Six months after a three-week old tiger drowned at the London zoo, three more tigers were born there. PETA has capitalized on the attention brought by the drowning and the births to call for a boycott of the zoo, which they describe as a “prison with living exhibits.” The zoo director, David Field, defends captivity, saying “The wild is just simply not an option for many species now, with habitats being destroyed and illegal wildlife trade soaring at unprecedented rates. Conservation breeding programmes are the only way to ensure a future for these animals.”

Tiger Cubs at London Zoo

By saying that the “wild is not an option,” the London Zoo director is suggesting that captivity is the only option for some animals. That message only reinforces the point of view that animals in zoos are money-making exhibits, not ambassadors who unwillingly sacrifice their freedom to help to conserve members of their species who live freely in their natural habitats. If we believe in wildlife conservation, then we should be supporting the work of groups like Sea Shepherd that are protecting animals and their habitats. To find out how you can help protect wild animals, please see this list of 10 other wildlife conservation groups.

According to the NY Times, a 4-month undercover investigation by PETA showed that racehorse trainers “subject their horses to cruel and injurious treatments, administer drugs to them for nontherapeutic purposes, use electrical devices to shock horses into running faster and force injured and/or suffering horses to race and train.” As a result of PETA’s investigation, horse racing authorities in New York, Kentucky and New Mexico opened investigations into allegations of abuse by Steve Asmussen, a prominent horse trainer, and his assistant Scott Blasi, both of whom were the subject of PETA’s undercover work. Mr. Asmussen has been removed as a finalists for the Racing Hall of Fame.

Horses who are unlucky enough to “work” in the racing industry spend their short lives being drugged, injured and abused behind the scenes. And, when they can no longer make money for their owners, they are slaughtered for their meat. Like all animals used for entertainment and profit, these horses are treated like commodities, not companions. Please boycott horse and dog race tracks, circuses, aquariums, zoos, rodeos, bullfights and urban horse-drawn carriage concessions. For more information about horse-racing and to find out how you can help, please visit PETA’s horse-racing page.

For weeks, Irish actor Liam Neeson has used the media tour for his movie as a platform to attack NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio for pledging to ban horse-drawn carriages from NYC. Neeson is connected to the industry not only because of his Irish descent but also because the husband of his son’s nanny is a carriage driver. John Carmody, spokesman for the Ireland-based Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) is fighting back against his fellow Irishman, saying in a NY Daily News, “He may be able to act and string lines together, but when it comes to understanding the suffering horses endure in all weather extremes often in suffocating traffic fumes in the carriage trade, sadly Mr. Neeson has been a flop.”

Using words and phrases like “tradition” and “institution” to defend NYC’s horse-drawn carriage trade, Mr. Neeson sounds eerily like the people who say, “Marriage is a sacred institution between one man and one woman.” Like them, he is clearly on the wrong side of history, but he just can’t see it. In the meantime, he’s helping to set the movement back. Please boycott his movies. In the PR battle between NYC’s horse-drawn carriage industry and those who support a ban, the industry is winning at the moment. The extensive and favorable media coverage is probably be attributed to the industry’s PR firm, described in the Daily News as an “anti-animal rights consulting group.”

As part of Sea World’s efforts to restore its reputation after the documentary Blackfish tarnished it, the company hired 15-year old Bindi Irwin, a self-declared conservationist, to be a paid spokesperson. Bob Irwin, Bindi’s grandfather who runs a conservation foundation, used the news of Bindi’s new job to speak out against whales in captivity.

Bindi Irwin promotes Sea World on Good Morning America

Steve Irwin, who made a career out of provoking wild animals for his TV shows, was killed by an angry sting ray in 2006. Will karma pay an unexpected visit to his daughter too? The Irwin moguls appear to be animal abusers disguised as conservationists. Sign the petition asking Bindi to step down as a “Sea World Ambassador.”

Over 100 of the 3,450 animals at the Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia have died due to negligence since last summer. Critics around the world are calling for the zoo’s closure. According to the NY Times, “the pelican enclosure had not become so cramped that the birds started destroying their own eggs,” and a tiger who couldn’t eat due to a tongue injury languished for months before dying from pneumonia.

Pelican show at Surabaya Zoo. NY Times photo

While the NY Times reports on the debate about whether or not to close this particular zoo, it neglects to raise the larger ethical question about existence of zoos anywhere. What right do we have to strip wild animals of their freedom and lock them up in cages and enclosures for our entertainment? Here is a more comprehensive explanation about the inherent cruelty of zoos and the fallacy of the “conservation” arguments used to justify their existence.