devilfish
Well-Known Member
Time for a discussion.
Seemingly a simple question, I’ve come across a lot of surprising and often ambiguous answers.
Although the typical definition involves wild animals in captivity on regular public display, and perhaps paid entry, there are plenty of cases where it might not be so clean-cut.
One of the reasons I don’t keep a list is because of the ambiguity surrounding the classification of a collection, and I think one of the reasons I’m using the term ‘zoological collection’ more regularly is to avoid this kind of debate, but I think it does need a discussion. I’ve also been asked this a lot recently, and have been surprised at the extent to which others will go when classifying animal places as zoos.
I guess this is more a question of what you’d count as a zoo, or as an individual collection. Would you be comfortable enough to add it to your list? Where do you draw the line?
These are mostly from my notes, so they might not make a great deal of sense, and they may express my opinions in places, but I thought it’s worth outlining a few cases which may be more controversial:
• Random aviaries:
- Would you consider a lone aviary/small series of aviaries in a park/airport/hotel/mall? To what extent?
• Falconry centres
o In general, I would presume these count, but what about private centres with good collections but only offer paid experiences; what if these are off-site?
o What about falconry displays in touristic areas?
o Is it a zoo if a falconry centre only has five birds? So what about stalls or advertising displays?
• Shows
o Again, to what extent? If falconry shows count, what about reptile/small mammal shows at hotels/parties/shops? Do circuses then come into this?
• Museum displays
o To what extent? E.g. with an aquarium (Cosmocaixa Barcelona, London’s Horniman) - definitely. But smaller exhibits, e.g. London’s NHM and leafcutter ants, or even rarer species like South American lungfish at Berlin’s NHM.
o Temporary exhibits, like Butterflies at London’s NHM?
• Single-species exhibit
o E.g. Berlin’s bear pit, Tower of London’s ravens
o If so, what about temporary single-species exhibits (e.g. visiting reindeer or Hamleys’ penguins)
o What about random exotic birds, e.g. flamingos in restaurants (like Jungle in Alexandria), pelicans in parks (St. James’s Park, London) or budgies/canaries used as theming/decoration (see random aviaries; hotel point above)
o If you count Berlin’s bear pit, would you count a museum/education centre with a single native species (e.g. frogs), or a few native species? If there’s a line somewhere between frogs and bears, Shirokuma has recently mentioned caves with tanks of Olm in Slovenia. Would that count?
So do the species of wild animal on display make a difference to whether a place counts as a zoo?
• Rescue centres
o Do rescue centres with only very few animals on display count? Then what about lodges/tourist centres with rescue animals?
• Relocated collection
o Same core collection, different site (e.g. London’s Tropical Forest). Does it count twice?
o Same site, different name… (When could this be justifiable?)
• Farm
o What about farms / petting zoos with entirely domestic collections, but a few more interesting creatures (and then which creatures? e.g. guineafowl, camel, yak, ?ostrich...)
• Pet shops
o Although pet shops with some interesting species wouldn’t logically count, what about those where you pay to enter a small display area, designed to exhibit animals? (e.g. in Barcelona & Madrid)
• Random aquaria
o In (relatively) private areas, e.g. Aquarium Restaurant (Dubai) or London’s Heron Tower? How about in hotels?
• Private collections
o Would you ever count a private collection?
o What if they offered tours? How occasional could these be for it to count?
o What if they were once public, or intend to become public? Would they then count? (twice)?
o What if only the main viewing area is private (e.g. Heron Tower Aquarium)?
• Zoos + aquaria together
o Often obviously the same collection, but what if a separate entry fee is required, and they can be entered individually? What if the aquarium is good enough to stand on it's own (e.g. Berlin)? What about these branded Sea Life centres in theme parks? Could they ever count alone, or would they make it look (on paper) likeLegoland or Alton Towers Theme Parks are entire zoos?
• Fisheries
o If members of the public can visit, and rare species are on display, would they count? What if a purchase is necessary? I was reluctant to consider a floating bar in Vietnam with interesting animals in sea pens.
• Insects
o If butterfly houses count, do captive honeybee colonies render a honey shop/bee park/bee museum a zoo?
