Spare animals from captivity: Pledge to never visit a zoo.

In the wild, life is rich with choice, connection, challenge, and freedom.

A giraffe might roam several kilometres each day across open savannahs, pausing to browse treetops and share quiet moments with her herd.

Elephants travel vast distances in close-knit family groups, guided by matriarchs who carry generations of memory and wisdom. Polar bears trek alone for hundreds of kilometres across sea ice and tundra, swimming for hours, or even days, between floating ice in search of food.

No matter how ‘enriched’ an enclosure may be, an unnatural exhibit will never feel like home to the wild animals who were born to explore the savannahs, forests, deserts, and vast oceans of our planet.

In zoos – behind bars, glass walls, moats and fences – these same animals live only a fraction of the lives they were born to live. Their worlds are reduced to curated enclosures. A space thousands – even millions – of times smaller than they would explore in the wild.

Instead of deciding where to go, what to eat, and who to be with, every part of their day is controlled. The stimulation of a dynamic, ever-changing environment is replaced with monotony. The vast distances they would travel are replaced with a few repetitive paces. And always, they are being watched – not as individuals with inner lives, but as exhibits.

The sad reality of confining wild animals in exhibits is often hidden from view or goes unnoticed.

Animals in zoos have been known to develop zoochosis due to stress and boredom – a condition that drives them to sway back and forth, repeatedly pace their enclosures, and circle their cages. Their natural behaviours are replaced with symptoms of psychological stress, with some being forced to take anti-depressants as a result – all so that people can spend a few minutes looking at them before moving on.

Far from offering meaningful education, zoos often reveal more about the cost of captivity than about the animals themselves. Whether it’s the suffering of animals confined in artificial environments or the exploitation of others used to sustain the system, the consequences are confronting. The following recent incidents show just how high that cost can be:

• Three African wild dogs killed after fighting (Australia, 2025). In March 2025, an African wild dog named Ziggy was euthanised following injuries sustained in a fight with his pack in an Australian zoo. Just four months later, Neo was also euthanised after suffering an untreatable injury from a similar conflict. Left alone, Madash was subsequently killed too, as he could not be integrated into another group. Denied the ability to form natural social bonds or live as he would in the wild, Neo’s life ended simply because captivity couldn’t accommodate him.
• Live animals sought to feed to predators (Denmark, 2025): A zoo in Denmark publicly called on people to ‘donate’ healthy rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, and horses, to be fed to predator animals kept in captivity. This is a practice the deputy director of the zoo called ‘common’.
• Twelve healthy baboons killed due to overcrowding (Germany, 2025): Twelve healthy Guinea baboons were killed and fed to other animals at a zoo in Germany. Apparently, ‘no alternative for re-housing’ could be found for these ‘surplus’ animals.

Tragically, these are just a handful of stories in a long line of suffering experienced by animals in zoos.

While animals in zoos endure confinement and monotony every day, times of crisis – like war or global pandemics – expose just how vulnerable they truly are in this unnatural system.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many zoos struggled to care for the animals they had bred or acquired, with some resorting to feeding one species to another or euthanising animals deemed too costly to keep.

In times of war and conflict, animals trapped in zoos have been abandoned. As chaos unfolds around them, they face a terrifying fate – unable to flee, unable to fend for themselves, and cut off from the resources and care they depend on. These moments serve as a stark reminder that these wild animals never belonged in human-controlled systems to begin with.

Today, we have a deeper understanding that animals are complex, emotional beings who deserve to live rich, autonomous lives. It’s no wonder we’re drawn to them – eager to witness their beauty and learn more about who they are. Thankfully, we no longer need to rely on outdated institutions to do so.

From breathtaking nature documentaries to genuine wildlife sanctuaries and respectful viewing in the wild, there are now countless ways to admire animals without depriving them of lives worth living.

Around the world, more and more people are turning away from zoos and towards experiences that reflect a deeper respect for the lives of others. Take the pledge today to help shape a future where animals are free to live on their own terms – a future where wonder no longer comes at the cost of their wellbeing.