Government minister won't be going to the zoo
January 2010

CAPS patron Angela Smith MP has said she won't be attending a conference because it is being held at London Zoo.

As Minister for the Office of the Third Sector (which includes working with charities and voluntary groups) Angela was expected to attend the annual meeting on the Compact, the agreement that regulates relations between the voluntary and public sectors.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said the minister had a prior engagement at the Social Enterprise Coalition meeting in Cardiff but added that she would not have attended the Compact meeting anyway because she was opposed to animals being kept in captivity.

A spokesperson for CAPS said:
"CAPS is proud to have Angela Smith as a patron. Since becoming an MP she has worked hard in Parliament to achieve better protection for animals and is well recognised for her support for charities, both in her political and personal life."

Writing on the Third Sector blog Stephen Cook noted:
"It makes a refreshing contrast to the trimming, expediency and cynicism we've become used to in our politicians. And zoos are strange and sad places, whatever you say about their role in education and conservation."

CAPS couldn't agree more and congratulate Angela for making a principled stand against captivity.

Against zoos

CAPS opposes the captivity of animals in zoos for numerous reasons, both ethical and conservation based.

We view zoos as places where animals are confined primarily for entertainment. The needs of the animals often come second to the desires of the public to observe and interact with wild animals. As such, small enclosures and lack of enrichment leads many animals to display disturbed behaviours. This also limits the educational value of zoos: wild animals out of place in unnatural environments and social groups, displaying unnatural behaviours.

For example, a 2008 study part funded by the government and zoos examined all elephants in UK zoos. It found that "there was a welfare concern for every elephant in the UK."

Conservation has to be focussed on protecting natural habitats. Confining animals to zoo cages will not protect ecosystems. A 2004 study commissioned by CAPS found that 79% of all animals in UK public aquariums had been taken from the wild - hardly conservation.

Links between zoos and circuses still exist. Just a few months ago CAPS exposed a Somerset zoo as breeding tigers and camels owned by a controversial circus owner.

For these reasons and more, CAPS works for a phasing out of zoos and for resources to be directed to real conservation and for people to respect the need for all species to live in their natural habitats.

See the CAPS film No Place Like Home to learn more about why we call for a phase-out of zoos.

Photos: Angela Smith with Charity Champion Animal Welfare Award; Gorilla at London Zoo (photo Martin Usborne)