Should animals be kept in zoos?
Polls
7th August 2025
A baby pygmy hippo at Edinburgh Zoo is stealing hearts – and raising awareness about a rare species.
Born last October, Haggis the pygmy hippo has become a star attraction in Scotland. Her playful personality and curious nature have made her a favourite with both visitors and keepers.
Moo Deng (pictured) was also born in captivity, in Thailand, and like many zoo animals, is unlikely to be released into the wild. That’s partly because there are so few of her kind left in nature. Experts estimate there are fewer than 2,500 pygmy hippos in the wild.
Pygmy hippos are also hunted in some areas for bush meat, making their survival even more difficult.
But not everyone agrees that zoos are the right place for animals like Haggis and Moo Deng. Animal charities, including Born Free, argue that zoos have limited conservation impact and that animals suffer in artificial enclosures.
What do you think?
2 Comments
bagel@123 · 4 months ago
It depends, as the animal may be an endangered species and keeping them in the zoo will mean they have a higher chance of survival.
66horse · 4 months ago
I agree@bagel@123. But for animals which are not endangered, I do think that keeping them in zoos would do more harm than good.( I have been to many zoos and I’ve found that not many people go to see the non-endangered animals) I also think that animals in zoos should be released back into the wild if possible.