The Role of Zoos

Wild animals have always been a fascination to people throughout the ages. As far back as ancient Egypt and Rome wild animals have been kept in captivity. Sometimes they were held for religious purposes but most often they were held as a symbolic representation of someone’s power and status. Over the last few centuries many king’s had private zoos which were generally used as the entertainment for a few elite. The public had very little opportunity to visit them and these zoos were not very concerned for the well-being of the animals.

There seems to be a lot of debate over whether there should be any wild animals held in captivity at all today. I for one can’t argue that there are some road side zoos that are not suitable for any animal to have to endure. These places still have small, barred cages with cement floors and little or no activities for the captives. These places should be fixed or closed down. For most zoos though this is a thing of the past.

Zoos play an important role in education and conservation. Many people every year pass through the front gates of zoos, many with their children in tow. This is often the first contact these young minds have with wildlife. Seeing and interacting with species that you are unable to do anywhere else brings people and wildlife together and makes you actually care what happens to the wild counter parts of the zoo animals. While you are enjoying the activities offered at the zoo they are covertly educating you about the life history and the conservation issues of these animals. This is likely to have an effect on what you actually retain after your visit. When people care and understand what the issues are for the wild counter parts they may feel more empowered to do something about it.

With that said, there is still the fact that these are wild animals and they are captive. I believe that zoos are necessary and the animals kept here are ambassadors for their species. I also believe that if you are to keep captive wildlife it is the responsibility of the zoo to do everything they can to give their animals the closest thing to a natural environment. This is done through having large natural exhibits and providing environmental enrichment activities. These are changes implemented to an animal’s environment to improve the animal’s physical and mental well-being. Some goals of enrichment are too produce wild-type behavior, to reduce abnormal behavior by providing opportunities for species-appropriate behavior and basically to help the animals be more active. I believe in this so strongly that I have chosen to dedicate my career to it.

Zoos have come a long way since their very beginnings. In a perfect world there would be no need for zoos. The people of the world would live in balance with nature. This is not a perfect world. There should be no place for road side zoos that offer very little to their captive creatures but agony. All zoos should be held responsible for the physical and mental well-being of their animals. In this imperfect world they are necessary and are often the only chance of bringing people and wildlife together.