The Educational value of Circuses, Zoos and SeaWorld

Douglas McPherson
author Circus Mania

The dumbest argument against animals in circuses, zoos and aquariums such as SeaWorld - and it's one I see parroted with irritating regularity in articles and comments threads - is that they provide "no educational value."

If only the people who blindly spout that view could be persuaded to actually visit such an establishment before condemning it, I am sure that most would find that the biggest educational benefit lies in simply seeing and sometimes touching wild animals close-up. TV doesn't have nearly the same impact, only a tiny percentage will ever go on a safari, and even those who do will probably not get quite so close to the animals as they can in a circus, zoo or aquarium. 

Society is becoming far too removed from the animal world. Kids in cities often won't even see horses or the farm animals they eat. Many couldn't tell you which animal some of the processed food on their plate came from. 

Circuses, zoos and aquariums reconnect us with the natural world, and that is life enhancing in the same way that pat dogs in hospitals are. It also creates an appreciation and respect for nature. It was largely the tricks performed by dolphins in aquariums, for example, that made people realise how clever they were and therefore worthy of conservation in the wild. 

As for the animals, as long as they are properly cared for, they're better off in human care where they are protected from all the natural threats (as well as the human kind) that they would face in the wild. Being animals, they don't have a human's mental capacity to conceptualise freedom or captivity, they only know if they are happy, mentally stimulated and physically well, and human care can provide that, in exactly the same way domestic pet ownership does. 

I used to believe entertainment-based animal shows were a bit iffy - largely because that was the view presented in the media - but the more I've looked into it, during the research for my book Circus Mania and many newspaper and magazine articles since, the more I've seen that the arguments against such establishments aren't based on genuine welfare claims (although they always campaign on grounds of alleged cruelty) but an ideological objection to captivity irrespective of welfare standards. 

Every circus animal I have seen in the ring or backstage has appeared to be in exceptionally good health, mentally and physically, and their keepers and trainers have been 100% dedicated to them. 

In my opinion, we need more businesses that put the public in close proximity with animals, not fewer.