariums two years to ‘adapt’. Why?
