Thought to Exist in the Wild Quotes

“The modernization of zoo cages and their renaming as “habitat” fits perfectly into the story of our own confinement. Modern cages—the kind in zoos—use fewer bars, not because moats or electrified fences provide more freedom for those encaged, but because they provide the illusion of freedom to those who watch. The fantasy of the consumers of the spectacle, the fantasy of the consumers of the animals—the fantasy that the animals are eagerly awaiting us, awaiting our use—will be slightly less brittle. As the real world is increasingly consumed and turned into artificial habitat, or rather Habitat™, for humans and nonhumans alike, we increasingly attempt to blur the distinction between habitat and Habitat™ until multiple authors can state with a presumably straight face that the whole world is a zoo.”
― Derrick Jensen, Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos

“Peter Batten comments on the educational value of zoos: 'Whether anyone derives lasting benefit by seeing wild animals from other countries in enclosures which inhibit their natural behavior must be evaluated without bias. Should one learn that the chimpanzee, for example, is a neurotic humanoid that cadges food from humans, and throws tantrums and excreta should this not materialize? Or that the orangutan, which [who] by nature seldom descends to the soft forest floor, is a pathetic bundle of matted red fur in the corner of a tiled cell? Must the alert, gregarious California sea lion be represented by an animal, half blinded from filthy unsalted water, that [who] spends its life begging for rotten fish?'
All this said, I actually think zoos overwhelmingly succeed at teaching visitors about nonhumans. But the question remains: what are they teaching?”
― Derrick Jensen, Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos

“Even if we accept their claims for the educational potential of zoos at face value, study after study has shown that zoos fail miserably at this task. As one author notes, 'A study of observation periods at Regent’s Park in 1985 revealed that spectators stood in front of the monkey enclosure for an average of 46 seconds, and spent 32 minutes in a pavilion containing a hundred cages. Rather than indicating thorough examination, this is reminiscent of the speed at which television programmes, and even works of art in museums, are consumed.' This 46 seconds includes time spent reading—or rather skimming—the information posted about the animals. Further, while 80 percent of zoo visitors claim to have learned something at the zoo, studies have shown that even after their visit patrons remain ‘less sensitive to the need to respect nature' than hikers. Further still, inquiry after inquiry has revealed that even while patrons are in the zoo, standing directly in front of the animals in question, they consistently fail even rudimentary nomenclature questions: they still call gibbons and orangutans monkeys; vultures buzzards; cassowaries peacocks; toucans fruitloop birds; tigers lions; otters beavers; and so on.”
― Derrick Jensen, Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos

“As Mullan and Marvin say, in a line of theirs I finally agree with, 'Zoos represent the power of human beings to command the presence of living creatures which [sic] would normally absent themselves from human gaze.'

I go to a zoo. I see animals on display. I push a button and hear: 'All the animals in the zoo are eagerly awaiting you.' I come home. I open a newspaper and see an article titled, 'Animal Planet: From India’s famed camel fair to Indonesia’s fierce Komodo dragons—all the world’s a zoo.' And the subhead, large font, boldface: 'Animal World Awaits.' For whom? For you, of course.”
― Derrick Jensen, Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos

“Bears are not toys. They are not symbols or stand-ins for Native American cultures. They are not attractions. They are not tourist destinations. They are not sources of revenue. They are not resources to be managed. They are not pests to be exterminated. They are bears.

No, even that isn’t right. There is this bear, with needs, desires, and preferences all her own. And there is that bear, whose needs, desires, and preferences will certainly overlap with another bear’s but will not be identical, because the bears are not identical. Every bear—every animal, inside or outside of zoos—is an individual. Each one has, believe it or not, a life.”
― Derrick Jensen, Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos

“If you see an animal in a zoo, you are in control. You can come, and you can go. The animal cannot. She is at your mercy, and at the mercy of those like you. The animal is on display for you.
In the wild, the creature is there for her own purposes. She is not under your control. She can come, and she can go. So can you. Neither of you is on display, and both of you can display as much of yourselves to the other as you wish. It is a meeting of equals.”
― Derrick Jensen, Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos