Beyond the Bars: The Zoo Dilemma

by Virginia McKenna, Will Travers, Jonathan Wray (Editor)

Essays address the issues involved with man's treatment of animals, from the use of animals in scientific research to the moral question of keeping wild animals in captivity

Genres: Animals

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1988

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is decidedly dated at this point, but it provides a snapshot of zoos in the 70s and 80s which is invaluable to understanding where many anti-zoo activists are coming from. This is a collection of emotional essays from a number of animal-related people on the subject of how zoos need vast improvements for the well being of their animals. And at the time it this was written, all of it was completely true -- it's fascinating that these arguments are still applied today, almost verbatim, when in fact many modern zoos have addressed the issues at hand. It put things in a different perspective, to remind myself that the anti-zoo crowd was completely justified in all its demands, just 30 years ago. To read it in context, this is a well-presented collection. My only hefty objection is to the heartwrenching anthropomorphic story at the end from the perspective of a London Zoo elephant. Even this one, however, cannot really damage the book, becuase from a little poking around I've done, the extreme presentation appears actually justified. It's amazing how far zoos have come in 30 years, and how far they still need to go.