Animal Advocates Weigh the Price of Zoos and Animal Sanctuaries

Two experts in animal welfare say captivity and enclosures fall short of natural, wild environments. Here's how they envision a brighter future for vulnerable species.

By Carina Woudenberg
Dec 8, 2022 2:00 PM
Cages bear cub
(Credit: SakSa/Shutterstock)

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When viewing an animal in captivity, plenty of people wonder whether the creature is bored, if not depressed. It might apply to a tiger pacing back and forth in an enclosure, or a snake that rarely emerges from its little wooden tunnel in a glass box.

Unlike your pet dog or cat — species that have spent tens of thousands of years adjusting to a life of domesticity — the wolves and wildcats that our pets descended from are not equipped for that lifestyle, says Liz Tyson, programs director for Born Free USA, a nonprofit wildlife conservation group that operates a large animal sanctuary in South Texas.

“If you put a wild animal in a captive situation, they are going to be compromised in one way or another,” she says. “They’re missing out on so much complexity and all the things that make them themselves.”

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