Responsible Travel recently reviewed and removed all holidays that visited zoos. The overriding consensus is that ‘animals should not be held in captivity unless there are for good reasons‘. With evidence of abnormal and stereotypic behaviours being shown by many animals in captivity Responsible Travel has decided that it is inhumane to keep animals in unnatural environments. Some of the worrying behaviours exhibited by captive animals can be seen here.

Today France has banned the breeding and captivity of all whales, dolphins and porpoises. This will eventually end all ‘marine circuses’ in the country. People are becoming aware of the damages animal captivity has on the wildlife. An awareness which has probably foreseen the beginning of the end of Sea Wolrd as we know it. This awareness is partly thanks to the growth of social media; society and new news outlets can now share their opinions more broadly and with greater influence. Companies now need to be at the front of the curve and seriously consider the public zeitgeist, hence taking another look at animal captivity.

Zoos have prepared many counter-arguments against animal captivity. Although, Responsible Travel believes these are unfounded excuses, providing little value in education and conservation. So, is it time to close our zoos?