Zoos and Circuses: Overview

Introduction

Zoos and circuses both began as forms of entertainment, giving spectators the opportunity to see animals from around the world. Zoos, as well as aquariums, have since evolved into destinations that combine entertainment with science and education. In the modern era, zoos also play a role in animal conservation, research, and husbandry. Circuses are traveling performance groups that use a combination of human and animal performances to entertain visitors.

Though many modern zoos adhere to regulations regarding the care and ethical treatment of captive animals, some animal advocates maintain that keeping wild animals in any kind of captivity is cruel. Studies have indicated that captive animals, unlike those living in the wild, can suffer from psychological, behavioral, and physical problems. In addition, critics argue that state and local laws governing animal displays are not standardized and that quality of care varies widely between live-animal exhibits. Meanwhile, critics of the circus argue that the use of animals for human entertainment violates moral principles regarding animal welfare and that circuses do not contribute to education, research, or conservation. Specific instances of alleged abuse in circuses and zoos—combined with widely publicized incidents in which large captive animals have harmed or killed trainers—have brought the ethical, moral, and practical issues of wild-animal captivity and management to the forefront of the public debate.

Understanding the Discussion

Accreditation: The official authorization of an institution to operate, based on recognition of its compliance with certain standards of quality, granted by a supervising body organized to inspect such institutions against these standards.

Animal welfare: The physical and mental well-being of domestic, agricultural, or wildlife display animals under human care and supervision.

Behavioral enrichment: Methods designed to maintain or improve the physical and mental health of captive animals by engaging them in various activities.

Conservation status: The measure of the population of a certain species with regard to the estimated likelihood that the species may become extinct.

Endangered species: Animal species that have extremely low population numbers and are considered at high risk for becoming extinct in the wild.

Landscape immersion: The construction of enclosures for wild animals that are designed to resemble the animals' natural habitats.

Reintroduction: The process of releasing animals from captivity into their natural environments and helping them adjust or readjust to living in the wild.

Safari park: A wild animal park that allows animals to roam over a large area while remaining in an enclosure.

History

Modern zoos and aquariums evolved from private collections of animals known as menageries, which had been owned by aristocrats in one form or another since as early as 3500 BCE. Starting in the eighteenth century, many of these menageries opened to the public and began collecting fees, thus establishing the concept of public support for municipal animal parks.

One of the earliest of these public menageries was housed in the Tower of London. It began in the early thirteenth century as King John of England's private collection of lions and bears and was expanded by his successor, King Henry III, who in 1235 received a gift of three more lions (or possibly leopards) from Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Subsequent rulers added to and diversified the collection, and the royal menagerie was opened to the public in the early eighteenth century. Renewed public interest in the sciences was sweeping Europe during this time, leading to the establishment of many zoos and aquariums designed to provide scientific information to the viewing public. The first zoo of this kind in the United States was the Philadelphia Zoo, which opened in 1874.

Though trained animal performances have played a role in human entertainment since as early as 1600 BCE, the modern circus was developed in the eighteenth century. English equestrian Philip Astley established the "three ring" circus model and was the first to incorporate jugglers and clowns into his demonstrations of horsemanship. The first American circus appeared in Philadelphia in 1793, modeled after Astley's "ring" concept.

Early zoos, aquariums, and circuses obtained their animals from the wild and operated with little understanding of how to care for wild animals in captivity. Animals were regularly malnourished and kept in concrete or stone pens. Large and potentially dangerous animals were handled and controlled with violence. Beginning in the twentieth century, ideas about animal welfare changed. Many began to consider the viewing of animals in poor health or in inadequate environments to be unacceptable. Zoos gradually began treating captive animals more humanely and developing larger habitats that incorporated naturalistic elements.

