The argument for zoos protecting animals is about allowing regular people to see wild animals up close, allowing to humanize/ empathize with them enough to actually care about protecting the ones still in the wild.

Are zoos perfect? No.

In an ideal world, would zoos exist? No.

Are they the only link that most people ever experience to nature, and especially to nature that doesn't exist within driving distance? Sadly, yes.

And that experience of seeing and empathizing with animals is hugely important to driving funding for conservation movements/ orgs. A water buffalo is just a damp cow in another country for a lot of people, until they actually see one.

Here are some other ways zoos assist in animal conservation:

• Veterinary medicine research
• Breeding programs for endangered species
• Short-term animal rescue and rehabilitation programs/ housing