![]() Bulls, chimpanzees and lemurs are just some of the animals who have recently tried to escape from UK zoos, showing how desperate these unhappy animals are to regain their freedom. For example, in 2012, a tiger escaped his enclosurein the Cologne Zoo and killed a zookeeper before being shot dead, while another tiger in the Czech Republic escaped and mauled three zoo employees. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that there are numerous instances of frustrated animals trying to escape, sometimes with tragic consequences. There are also instances of shameful neglect at some zoos, with animals kept in barren, dirty enclosures with stagnant drinking water and no attempt to replicate their native habitat. Zookeepers sometimes give the animals anti-depressants, tranquilisers or anti-psychotic drugs to try to conceal their distress. The confinement and lack of stimulation often result in abnormal and self-destructive behaviour, known as “zoochosis” – for example, pacing, walking in tight circles, rocking, swaying or mutilating themselves. Yet in zoos, their lives are restricted to four walls. ![]() In the wild, animals may roam for hundreds of miles, hunt their prey, raise their children, explore, play and enjoy complex social relationships. Even in the best zoos, under the best conditions, a lifetime of captivity is no life at all for wild animals. Some animals in zoos are kept in enclosures far too small for them, while others are forced to perform degrading tricks. That’s the reality for animals in zoos, who are turned into living exhibits. Imagine not being able to control a single aspect of your life – when you eat, what you eat, when you sleep, where you can go or who you start a family with.
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