Much of the work by Born Free’s Zoo Check Programme requires an in-depth understanding of animal welfare, behaviour and related topics. It is imperative that all of Zoo Check’s campaigns and projects are supported by up-to-date and accurate information, using wherever possible, legislation and guidance.

Below is a variety of supporting information that you might find useful:

Understanding animal welfare PDF 77KB - A guide to the Five Freedoms of animal welfare and their application to wild animals in captivity

Polar Bears and Captivity PDF 62KB - A document summarising why polar bears fair particularly badly in captivity.

The Zoo Debate – Do zoos have a role in the 21^st Century? PDF 54KB - A transcript of an article first published in The Ecologist magazine in which Miranda F Stevenson, director of the Federation of Zoos of Great Britain and Ireland debates the need of zoos in the 21st Century with Zoo Check's Daniel Turner

Zoo Status

• Earliest zoos date back to Ancient Egypt
• First UK menagerie, Woodstock (11^th Century)
• Tower of London menagerie (13^th Century)
• First modern UK zoo, London Zoo (1828)
• First UK tiger*, London Zoo (1829)
• First UK elephant*, Tower of London menagerie. Presented to Henry III in 13^th Century.
• First UK chimpanzee*, London Zoo (1835)
• 20^th Century - zoos proliferate worldwide, millions of animals exploited
• 1984 – Zoo Check is the first voice speaking up for captive animals
• Following Born Free campaigns there is only one polar bear in a UK zoo, the UK is a dolphinaria-free zone, and there are no more elephants in London Zoo (2007)
• Born Free’s 21^st Century vision – an end to all zoos, keep wildlife in the wild!

*London Zoo has never returned these species to the wild.