The Ethics of Zoos: A Keeper and an Activist

Good evening, and welcome to tonight's debate on zoos.

Should they exist at all? Let's find out.

Thanks for having me. I've been a keeper for thirty years.

And I've spent ten campaigning to close places like his.

Well, there's our common ground, then. We both love animals.

Lovely. Civil for all of eight seconds, then.

Let's start with the facts. Zoos saved the Arabian oryx.

It was extinct in the wild by 1972.

Captive herds brought it back to Oman and beyond.

Oh, the oryx again. It's always the oryx!

Most zoo species aren't remotely threatened, are they?

Well... not all of them, no. That's fair.

And precious few are ever released back into the wild.

So is conservation the justification, or the marketing?

Have you ever watched a polar bear pace the same route?

Back and forth, for hours. That's not a happy animal.

Stereotypic behaviour is real. We take it very seriously.

It's why some zoos have stopped keeping polar bears altogether.

Really? So you admit some species simply don't belong?

Wide-ranging carnivores struggle. I won't pretend otherwise.

Now that's a concession I didn't expect tonight!

But come and see our enrichment programme! It's transformed things!

Puzzle feeders, scent trails, routines that never quite repeat.

Ha, a puzzle feeder. A rather poor substitute for a forest.

Sanctuaries do it differently. No breeding, no buying, no selling.

And who funds them, exactly? Visitors, mostly. Like us.

Ugh, that's a false equivalence, and you know it!

Okay, let's not descend into a bun fight just yet.

So, a final word from each of you? Briefly, please.

Well... I'd settle for fewer zoos, but far better ones.

Fewer, but better? I could almost sign up to that!

Phasing out the species we can't keep well. Agreed.

Don't get too comfortable. I still want you out of business.

Noted. You're welcome to visit anyway. Bring a puzzle feeder.

And on that note of grudging harmony, goodnight!