Many groups object to zoos because they keep animals in unnatural conditions alien to their habitat.
Henry I started a royal menagerie at Woodstock, Oxfordshire, later transferred to the Tower of London. The Zoological Society of London was founded 1826 by Stamford Raffles in Regent's Park, London, and in 1827 the gardens were opened to members. The name 'zoo' dates from 1867. London Zoo currently houses some 8,000 animals of over 900 species. In 1991 the number of animals in Britain's zoos totalled 35,000.