Zoo Culture: the Book About People Watching Animals

by Robert Mullan, Garry Marvin, Bob Mullan

Why do people go to zoos? Is the role of zoos to entertain or to educate? In this provocative book, the authors demonstrate that zoos tell us as much about humans as they do about animals and suggest that while animals may not need zoos, urban societies seem to.

A new introduction takes note of dramatic changes in the perceived role of zoos that have occurred since the book's original publication.

Genres: Animals

208 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1998

About the author

Film maker and author. AKA Bob Mullan

Reviews

[mantareads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cogently written book with carefully constructed arguments, supported with numerous sources of evidence. A pleasant surprise

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This turned out not to be what I'd expected. I'd hoped for an exploration of people who visit zoos and their perceptions. Instead, we have a poorly executed overview of the history of zoos. The authors can't seem to decide what they're trying to say. For example, they state numerous times from the start that drawing parallels between zoos and prisons is a false comparison which arises out of human culture -- and then proceed to spend an entire chapter on the history of prisons and mental institutions as they could relate to zoos. The majority of their information is from secondary sources, and it shows how painfully little they actually know of their subject in the haphazard way it is pieced together. Their final conclusion is firmly stated in the final chapter that zoos exist only for the benefit of humans (not at all for the animals) and further exist only as a representation of human power and domination over nature. Somehow they completely fail in making this sound anything other than their personal opinions, despite spending a few hundred pages on their "study" of zoos. The only redeeming point to this book is that covers zoo history outside of the United States and Europe, which is often neglected in other books, as well as exploring the (usually glossed-over or ignored) trend of keeping various humans in zoos and how that reflects cultural perceptions of the times.