This site wants to protect zoos.
Why do we consider this is necessary?
Zoos are under pressure concerning their justification. This is not bad at all. All institutions, and especially those which already existed for centuries, must be questioned. And they should always ask themselves: Do we still fulfill our purposes? What justifies our existence? Do we have to reinvent ourselves completely? This applies to zoos as well as to post offices or opera houses.
Since the 1980s, criticism of zoos has become increasingly louder. This is not always about the improvement of bad housing condition. Animal rights organizations aim to close all zoos. They accuse them of being cruel animal prisons, no matter how animal-friendly the artificial habitats are. This fundamental criticism has grown into a global campaign that has achieved political success in some countries.
Anti-zoo activists want to achieve their final goal by picking out certain species of animals, such as dolphins, great apes or polar bears and ban their husbandry. They also succeed in attracting some animal friends to their side.
We are convinced that zoos are among the most important cultural institutions of the modern age – just as important as theaters, museums, and concert halls or sports facilities. They enable people living in cities a window to nature and awaken their sense of the beauty and complexity of all beings.
The texts we collect on this website should substantiate this. We do not want to make any crude advertisements just like "everything is great, there are no problems". Some criticism of zoos is quite justified. There are inadequate and poor animal husbandries, and there are also zoos which are totally outdated. From our point of view, however, this does not justify to close all zoological institutions, but it should be an incentive to continually improve zoos.
This website is divided into three categories: Media-echo offering a selection of articles and videos on the zoo controversy that have appeared in media for the general public or a professional audience. Zoo-facts answering fundamental questions about zoos, their history and their function. Animal rights explaining why animal rights activists reject zoos and which philosophy is behind them.
This video shows how you can take pictures in EVERY zoo, even in the best ones, to create the impression that the animals are not well. The video has been produced by Flamboyant Media on behalf of zoos.media.
Published on the Facebook page “The Zoo Scientist” the 25.05.2020 (Update).
This compilation of memes shows a range of examples, where science has confirmed that zoos and aquariums have made important and irreplaceable contributions to research and conservation.
Exclusive for zoos.media – 10.05.2017. Author: Philipp J. Kroiß
Are zoo animals essentially prisoners? This article deals with the question how true this term is of modern zoos at all and illuminates the background.
Animal rights activists aim to give animals basic rights and, as they say, release them from all “exploitation conditions”. That is why the movement or at least a part of it is called “animal liberation movement”.