There are many zoos I would like to see closed': Zoo chief plans shake up

"He's taken up the mantle of keeping the world's zoos in check at an interesting time, when their role in modern society is the subject of heated debate, with rows about lonely gorillas or penguins kept in a basement seem to erupt every week. Keeping wild animals solely for entertainment purposes was socially acceptable some decades ago, but there are now far more concerns for their welfare and the conservation objectives of their captivity. This particularly applies to animals such as elephants, which need large spaces to roam and in the wild have complex relationships within giant social groups."

"As the new president of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Field will be, he hopes, in a position to address some of that. There are many zoos in this country and certainly abroad that I would like to see closed. I think there are zoos in the UK and exotic animal collections that are not achieving the standards we would expect and also are not giving back in terms of conservation and education, and that is fundamentally wrong."

"Zoo fans stress their role in conservation. But charities such as Born Free have pointed out that the vast majority of species kept in zoos do not have reintroduction programmes planned, and therefore they suspect the animals are only kept for entertainment purposes and exploited. A recent report found numerous welfare breaches in UK zoos, including animals kept outside in poor weather without access to shelter."

David Field became head of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and intends to confront poor zoo standards worldwide. He prefers closing zoos that mistreat animals or fail to contribute to conservation and education. Public debate about the role of zoos has intensified amid recurring controversies over isolated primates and inadequately housed penguins. Keeping wild animals solely for entertainment faces growing welfare and conservation concerns, especially for wide‑ranging social species such as elephants. Charities report most zoo-held species lack reintroduction programmes, and recent inspections found welfare breaches in UK zoos, prompting government action to impose new obligations.

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