I went to the zoo last week. That’s something that most people that know me well might be surprised to hear. As an animal rights campaigner, those close to me know how I feel about zoos. I don’t like them; I think animals deserve better than to be held captive for their lifetimes so that we can kill a few empty hours on a Saturday afternoon by looking at them.
Despite not being a fan of zoos, in my role as director of a charity which campaigns against the keeping of animals captive, I have probably seen the inside of more zoos than the average member of the public. I have seen endless photographs, hours of video footage, many transcripts of conversations and interviews, news articles, scientific papers and books published by and for the zoo community. I have, of course, also visited zoos over the years. From these various sources, I have learned an awful lot about the zoo industry. But what I have learned about animals in my lifetime so far, I did not learn from the zoo.