September 01

recommended for: pre-teens, older children, parents with children
Wild Animals in Captivity is a very insightful book encouraging older children, perhaps pre-teens, to learn about and consider the circumstances of the captive wildlife that westerners see in zoos, aquariums, circuses, and roadside attractions. Alt Wild Animals in Captivity is a very insightful book encouraging older children, perhaps pre-teens, to learn about and consider the circumstances of the captive wildlife that westerners see in zoos, aquariums, circuses, and roadside attractions. Although this book deals with a heavy theme, it has the ability empower young readers to take an active interest in deciding what zoos they visit with their family and to consider visiting only sanctuaries or zoos that they feel are treating the animals in a healthy and respectful way by providing them with the space and activities needed by their species.

In the last ten years nature documentaries have seen a revival both due to their quality and tone as well as their emphasis on capturing the natural beauty of the world "on location." These modern, high-quality nature shows are now some of the best ways to see and experience animals in the natural habitat without even having to go on an outing. Still, the prevalence of low-quality private zoos, and even public zoos with inadequate and unhealthy enclosures, are something that many children in the west will see and associate as normal treatment of animals. Many adults still have these associations with wild animals because they grew up with little if any understanding of the nature of zoos or how they capture and maintain their animals.

Wild Animals in Captivity introduces readers to a variety of topics related to zoos and does a very good job of summarizing and contrasting the lives of animals in the wild with their counterparts in captivity. These differences are essential to begin teaching young readers that even in first-world countries captive wildlife are allowed to live the lives they would have had in the wild. Poor living conditions and social confinement can have severely detrimental affects on the health of the animals and potentially present a danger to visitors.

The book also spends a lot of time on the captive-breeding industry that is essential in supplying exotic wildlife which, for better or worse, perpetuates the trade in exotic wildlife solely for the purpose of keeping them in captivity -- sometimes in public zoos but frequently in private zoos or roadside attractions. The book carefully explains that animals are not always kept in enclosures suitable to their needs and many facilities don't have high standards. Pictures provide context, but we recommend that a parent provide their children with additional context and most importantly remind young readers that there are alternatives to substandard zoos. Visiting animal attractions with poor treatment of their animals is not the only way to experience nature and wildlife in-person.

Wild Animals in Captivity concludes with pages on the future of zoos, which are wildlife sanctuaries providing for the immediate and long-term needs of their resident animals. A number of sanctuaries for all kinds of exciting animals are given as alternatives to visiting zoos or road-side attractions which can't meet the needs of their captive animals. Young readers are also given a list of questions they can ask themselves when helping to plan a trip to a zoo, wildlife reserve, or sanctuary. Finally, a list of ten ways that young readers can help wild animals in captivity promotes fundamental ways to be a conscientious and even a wildlife activist.

Overall this is a great and necessary introduction to the way that exotic animals live in captivity. This is a difficult subject for many to come to terms with, but it offers a way for young readers to begin learning about the treatment of captive animals and decide, with the help of their parents, what this means to them.

We Animals by Jo-Anne McArthur touches on the related theme of animal welfare, particularly domesticated animals, and how culturally important they are to our entertainment and fashion industries and the way society sometimes takes for granted the way these animals are bred, kept captive, and then killed on farms, in scientific research, and for use in folk medicines. We recommend it to older readers because it does contain some unsettling imagery of domesticated animals related to commercial farming, unethical wildlife tourism, scientific research, and the fashion industry. As tough as it may be, the message of We Animals is one worth experiencing through its pages. ...more