Freedom for Animals is deeply disappointed by the updated Secretary of State’s Standards for Modern Zoo Practice (SSSMZP) which were published by DEFRA last week. We do not believe they will improve the lives of animals in zoos and aquariums, and animals will continue to suffer as a result. Not least because the standards will not even come into force until 2027. 

The updated standards also appear to be an admission that zoos were previously failing to deliver the welfare needs of animals up until this point. 

We believe the new standards fall at the first hurdle, as no zoo or aquarium can provide all of the five welfare needs laid out in the standards. Zoos and aquariums simply cannot provide suitable environments for the animals they hold captive, which also leaves those animals unable to express normal behaviour patterns, both of which zoos and aquariums have a legal requirement to provide. 

There appear to have been a number of small improvements included in the updated standards, but these do not go far enough to protect animals. While we welcome the decision to phase out the long-term tethering of birds of prey, ‘short-term’ tethering will still be permitted in some circumstances, so birds will continue to suffer this unnecessary cruelty (see our Tether and Torment report). All tethering of birds for exhibition and training should be prohibited and phased out as soon as possible. 

We also welcome the announcement that touch pools will be phased out from aquariums, but we believe all animal handling activities in zoos and aquariums (and mobile zoos which are not covered by these standards) should be prohibited as they create the same welfare issues for the animals exposed to them.

Zoos and aquariums consistently fail to provide evidence for the conservation or educational benefits of keeping animals in captivity. Most species in zoos are not endangered in the wild and very few zoo bred animals will ever be released to their wild homes. Although many zoos contribute a tiny percentage of their overall expenditure to real, in situ conservation projects, there is little transparency around this. There is also no evidence that the education programmes provided by zoos and aquariums contribute to any long-term changes to the public’s attitude to conservation, or any behavioural change in terms of environmental and biodiversity protection. The new standards will do little to change these issues.

We are also deeply disappointed that an opportunity has been missed to phase out large animals like elephants from zoos, despite the clear evidence that these animals suffer in captivity. In the case of elephants, it is shameful and appalling that the government has decided not to announce a phase out despite the clear evidence that elephants suffer in zoos. Although there may have been small improvements and changes to the care and welfare of elephants in captivity over the years, significant and insurmountable problems remain. It has been known for decades that elephants suffer in zoos, they lead shorter lives than wild elephants (see deaths of two elephants at Chester Zoo in 2024, Sundara Hi Way and Riva aged just 20 and 4, respectively), experience higher stillbirth and infant mortality rates (see the deaths of two calves at Blackpool Zoo also in 2024, one of whom was stillborn and the other died just a few days after birth), they experience a high frequency of lameness and other physical welfare problems, and psychological welfare issues such as zoochosis (expressed as stereotypical behaviour).

The updated standards have introduced a new minimum enclosure size of just 2 hectares for five or fewer elephants – 2 hectares is a tiny fraction of the area used by elephants in the wild and is simply not big enough for elephants to express their normal behaviours. Not only is this increase in enclosure size risible but zoos have been given 15 years to comply with it which is completely unacceptable. 

Given that there is a huge body of scientific research relating to the intelligence of elephants and the complex social interactions within and between elephant groups in the wild, zoos seem either not to understand the basic biology of elephants or willfully choose to ignore it in order to continue keeping and breeding them in captivity. Females are forced to breed at an unnaturally young age and males are often moved from zoo to zoo, sometimes being forcibly kept on their own, again ignoring what happens in the wild and stifling their natural behaviours. There are no conservation benefits to keeping elephants in zoos – no elephant currently in a British zoo will ever be released to the wild, and the EAZA ex situ breeding programme (which also ignores basic elephant biology) simply exists to keep zoos stocked with elephants for visitor entertainment. Zoos are revolving doors for elephants with groups split and sent to other collections despite the distress caused to the animals. Elephant field biologists have also made it clear that the keeping and breeding of elephants in zoos makes no significant contribution to conservation of wild elephants. 

In addition, a recent YouGov poll showed that 51% of Britons believe it is unacceptable to keep elephants in zoos, with only 13% believing it is completely acceptable.

Freedom for Animals is calling on the government to commit to protecting elephants, and introduce a phase out of them from UK zoos, with an immediate prohibition on the breeding and importation of elephants. In reality, if zoos really cared about the welfare of elephants in captivity they would voluntarily phase them out, as some zoos including Belfast Zoo and Paignton Zoo have already done in recent years. 

Zoos were originally set up as menageries for human entertainment and this remains the case today, despite the systematic window dressing and their attempts at rebranding over the years. It is time for change. It is time for zoos in the UK to follow the model of Buenos Aires Zoo in Argentina, by moving animals to true sanctuaries and focusing on the rescue, rehabilitation and release of native fauna, while delivering education without live animals. That would truly be transformative, something which these updated standards are not.

Be sure to keep an eye on our social media over the next few weeks to see our posts on how these standards will affect the animals at the focus of our current campaigns, and what we can do to help them.