The Modern Zoo

          Zoos, they play a part in almost everyone’s lives. Most people in their lives will have visited at least one zoo and the majority will visit others as well. This makes them an important part of our lives and also important to the lives of animals in the zoos but also, to the lives of animals in the wild.

          From the very early beginnings of zoos the modern zoos we visit nowadays have changed a great deal which is, in the most part, due to people understanding more about animals and science. This has led to people seeing zoos as both good and bad places however, these perceptions of good an bad are often based on peoples personal opinions and the zoos that they have visited. This is unfortunately due to the fact that not every zoo cares about that animals that they have in captivity. Even with this though, the average zoo does try to keep to high standards of animal welfare whilst helping to fund and promote wildlife conservation.

          Most modern zoos these days are charities that rely on the public funding them ad all of the work they do with conservation, as such they have to show people what they do which can be seen in the zoos mission statement. Chester zoos mission statement:

“Our vision is for a diverse, thriving and sustainable natural world

Our mission is to be a major force in conserving biodiversity worldwide”

          This is a very generalised mission statement that is given by most zoos in the UK and by many across the world. This is because zoos are tightly controlled by government legislation, such as the Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice (SSSMZP) which sets rules and guidelines for zoos in the UK. These rules and guides set how much conservation work and education have to be done in order for zoos to be allowed to stay open along with the minimum requirements for animals to be kept in. Various other organisations also help to ensure that zoos keep to high standards of animal welfare, such as The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) which is a charity that formed to help zoos with animal welfare, conservation work and education. Across the world there are other organisations just like BIAZA that do the same job.

          With all of these institutions setting many rules and guidelines some zoos still manage to slip through them and unfortunately do mistreat animals and do not offer any education or help with conservation efforts and are purely open for public “entertainment”. Most of these kinds of zoos are described as “roadside zoos” as the are often not open in any one place permanently as they are breaking the law. These zoos are however in the minority in countries that have set standards for zoos.

          With this what we can see is that the modern zoo is a place for people to visit to see animals in an environment that is similar to their natural habitat, that educates people about animals in zoos and in the wild whilst also helping to support conservation efforts around the world.