World Vegan Day celebrates veganism worldwide, raising awareness about health, the environment, and animal rights. So where do zoos, aquariums and circuses fit into veganism? Have you ever thought about what animals go through to be put on display in zoos? And how it's not really that different from what they go through on farms? 

This World Vegan Day we want to shine a light on the ways in which animals suffer for entertainment, and how if you abstain from eating animal products, maybe it's time to quit zoos, aquariums, and circuses too. 

Vegans don't eat dairy because dairy cows are forcibly impregnated... just like animals in captivity are forcibly impregnated to produce more animals as zoo exhibits

One of the core reasons vegans don’t consume dairy products is the dairy industry’s cycle of forced impregnation and separation of mother and calf. This animal cruelty also happens in captivity, where forced breeding is often used to maintain a quota in animal zoo populations. Animals in zoos are made to reproduce only to ensure a steady flow of ‘exhibits’, who will spend their entire lives in cages only for visitors to come and look at for a few hours a day. This means that more and more generations of animals who are meant to live free are born and die in captivity instead, making this a striking parallel to dairy cows, who know nothing beyond the factory farms they are raised in.

For both dairy cows and animals in captivity, this control over reproduction only happens for profit, all while ignoring the animals’ needs and well-being.

Vegans don't eat fishes because it's wrong to suffocate them in nets... just like all the marine life killed in attempts to catch and transport them to aquariums

People who follow a vegan lifestyle don’t consume fishes because they are brutally separated from their communities in huge numbers and made to suffocate in nets so people can eat them. Marine animals and fishes are forcibly removed from the oceans in similar cruel ways to become aquarium exhibits. By using sedatives that can kill them, the animals are trapped and transported across the world. Most die in this process, while the majority of the ones who survive suffer substantial trauma and anxiety that they carry for the rest of their new miserable lives in tiny tanks.

In both cases, marine life is disregarded and exploited repeatedly for human gain, whether that is in the name of entertainment or food.

Vegans do not buy wool as it is a product of animal suffering… just like buying a circus ticket is a way to support animal exploitation

More than avoiding animal food products, vegans also abstain from buying products like wool, which is derived from animals that are forced to live their lives in servitude of humans. Although it might not be obvious from a seemingly innocent final product, such as a jumper or a scarf, purchasing these items directly supports animal cruelty. For this same reason, purchasing a ticket for a circus with animals directly supports and funds animal exploitation, captivity, and harm. Animals are forced to perform tricks that are often taught with cruel training methods and are made to travel long distances in unsuitable conditions for weeks or months at a time. Some die on the road, while the survivors suffer daily while people come and watch their ‘performance’.

In each case, supporting the end product of animal cruelty is a direct sign of support for the animal cruelty itself, whether that is a piece of clothing made from an animal’s coat or a ticket to a circus show.

Vegans do not purchase companion animals from puppy farms because breeding animals for profit is unethical… just like how supporting the exotic pet trade means wild animals are being traded as pets

As a final example, vegans do not believe in buying animal companions from breeders because they forcibly breed dogs and other animals so that they can make a profit. In the same sentiment, supporting the exotic pet trade by purchasing wild animals as pets supports an exploitative cycle of capturing, breeding, and selling wild animals. These animals are separated from their family only to be forced to live in domestic conditions that are unsuitable for them, when they deserve to live a life in nature. Other times, they get sold to zoos or mobile zoos.

Both instances of breeding and selling animals are just as unnatural and human-made, which highlights how often humans forget that each animal has their own personality, rights, wants, and an innate need for a community, just like us.

Ultimately, let’s consider this message this World Vegan Day: Caring about animal rights means not harming animals, no matter the form this harm comes in… from the meat and dairy industry to zoos, circuses, and aquariums.