Love them or loathe them, zoos have been part of the cityscape for over 150 years. Recently, however, many have questioned their value and the quality of care provided to the animals. Personally, I feel that zoos are cruel, pointless and ought to be phased out. Although many zoos have made great improvements over the years, there can be no doubt that the captive animals suffer. Not only are the enclosures usually far too small, but the climate and conditions are often completely unsuitable. Polar bears, for instance, travel across vast distances of ice daily and yet, in some tropical regions, they are kept in small pens with only a tiny pool for relief. In addition to this discomfort, zoo animals can suffer stress as a result of being kept with unfamiliar and unrelated cage-mates, not to mention the crowds of noisy visitors. In terms of conservation, while zoos can assist in the preservation of endangered species, this effort is ultimately futile. The Sumatran tiger, for...