There are even AZA-accredited zoos such as Cheyenne Mountain, Utah's Hogle, San Antonio, etc, that have similarly awful metal cages for primates. There is food, water, shelter and a small amount of space for the animals, along with many climbing opportunities. But at what cost to the aesthetic appeal to zoo visitors? Who will visit this zoo and be enamoured with this outdated monkey cage? Do zoos actually need to make any attempt at recreating a naturalistic animal habitat or is a metal box sufficient? It frustrates me to see such cages in zoos, especially relatively famous American zoos that I've visited, because the potential for so much more is there for all to see.
There are even AZA-accredited zoos such as Cheyenne Mountain, Utah's Hogle, San Antonio, etc, that have similarly awful metal cages for primates. There is food, water, shelter and a small amount of space for the animals, along with many climbing opportunities. But at what cost to the aesthetic appeal to zoo visitors? Who will visit this zoo and be enamoured with this outdated monkey cage? Do zoos actually need to make any attempt at recreating a naturalistic animal habitat or is a metal box sufficient? It frustrates me to see such cages in zoos, especially relatively famous American zoos that I've visited, because the potential for so much more is there for all to see.
Couldn't agree more! The truly frustrating thing is, that it would be so easy to do something. Some zoos like to hide behind the excuse, that they don't have the funds to build multimillion dollar naturalistic enclosures. But it does not have to take a million dollars to build a large naturalistic enclosure. Just forget the fake rockwork and the glass panels. Many zoos have proven that relatively simple fences around a natural area can make a great exhibit. Even if that is not possible, a layer of subtrates on the floor of the current cage like straw or tree bark mulch on the ground, leaf piles, card board boxes, branches with leafs, newspapers, phone books and so on and so on can provide great enrichment and cost almost nothing. Even if you can't totally change the enclosure right away, there is a lot that can be done to make the animals lifes better and to provide visitors with a good experience (i.e. animals behaving naturally instead of stereotypical).
Again - it would be so easy ...
