Zoo. History of Zoological Garden in the West (2025)

From exploitation to conservation: a historical analysis of zoos and their functions in human societies

Ethnobiology and Conservation

Currently there are many interfaces that allow the relationship between humans and animals, including zoos. Throughout history, the change in zoo structure has accompanied the social and cultural changes of human society. Nevertheless, despite the remarkable progress since early zoos were organized, there is still a great need for improvements of zoos around the world. A critical look at the relationship between humans and animals that led to the establishment of zoos was the aim of this study. Zoos currently follow some precepts (entertainment, education, research and conservation), however has not been enough to bind changes in zoos that still lack in accomplishing these pillars. Such lacks create a scenario for discussions between those who believe in the potential of conservation projects developed by zoos and those who find hostile and inadequate to animal life. It can be suggested that the bedrocks were the result of how human beings have perceived animals over time, since perception interferes with the way people deal with what surrounds them. In this way, the merely utilitarian vision of prehistoric times came from the perception that people had about animals at that time. Understanding the evolution of people's perception of animals and how this perception has influenced the configuration of zoos can tell us the directions they can take from now on. We believe that the next step is to turn our attention to the visitors, not only to meet their leisure expectations, but for them to become allies in the fight for biodiversity conservation.

Beyond education and tourism ; the unconventional way of looking and understanding zoo

Rationale for the Existence of Zoos

Zoo Talk, 2012

Ultimately, in this century, we have begun to realize that the way we display animals truly affects the way people view them and people speaking reverentially, and quietly before exhibits that were truly natural. Just as often standing before, old barren cages, I saw zoogoers yell, throw food and make fun of the animals inside. (Croke, 1997, p.93) Today's zoos serve two basic functions: community resource and conservation entity (Hanna, 1996, p. 76).

Zootopia Animal Welfare, Species Preservation and the Ethics of Captivity

Zoos: Entertainment or Source for Humanity?

Banging on the divide: Cultural reflection and refraction at the zoo

Milstein, T. (2012). Banging on the divide: Cultural reflection and refraction at the zoo. In E. Plec (ed.) Perspectives on Human-Animal Interaction: Internatural Communication (pp. 162-181). London: Routledge, 2012

Zoo experiences: Conversations, connections, and concern for animals

Zoo Biology, 2009

Semiotic dimensions of human attitudes towards other animals: A case of zoological gardens

This paper analyses the cultural and biosemiotic bases of human attitudes towards other species. A critical stance is taken towards species neutrality and it is shown that human attitudes towards different animal species differ depending on the psychological dispositions of the people, biosemiotic conditions (e.g. umwelt stuctures), cultural connotations and symbolic meanings. In real-life environments, such as zoological gardens, both biosemiotic and cultural aspects influence which animals are chosen for display, as well as the various ways in which they are displayed and interpreted. These semiotic dispositions are further used as motifs in staging, personifying or de-personifying animals in order to modify visitors' perceptions and attitudes. As a case study, the contrasting interpretations of culling a giraffe at the Copenhagen zoo are discussed. The communicative encounters and shifting per ceptions are mapped on the scales of welfaristic, conservational, dominionistic, and utilitarian approaches. The methodological approach described in this article integrates static and dynamical views by proposing to analyse the semiotic potential of animals and the dynamics of communicative interactions in combination.

Conservation, animal behaviour, and human-animal relationship in zoos. Why is animal welfare so important

onservation, animal behaviour, and human-animal relationship in zoos. Why is animal welfare so important, 2021

Although zoos are committed to wildlife conservation and have a long-term positive impact on visitors’ attitudes towards wildlife, the question of whether maintaining wild animals in human care is justified remains as animal welfare concerns grow and human understanding of animal intelligence and capacities broadens. Zoos have always been the subject of debate, with conflicts between those who argue they save endangered species and educate visitors, and animal rights activists who believe that conditions of wild animals are inadequate and that zoos should not exist. In this review, we do not discuss the moral side of the issue, but the scientific one. This manuscript aims to show the scope of literature available on the strengths and weaknesses of modern zoos regarding wild animal welfare. We provide information useful to argue why zoos are important in modern society and factors that influence welfare are examined. Some potentially stressful stimuli may diminish animal welfare in z...

The application of the science of animal behaviour to the zoo and the ethics of keeping animals in captivity

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 1987

The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented examination of our relationship with captive animals. This critical assessment has come from many sources, including government agencies and long-established animal welfare groups. The most sweeping critiques and demands for change have come from more radical groups arguing from the perspective of animal rights. The phenomenon is international, with similar issues and tactics arising in most parts of Europe and North America. No arena where human and animal meet in a keeper-captive relationship has been exempt. The most visible targets have been the use of animals in scholarly and industrial research, in agriculture, and in zoological collections. Unfortunately, the extreme manifestations of this process threaten a variety of very important activities involving animals, and have been associated with illegal and sometimes life-threatening actions. In the face of such negative associations, however, it is essential that we do not neglect the legitimate motives behind the current re-examination of the use of animals. The use of animals must always involve an ethical evaluation of costs and benefits. That is, the use of an animal in research, agriculture or the zoo must be justified by the benefit of such use. Benefit here might comprise the provision of human food, further understanding of basic biological processes, enhanced medical procedures, or public education through exhibition. Costs to the animals range from restrictive captivity to suffering and death. As Macdonald and Dawkins (1981) have so cogently argued, such costs and benefits do not lend themselves to precise evaluation. Ultimately, decisions on the use of animals must be value-judgments arising (hopefully) from reasoned and balanced discussions on all sides. Inevitably, such judgments will shift with time and circumstance, but the debate must include factual information pertinent to the assessment and minimization of suffering by animals in captivity. The study of animal behaviour is the sole source of much of this information. The papers in this collection have to do with the maintenance of animals in zoos. The zoological collection has been the subject of criticism from its earliest