Zoos

**Zoos are not vegan in many ways.** Zoos profit off the suffering and exploitation of animals. Many animals suffer from zoochosis.

While zoos claim to provide conservation, education, and entertainment, their primary goal is to sustain public support in order to increase profits.

## Zoochosis

* According to Last Chance For Animals, zoochosis can include self mutilation, vomiting, excessive grooming, coprophagia (consuming excrement), along with anxious tics that we might see in distressed humans such as rocking or swaying, excessively pacing back and forth, random biting, and twisting or nodding of the neck and head.

## Examples

* **Zoos seek out baby animals, knowing that they are most appealing to the public.** When they grow older, and therefore less attractive to patrons, they will often be sold or killed. Animals who breed frequently, such as deer, tigers, and lions, are sometimes sold to game farms and ranches where hunters pay to kill them.
* Other “surplus” animals are sometimes sold to roadside zoos (which are typically very poorly run), private individuals, animal dealers, or to laboratories for experimentation purposes.

### 2020

* February: According to the Daily Mail, animal charity RSCPA has come under fire in Australia as of its branches sends horses to be ground into pet food and the other sends them to slaughterhouses to be euthanized. The South Australian branch does put livestock other than horses through saleyards and at one time used the services of Adelaide Zoo to euthanise animals. The zoo, which killed the animals for free, fed the carcasses to its lions and tigers.

### 2018

* On December 17, 2018, the Chester Zoo has confirmed which animals were killed when a fire ripped through its Monsoon Park on Saturday. The blaze, which was described by emergency services as a 'major incident' who sent 75 firefighters to tackle it, started at around 11.30am. The flames killed a number of breeds, including question mark cockroaches, Amano shrimps, betta hendra fish, cinnamon frogs, tentacled snakes, and grosbeak starlings.
* On November 30, 2018, the Dudley Zoo used lethal force on a Snow Leopard named Margaash. He managed to escape his enclosure and was shot dead instead of using tranquilisers. He was killed simply for acting like a wild animal, where he belongs.
* On October 25, The death of two baby elephants at Chester Zoo has prompted questions from animal welfare campaigners. Nandita Hi Way, three, and Aayu Hi Way, 18-months-old, were struck by a virus, leaving staff reportedly fighting to save the animals. Despite the efforts, it was announced today, that both animals had died. "Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) is a devastating virus, which seems to have a relatively greater impact on elephants **in captivity** than those **in the wild**," said Born Free. Five other elephants have died at the Chester Zoo..
* On October 15, 2018, at the Indianapolis Zoo, a female lion attacked her mate. Although lions do kill and attack each other, but mostly for territorial or sexual struggle, lionesses rarely attack male lions one-on-one. The zookeepers tried to fight them off, but she grabbed hold tight of his neck, suffocating him. He later died from injuries to his neck being crushed.
	+ Another probable reason is that it "might be the result of an animal being in captivity for a long period of time and choosing to behave in an unusual way," said Dr. Paul Funston, Southern Africa regional director for Panthera, a wild cat conservation organization.
	+ Zoos claim to play an important role in conservation and education, but the reality is that keeping animals in captivity is unnatural and cruel. Being forced to live in too-small enclosures can make animals exhibit unusual behavior like pacing, head bobbing, sitting motionless – **and, perhaps, murdering their longtime mates.**

## What you can do

* Visit animal sanctuaries instead of zoos, marine parks or circuses. Boycott businesses that profit from cruelty to animals.
	+ For a list of animal sanctuaries, visit http://www.sanctuaryfederation.org/gfas/about-gfas/gfas-sanctuaries/

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Last Chance For Animals: Zoos
2. ↑ RSCPA Australia Sends Horses to Zoos to be Eaten as Pet Food
3. ↑ EXCLUSIVE: How an RSPCA branch sent euthanised horses to a ZOO to be eaten by lions and tigers - as the racing industry is attacked for destroying thoroughbreds
4. ↑ Chester Zoo Releases Details Of Animals Killed During Blaze
5. ↑ Snow Leopard Shot and Killed as 'a Last Resort' After Escaping Enclosure at British Zoo
6. ↑ https://www.bornfree.org.uk/articles/chester-zoo-elephant-deaths
7. ↑ Questions Asked After Two Baby Elephants Killed By Virus At Chester Zoo
8. ↑ This Zoo Lion Attacked Her Mate and Killed Him – Let’s Make Sure She Gets to a Sanctuary!
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Send Zuri the Lion to a Sanctuary!
10. ↑ Animal League Defense Fund: Animals in Entertainment