It is inhumane for animals to be kept in a zoo

I equate animals living in a zoo with humans living in a city or suburb. If humans were given the chance to live on a deserted island they would be able to make their own laws, they wouldn't be imprisoned by the laws of society. However, they would also have to scavange for their own food, find clean water on their own and live without television, phones, computers and many of the other modern conviences we've grown used to. In a city we have all these conviences and the trade off is that we must follow the rules of society and participate in the social contract. I think that is a fair trade off and I believe that for the animals living in captivity it is a fair trade off to have their lives more comfortable. Not to worry MrMark, thanks for coming back promptly :) "It is the greater question as to whether or not the practice of putting animals in zoos is humane or not." (thank you for clarifying) The practice of putting animals in a zoo can often be inhumane as noted in my following - Although zoos claim to educate people and preserve species, many zoos do neither. Most zoo enclosures are quite small, and labels provide little information. Visitors are more interested in entertainment, often at the expense of the animals, than in educating themselves. The purpose of most zoos' research is to find ways to breed and maintain more animals and to increase their numbers. However, many of the animals housed in zoos are not endangered at all, nor are they being prepared for release into natural habitats. Zoos are full of animals that are commonly seen - such as mongooses, peacocks, wolves and ducks. Animals that could be released into wild, creating more space for endangered animals in the zoo. Research carried out by scientists show that animals are psychologically affected by the lack of space and the constant intrusion of people. The miserable living conditions in zoos and the lack of privacy often lead to animals indulging in abnormal behaviour known as 'zoochosis'. They bang their heads against the wall, bite cage bars and even bite their own limbs! "More than 60% of the animals in zoos have marks on their heads because of continuously banging their heads against the bar" says Indian animal rights activist, Maneka Gandhi. India has 64 fairly large zoos and another 194 are medium sized zoos. Statistics show that in all these zoos some 10-15 percent animals die every year. I apologize MrMark but I do not agree with your metaphor and I kind of think you are trying to compare apples and oranges. First of all, not to argue aspects irresolute but a city or a suburb has thousands of people with open space and many developments, zoos are not the same. By the same token, if a zoo released most of its animals into a nature habitat or back into its real habitat the zoo would have space for animals who need to be in zoos, the endangered ones. In addition, I doubt that there would be humans who would be openingly willing to go live on a deserted island - just as animals generally do not want to go live in a zoo. Though the intentions of zoo keepers and zoo owners are often wholesome and utilitarian they often do not pan out that way.