The main benefits of zoos and aquariums include Conservation, Education and Research programs that are designed to preserve and protect wild populations of animals as well as educate the public about the threats that face them.

zoo n. (figuratively) Any place that is wild, crowded, or chaotic. zoo n. (US, military, slang) The jungle.

zoo

• menagerie.
• wildlife park.
• zoological garden.

Animals suffer in zoos. They get depressed, psychologically disturbed, frustrated, they harm each other, become ill, go hungry, and are forced to endure extreme and unnatural temperatures. These animals cannot live as they would wish to live.

Zoos offer opportunities to educate visitors about habitat conservation through programs and activities, and the way individual habitats and zoos are being designed. Education about wildlife and habitat conservation is important, and must address scientific, aesthetic, and ecological values to be effective.

Zoos also save endangered species by bringing them into safe environments, protected from poachers, habitat loss and starvation. Animals in captivity suffer from stress, boredom and confinement and it has been proven that elephants kept in zoos tend not to live as long as elephants in the wild.

AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums play a vital role in educating over 180 million visitors, including 51 million students, each year, about wild animals, their habitats, their related conservation issues, and the ways in which they can contribute to their preservation.

Zoos engage in research, preserve biodiversity (genetic and species) that may be threatened or at times even extinct in the wild, and they provide much needed funding for research and conservation projects across the world.

Most animals confined in zoos are not endangered, nor are they being prepared for release into natural habitats. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology concluded that unless animals in the wild are protected, captive breeding won’t make a difference.