Public Comment

Zoos allow human beings to keep species alive that have become extinct or nearly extinct in shrinking and disappearing habitats in the wild, and where many of them are also subject to poaching.\ 

Zoos allow ordinary, non-wealthy families to get a look at creatures other than human, which (or whom) they would never otherwise see, hear and smell. Not everyone can afford the expense or the time off from work to go to South America, Africa, or other places. Many of us who occasionally visit zoos could never conceive, or financially afford to travel.  

Modern zoos have mostly improved compared to the not so distant past in how animals are treated, and in what their environments and living conditions are. 

In the 1980's, I visited the San Francisco zoo and saw that a lion was caged in a small enclosure and was quite agitated. Yet, in the 2000's, I visited the replacement zoo, and it was vastly better.  

Additionally, creatures able to live in the wild are better off if they are not bothered or harassed by human spectators.