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The Rise of Pinjrapoles and the Fall.... : 49
Even if zoo conservation education programs were superb however, leading to attitude change and then to behavior change as is claimed, this would still not justify their keeping animals' in captivity in their zoos since conservation education efforts exist apart from zoos to begin with. Television programs, school curriculums and books dedicated to conservation education all exist without confining any animals at all.
The Kindest Justification Yet Another very important type of education that can be said to occur in some zoos is humane education, which has its explicit purpose teaching humans compassion and reverence for both the human and nonhuman world. If this type of education is done correctly, it can both enlighten humans about how their actions impact nonhuman species and cause them to examine their relationships with nonhumans in other regards, causing them to become kinder towards animals in their daily actions.
The most impressive humane education program I have ever come across is the Detroit Zoo's Berman Academy for Humane Education, a program I myself was once a part of. This program, run by humane education specialist Lisa Forzley, works to instill reverence for nonhuman animals in every facet of the Detroit Zoo, both formally and informally. Far from only being concerned with tame and non controversial subjects, the Berman Academy at the Detroit Zoo covers humane education topics ranging from pet care to circuses in their education efforts. One of my favorite programs run by the Academy is the City Critters program, in which humane educators visit urban schools, libraries and children's hospitals in order to help children "develop an awareness of the animals that share their neighborhoods,” enabling these children to “better understand and appreciate them." This program also teaches children to study and enjoy wildlife from a distance” and “teaches strategies to peacefully co-exist or simply avoid disturbing certain types of wildlife.”30 Since starting out by concerned citizens giving sanctuary to animals abandoned by a travelling circus, the Detroit Zoo has also kept with its tradition of rescuing nonhuman animals in need and has 316 of its animals as rescues from circuses, backyards, race-tracks and even a suspected "crack house." Certainly messages of humane education permeate throughout the Detroit Zoo but do humane messages justify keeping nonhuman animals in captivity?
The justification of keeping animals in captivity in order to further humane education is perhaps the kindest justification proposed yet but it also fails perhaps most obviously. Keeping nonhuman animals in captivity so that they cannot act out their most vital interests and innate behaviors is the exact opposite of what humane education is supposed to teach. There is no need to fret however, as Lisa Forzley's successful City Critters program proves that humane education can thrive without involving live animals whatsoever.
When It Comes to Education, Zoos Imprison Us Paul Waldau has suggested that there is an underlying "meta-message” in modern zoos that has a much more insidious undertone than the positive educational messages zoos claim to be conveying. This "meta-message" conveyed by modern zoos is "namely, that it is acceptable for
