Animals should not spend their unabridged lives in captivity simply to fulfil our want to come across them. Here are our tiptop ten facts near zoos that you lot need to know...

1. Zoos are miserable places for animals

This dead wallaby was left to rot by staff at Tweddle Farm Zoo for two weeks and
the zoo refused to conduct out a post-mortem to establish why the animal died

In 2010, a Freedom for Animals undercover investigator filmed ill animals left untreated and dead animals to rot on floors atTweddle Subcontract Zoo. Freedom for Animalshad to accept rabbits to a vet to have infections treated and after our betrayal local police confiscated a monkey who had been kept alone and given block and other junk food to eat.

Call back safari parks are amend than 'traditional' zoos? Woburn Safari Park was keeping its lions locked into small enclosures for 18 hours a twenty-four hour period . A government zoo inspection report in 2010 said: "The animals were very crowded and in that location was no provision for individual feeding or sleeping areas. In that location was no visible environmental enrichment. Some of the lions exhibited skin wounds and multiple scars of various age, some fresh, some healed."

In tardily 2012, another safari park was shamed as West Midland Safari Park was exposed for providing white king of beasts cubs to a notorious circus animal trainer , who sent them to a traveling circus in Japan. The Lions remain in the circus today.

A government-funded study of elephants in UK zoos found "in that location was a welfare business concern for every elephant in the UK." 75% of elephants were overweight and only 16% could walk normally, the remainder having various degrees of lameness. Less than twenty% were totally free of foot problems[one].

2. Zoos tin can't provide sufficient space

Zoos cannot provide the corporeality of space animals have in the wild. This is especially the case for those species who roam larger distances in their natural habitat. Tigers and lions accept around eighteen,000 times less space in zoos than they would in the wild. Polar bears have i million times less space[2].

3. Animals endure in zoos

A government-funded study of elephants in UK zoos found that 54% of the elephants showed stereotypies (behavioural  problems) during the daytime. One elephant observed during day and dark stereotyped for 61% of a 24-60 minutes period[three].

Lions in zoos spend 48% of their fourth dimension pacing, a recognised sign of behavioural problems[iv].

four. Animals die prematurely in zoos

African elephants in the wild live more than iii times as long as those kept in zoos. Even Asian elephants working in timber camps alive longer than those born in zoos[5].

40% of panthera leo cubs die before 1 month of historic period. In the wild, but xxx% of cubs are thought to dice before they are 6 months onetime and at least a 3rd of those deaths are due to factors which are absent-minded in zoos, like predation[vi].

v. Surplus an imals are killed

A Freedom for Animalswritten report constitute that at least 7,500 animals – and maybe as many equally 200,000 – in European zoos are 'surplus' at any in one case.

Animals are regularly 'culled' in United kingdom zoos. In 2006 the whole pack of wolves at Highland Wildlife Park were killed after the social structure of the pack had cleaved down. In 2005 two wolf cubs and an adult female were shot dead at Dartmoor Wild animals Park. The vet reported: "Selective cull due to overcrowding and fighting in the pack" and "Further choose of cubs needed". In 2001 a DEFRA zoo inspection of Dartmoor Wildlife Park in October 2001 found that "several significant dead animals" were stored in a food freezer "for taxidermy in the hereafter".

The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) said in 2007 that member zoos were being actively encouraged to impale unwanted animals, including tigers, if other zoos did not want them and if they were hybrids. It said that such animals take upwardly space and keeper fourth dimension[vii].

In 2010, zoo trade bodies rallied to the defense of a German zoo which was prosecuted for breaching animal welfare laws after it killed 3 tiger cubs because they were not pure-blooded (hybrid)[eight].

In 2011, an exposé of Knowsley Safari Park led past Freedom for Animalsfollowing data provided by a whistleblower showed the safari park to be in contravention of legislation on disposal of carcasses also as raising queries over handling of firearms. A sometime employee of the safari park alleged: "alternative was existence used equally a ways of preparationinstead of being carried out in the kindest and most humane mode."

In early on 2014, there was global outrage when Copenhagen Zoo killed a healthy young giraffe calledMarius. The event triggered a worldwide debate on alternative in zoos and information technology was admitted by zoo spokespeople that thousands of healthy animals are deliberately killed in European zoos lone each year.

6. UK zoos are connected to creature circuses

These lions were sent as cubs from Due west Midland Safari Park to a circus trainer

Freedom for Animalsexposed a United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland zoo in 2009 that was a fellow member of the merchandise trunk BIAZA (which supposedly upholds the highest standards) as having abreeding connection with a controversial animal circus. Noah's Ark Zoo Farm had been breeding camels from the Great British Circus for several years and in 2009 obtained iii tigers from the circus.

A female person tiger at the zoo had three stillborn cubs and another who died at three weeks former. The female parent likewise died.

The same zoo was found to doing business concern withanother circus animal trainerin 2013. This was the same trainer who had been sold lion cubs byWest Midland Safari Parkand sent them to a traveling circus in Japan.

vii. Animals are trained to perform tricks

Many zoos train animals to perform tricks as if they were in a circus. Performing bounding main lions, birds and elephants can be seen at many United kingdom zoos.

Some training of elephants has been done using electric goads. Freedom for Animals infiltrated a training session held at Blackpool Zoo in 1998 and filmed elephants being trained to lift their anxiety and head, concord sticks in their mouths and jabbed with elephant hooks in the shoulder and caput.

In 2010 it was revealed that an elephant at Woburn Safari Park had previously been trained using an electric goad [9].

