"Despite proof of the systemic failures of zoo practices and policies affecting elephants, the zoo industry has become more resolute in seeking out nations abroad from which to plunder elephants to restock zoo exhibits," read the expert letter.
Impressively, he curated an exhibition on "human zoos" (the practice of exhibiting African and other "exotic, primitive" peoples in Paris and other European capitals in the late 19th century) at the Musée Quai Branly in Paris in 2011.
The federal government has launched a crackdown on roadside zoos' lucrative practice of allowing members of the public to play or feed exotic cats such as tigers and lions.
Grøndahl believes that the uproar over the zoo's practices, which it had been quietly following without criticism for many years, has come about because people are now too distanced from the natural world.
However, the purpose of zoos, and their practice of keeping wild animals captive, has been a source of contention for some time.
He told the BBC it was a responsible practice for zoos to manage their animal populations to ensure they remained healthy, with some 20-30 animals put down at Copenhagen Zoo in a typical year.
(A headline at the time read: "Giraffe's Killing in Copenhagen Reveals Zoos' Dark Culling Practices").
Although the practice of culling zoo animals — euthanizing them for reasons of population control — is not restricted to Denmark, the practice elsewhere tends to be hidden, if not denied.
She was soon taken to the zoo's beginners' pool to practice her swimming skills.
The practice of putting zoo animals on antidepressants is startlingly common, according to Braitman.
This study was conducted in compliance with the Mexican Regulations of Good Laboratory Practice (NOM-062-ZOO-1999) and was approved by the ethics committee of our institute.
