Animals in Captivity

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Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, LA (2026)

In March 2025, our team completed our first undercover zoo investigation for one of the top Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited zoos in the United States: the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, Louisiana.

During our visit, we assessed the accuracy and efficacy of each major aim stated by the zoo industry, including educating visitors about the animals, providing optimal animal welfare with appropriate physical and mental stimulation, and participating in, or leading, meaningful conservation efforts. It is our intention that with providing data from some of the top AZA-accredited zoos in the U.S., often considered the ‘gold standard’ of the zoo industry, that we illustrate a more accurate picture and scrutinize what these facilities offer the animal inhabitants and human visitors.

We then explore whether zoos can justify their existence and continue to keep wild animals in captivity based on our findings. We will only analyze zoos that are largely considered to excel in the fields of animal care and facilitating meaningful interactions between animals and human visitors. This initial research acts as a case study and template for assessment of the remaining nine zoos that we will evaluate as part of the larger investigation, and will be updated in due course.