The Myth of Education and Conservation
Roadside zoos usually argue that the public should overlook their deficiencies because of the contribution they make to education and conservation. These claims don’t hold up.
Signs at roadside zoos offer little in the way of education. Many are poorly designed, difficult to read, and inaccurate. In many cases, only the name of the animal appears and occasionally the animal’s age, date of acquisition and/or species name.
Other kinds of educational programs found in more professional zoos are almost always absent.
Breeding efforts nearly always involve haphazard, inadvertent births of common animals already in a surplus situation at zoos.
These unwanted offspring end up in other equally bad, roadside zoos or in the pet trade. For example, Roadside Zoos have been a major factor in the production of the estimated 10,000 hybrid tigers kept as pets in North America.
In truth, roadside zoos serve no legitimate educational or conservation purposes.
Signs like this do little to educate the public.
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