Dodos in Future Zoos?

Here are some interesting thoughts from a respected group of experts on zoos and animal welfare.

"The fact that the topics of animal welfare, education and conservation permeated the [Future of Zoos] symposium [Canisius College, Buffalo, NY], speaks well to where we now are as a species".

"Jeffrey Yule, PhD, coordinator of the environmental Science Program at Louisiana Tech University, discussed the possibility that species that are currently extinct could have representatives in zoos if we are able to clone them".

"Catherine Doyle from In Defense of Animals, predicted that chimpanzees would be granted legal personhood in our country and would, therefore, not be kept in zoos of the future."

"St. Louis Zoo Director Jeffrey Bonner, PhD, predicted that in some places much larger zoos will emerge, so that the boundary between what is a zoo and what is a wildlife park will begin to blur."

"Ron Kagan, director of the Detroit Zoo, predicted a future that will see a greater quality of life for individual animals. “Zoos owe a life-long commitment to see that each animal receives the very highest quality of life".

"Symposium participants included Donna Fernandes, Buffalo Zoological Gardens; Jon Coe, Jon Coe Design; Terry Maple, author and zoo director emeritus; Kevin Murphy, The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore; William Conway, Wildlife Conservation Society; Keith Winsten, The Brevard Zoo; Donald Moore, Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park..."