Blackpool Zoo proudly publicised its training of a baby sea king of beasts for shows in mid 2013 [10]. This is in spite of the fact that the UK Authorities has agreed to ban similar shows in circuses on the ground that: "we should feel dut y-bound to recognise that wild animals take intrinsic value, and respect their inherent wildness and its implications for their treatment".

eight. Animals are all the same taken from the wild

In 2003 the UK authorities gave permission for the capture of 146 penguins from a British territory in the South Atlantic (Tristan da Cunha). Those who survived the seven-day boat journeying from Tristan to a wildlife dealer in South Africa were sold to zoos in Asia [11].

In 2010, Republic of zimbabwe planned to capture two of every mammal species found in Hwange National Park and ship them to Northward Korean zoos. This included rhinos, lions, cheetahs, zebras and giraffes also as two 18-month-old elephants. The plan was merely stopped after international pressure by a coalition of organisations including Freedom for Animals.

70% of elephants in European zoos were taken from the wild [12].

A Freedom for Animals report constitute that 79% of all animals in Britain aquariums were caught in the wild. Sea Life aquariumsadmitted to taking animals from the wild equally recently every bit 2013, but refused to provide data on how many of the animals held past them were wild-caught.

9. Zoos don't serve conservation

Zoos claim to breed animals for eventual release to the wild but breeding programmes are primarily to ensure a captive population, not for reintroduction.

Lions are popular in zoos, but the vast majority "are 'generic' animals of hybrid or unknown subspecific condition, and therefore of trivial or no value in conservation terms [13].

Keeping an intelligent, complex and social animal similar a chimp in a United kingdom zoo
does zip to protect his relatives threatened in the wild

Zoo manager David Hancocks said: "In that location is a commonly held misconception that zoos are not only saving wild animals from extinction but likewise reintroducing them to their wild habitats. The confusion stems from many sources, all of them zoo-based… In reality, most zoos accept had no contact of whatsoever kind with any reintroduction programme."[xiv]

Captive convenance is considered past some conservation scientists to exist a diversion from the reasons for a species' pass up, giving "a false impression that a species is prophylactic and so that destruction of habitat and wild populations tin can proceed"[15].

Zoos spend millions on keeping animals bars, while natural habitats are destroyed and animals killed every bit in that location is insufficient funding for protection. When London Zoo spent £5.3 one thousand thousand on a new gorilla enclosure, the chief consultant to the Un Great Ape Survival Projection said he was uneasy at the mismatch between lavish spending at zoos and the scarcity of resources available for conserving threatened species in the wild.

"Five million pounds for iii gorillas when national parks are seeing that number killed every twenty-four hour period for want of some State Rovers and trained men and anti-poaching patrols. It must be very frustrating for the warden of a national park to see".

Measures to protect giant pandas' habitat also supports hundreds of species of mammals, at least 200 birds, dozens of reptiles and over half of the plants known to be in China [16].

In 2013, Freedom for Animals revealed that the UK's largest aquarium operator, Ocean Life, could traceless than 3 pence per visitor to in situ conservation projects.

10. Zoos fail educational activity

A Liberty for Animals study of UK aquariums found that 41% of the animals on display had no signs identifying their species – the well-nigh basic of information.

A U.s.a. study constitute no compelling show for the merits that zoos and aquariums promote attitude change, educational activity, or interest in conservation in visitors. The study authors urged zoos to stop citing a zoo-funded study which claimed an educational benefit from visits "as this conclusion is unwarranted and potentially misleading to consumers."[17]

In 2010, a Government-commissionedstudyfound that "Concerns remain, however, with regard to the lack of available show well-nigh the effectiveness" of conservation and instruction projects in zoos.

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[1]Grand Harris et al. The welfare, housing and husbandry of elephants in Britain zoos. University of Bristol, 2008

[two]Wide roaming animals fare worst in zoo enclosures. Guardian, two.ten.03

[iii]M Harris et al. The welfare, housing and husbandry of elephants in United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland zoos. University of Bristol, 2008

[4]One thousand Mason & R Clubb. Invitee Editorial, International Zoo News, Vol 51, No i (2004))

[5]R Clubb et al. Compromised survivorship in zoo elephants. Science, Vol 322, 12.12.08

[vi]Chiliad Mason & R Clubb. Invitee Editorial. International Zoo News, Vol 51, No one (2004))

[7]Zoos kill good for you tigers for the peel trade. Sunday Times, 22.7.07l

[eight]Code of Ethics & Beast Welfare. Globe Association of Zoos and Aquariums, June 2010

[9]Woburn admits information technology gave bull elephant electric shocks. Sunday Times, 27.6.10

[10]http://world wide web.lep.co.uk/news/local/blackpool-zoo-due south-baby-sealion-follows-in-her-mother-s-footsteps-1-5750458

[xi]Taken by force. BBC Wildlife, Feb 2004

[12]R Clubb and Thousand Mason. 'A Review of the Welfare of Zoo Elephants in Europe', RSPCA, 2002

[13]Nicholas Gould, Editorial, International Zoo News, Vol 49, No 5 (2002)).

[14]Quoted in 'Who Cares for Planet Globe?' B Jordan, 2001

[fifteen]Snyder et al. Limitations of Captive Breeding in Endangered Species Recovery. Conservation Biology, Pages 338-348. Volume ten, No. 2, April 1996

[xvi]Panda mating frenzy hits zoo. BBC News, 4 May 2007 )

[17]L Morino et al. Practice Zoos and Aquariums Promote Attitude Change in Visitors? A Disquisitional Evaluation of the American Zoo and Aquarium Study. Society and Animals xviii (2010) 126-138