In the 1960s and 1970s, animal parks began featuring exhibits that provided behavioral enrichment for animals and allowed for landscape immersion. Safari parks, open environments in which species roam freely through larger areas and live in a way more in keeping with their natural environments, had begun appearing in the 1950s, and they became a popular alternative to the small, museum-like exhibits of municipal zoos and parks. In the 1970s, zoos began participating in reintroduction programs to release captive-born specimens into the wild in order to bolster wild populations, with varying levels of success. Animal species that underwent reintroduction programs included the mi-lu, or Pére David's deer, in China; the California condor and the black-footed ferret in the United States; and the golden lion tamarin in Central America.

The first laws against animal cruelty were established in England in the nineteenth century. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), the world's first animal welfare organization, was founded in England in 1824. The establishment of animal welfare laws in the twentieth century fundamentally altered the treatment of animals in captivity. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), an organization that promotes science and conservation research through zoos and aquariums, was established in 1924. The AZA developed an accreditation system for maintaining certain standards in both the treatment of animals and the promotion of science and education.

The 1966 Animal Welfare Act (AWA) established the United States' first federal laws governing the treatment of exhibition animals. The birth of the environmental movement around this time led to the establishment of laws protecting species threatened by extinction, including the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA). These laws also created guidelines for establishing the conservation status of a species and provided federal oversight over the keeping of rare or endangered animals.

In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, high-profile cases involving whales, elephants, and larger carnivores heightened public debate over the safety and ethics of keeping certain species in captivity. Keiko, an orca whale that starred in the film Free Willy (1993), became the subject of controversy when the public demanded that the whale be released into the wild. Public petitions were successful, and the whale was eventually released in 2002, but it died soon after as it was unable to survive in the wild.

Instances involving the death or injury of animal trainers further fueled the public debate over the ethics of keeping animal species in captivity and highlighted the fact that large animals kept in zoos, aquariums, and circuses can be dangerous. The 2010 death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau was one such example. The 2012 film Blackfish further investigated animal treatment at SeaWorld and the death of Brancheau, adding to the debate over whales in captivity. In 2016, SeaWorld announced that it was ending its orca breeding program and that its current generation of killer whales would be its last.

Zoos and Circuses Today

By the 2020s, the AZA reported that there were an estimated 2,800 animal exhibitors licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture, of which fewer than 10 percent met AZA's standards for accreditation. By that point, there were also thousands of circuses and private animal shows around the world that continued to stock wild animals for entertainment. All animal exhibitions in the United States are required to adhere to federal, state, and municipal guidelines governing animal welfare. However, these laws are rudimentary, and some animal rights experts considered existing laws insufficient. In the United States, state and municipal governments are free to establish their own laws to supplement federal animal welfare standards. Some states have had stringent laws regarding animal ethics and welfare, while others have adhered only to the basic federal laws. In 2022, activists, while noting the continued overall lack in the number of accredited animal exhibitors, praised the efforts of the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium, opened in Springfield, Missouri, in 2017, to pursue and, ultimately, achieve AZA accreditation. Meanwhile, the AZA made further revisions to its guidelines that often centered upon animal welfare, and in 2019 its board approved a process to phase bullhooks out of use on zoo elephants outside of emergencies.

Unlike zoos, circuses do not play a role in conservation, scientific investigation, or education, instead using animals solely as a source of entertainment. Objections to animal acts in circus performances accelerated in the early twenty-first century due to media coverage of alleged mistreatment of circus animals. Dozens of towns and counties throughout the United States passed legislation banning the display of wild or exotic animals, or banning their use by traveling acts, in their states. Others banned the display of such animals for entertainment purposes, or the use of certain methods, such as bullhooks, for animal handling or control. In 2016, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus stopped its elephant act; the elephants still in the care of the circus were retired to a 200-acre conservation center in Polk City, Florida. The following year, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced that they were shutting down their show completely due to declining ticket sales, which dropped even further following the retirement of the elephant act. However, in early 2022 the company announced that its traveling show would be returning in an altered format not including any animals and focused instead on human performances. Meanwhile, many circuses continued to operate throughout the country, and the world, featuring animal acts. Though most claimed to use humane training methods and provide quality care to their animals, detractors disputed such claims and continued to speak out against harmful practices.

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