Seemingly a simple question, I’ve come across a lot of surprising and often ambiguous answers.
Although the typical definition involves wild animals in captivity on regular public display, and perhaps paid entry, there are plenty of cases where it might not be so clean-cut.
One of the reasons I don’t keep a list is because of the ambiguity surrounding the classification of a collection, and I think one of the reasons I’m using the term ‘zoological collection’ more regularly is to avoid this kind of debate, but I think it does need a discussion. I’ve also been asked this a lot recently, and have been surprised at the extent to which others will go when classifying animal places as zoos.
I guess this is more a question of what you’d count as a zoo, or as an individual collection. Would you be comfortable enough to add it to your list? Where do you draw the line?
These are mostly from my notes, so they might not make a great deal of sense, and they may express my opinions in places, but I thought it’s worth outlining a few cases which may be more controversial:
• Random aviaries:
- Would you consider a lone aviary/small series of aviaries in a park/airport/hotel/mall? To what extent?
• Falconry centres
o In general, I would presume these count, but what about private centres with good collections but only offer paid experiences; what if these are off-site?
o What about falconry displays in touristic areas?
o Is it a zoo if a falconry centre only has five birds? So what about stalls or advertising displays?
• Shows
o Again, to what extent? If falconry shows count, what about reptile/small mammal shows at hotels/parties/shops? Do circuses then come into this?
• Museum displays
o To what extent? E.g. with an aquarium (Cosmocaixa Barcelona, London’s Horniman) - definitely. But smaller exhibits, e.g. London’s NHM and leafcutter ants, or even rarer species like South American lungfish at Berlin’s NHM.
o Temporary exhibits, like Butterflies at London’s NHM?
• Single-species exhibit
o E.g. Berlin’s bear pit, Tower of London’s ravens
o If so, what about temporary single-species exhibits (e.g. visiting reindeer or Hamleys’ penguins)
o What about random exotic birds, e.g. flamingos in restaurants (like Jungle in Alexandria), pelicans in parks (St. James’s Park, London) or budgies/canaries used as theming/decoration (see random aviaries; hotel point above)
o If you count Berlin’s bear pit, would you count a museum/education centre with a single native species (e.g. frogs), or a few native species? If there’s a line somewhere between frogs and bears, Shirokuma has recently mentioned caves with tanks of Olm in Slovenia. Would that count?
So do the species of wild animal on display make a difference to whether a place counts as a zoo?
• Rescue centres
o Do rescue centres with only very few animals on display count? Then what about lodges/tourist centres with rescue animals?
• Relocated collection
o Same core collection, different site (e.g. London’s Tropical Forest). Does it count twice?
o Same site, different name… (When could this be justifiable?)
• Farm
o What about farms / petting zoos with entirely domestic collections, but a few more interesting creatures (and then which creatures? e.g. guineafowl, camel, yak, ?ostrich...)
• Pet shops
o Although pet shops with some interesting species wouldn’t logically count, what about those where you pay to enter a small display area, designed to exhibit animals? (e.g. in Barcelona & Madrid)
• Random aquaria
o In (relatively) private areas, e.g. Aquarium Restaurant (Dubai) or London’s Heron Tower? How about in hotels?
• Private collections
o Would you ever count a private collection?
o What if they offered tours? How occasional could these be for it to count?
o What if they were once public, or intend to become public? Would they then count? (twice)?
o What if only the main viewing area is private (e.g. Heron Tower Aquarium)?
• Zoos + aquaria together
o Often obviously the same collection, but what if a separate entry fee is required, and they can be entered individually? What if the aquarium is good enough to stand on it's own (e.g. Berlin)? What about these branded Sea Life centres in theme parks? Could they ever count alone, or would they make it look (on paper) likeLegoland or Alton Towers Theme Parks are entire zoos?
• Fisheries
o If members of the public can visit, and rare species are on display, would they count? What if a purchase is necessary? I was reluctant to consider a floating bar in Vietnam with interesting animals in sea pens.
• Insects
o If butterfly houses count, do captive honeybee colonies render a honey shop/bee park/bee museum a zoo?
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