Dutch zoos should be more proactive about animal protection role

Dutch zoos need to do more to protect wild animals and look more critically at the types of animals they keep, a government commission has told the cabinet in a new report.

The Netherlands has a total of 59 zoos with permits, ranging in size and scope, and they remain a popular day out for Dutch families.

“However, there is also a large group calling for change,” commission member David van Gennip told RTL Nieuws on Wednesday. “Visitors want zoos to do something to support animals in the wild as well. This social function will become increasingly important. Only then will we consider it acceptable to see such animals behind bars.”

In particular, the commission said, zoos should be more proactive in sharing what they do to protect endangered species, given so many are faced with dying out. “Zoos are required by law to protect wild animals,” Van Gennip said. “So they have to show what they are doing, and if a zoo can’t do that, they should close.”

It may also be a good move to draw up a list of animals that are unsuitable for zoos, he said. A wolf, for example, covers 10 to 80 kilometres a day, which they cannot do in a cage.

The farm ministry, which includes zoos and animal welfare in its remit, said it was taking the recommendations seriously.