10 Reasons Zoos Are Bad for the Planet

2. Traumatizing For Animals
Billy is a 32-year-old Malaysian Elephant who has lived for two decades in the 
Los Angeles Zoo. His other elephant companions died and he was left all alone. 
Despite having an average lifespan of 65-70 years, his fellow elephants, at the 
Los Angeles Zoo, died before the age of 20. Billy himself displayed signs of 
trauma and hardship, uncommon for such a young elephant. He had tail 
abscesses, infections, and even developed a stereotypy — a repetitive head tic 

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that is indicative of severe duress commonly found in confined animals and 
humans.
Elephants are profoundly intelligent creatures who can recognize their faces in 
the mirror, comfort one another, and remember instances of pain. Their 
experience in zoos is not only captivity but also imprisonment for these 
intelligent creatures. For most animals kept in captivity, a psychological disorder 
develops called zoochosis, in which the animal paces and sways, relieving itself 
out of frustration and boredom. Confined to small spaces without the need to 
hunt or find food, animals lose what makes them unique. What is a lion, if he 
does not hunt? Zoos create an existence that not only demeans animals but also 
forces them to lose their very identity.
3. Selling Animals Born in Captivity
A tragic example of the failure of zoos is the case of Edith, a chimpanzee. She 
was born in 1960 at the St. Louis Zoo, and as a baby, she drew big crowds. Soon 
after her third birthday, Edith was taken from her family and sold several times, 
visiting five different facilities before finally landing at a Texas roadside zoo 
called the Amarillo Wildlife Refuge (AWR). An investigation by several animal 
rights groups found Edith. She was hairless, living in a filthy, barren concrete pit, 
and surrounded by rotten food.
Unfortunately, Edith’s story is a prime example of the true interests of zoos. 
Once Edith was no longer cute, and no longer brought in crowds, she was 
discarded and sold. Zoos across the country engage in this practice, tearing 
animals from their families simply to make a buck. It’s a shameful practice for an 
institution that claims to care about animals