FAQ

A lot of people visit zoos on a recreational basis only; a fun day out now and then. It’s been a long time since visiting a zoo was *just* a fun day out to us. It’s a hobby, a passion. It’s what we do.

"How can you call yourself an animal lover and be a zoo photographer?"

Being a zoo photographer doesn’t mean you don’t love animal. It doesn’t automatically say you wouldn’t rather see the animals in the wild.

The harsh reality of the world we live in, is simply that for animals we see at the zoo, the actual “wild” is disappearing rapidly. The idyllic wilds of Africa are reserves with fencing as well. The diversity of animals in those national parks are managed, just like nature parks are managed in the Netherlands. People and organizations decide which animals get to live there, and when they have to go.

You see people taking polar safaris to see wild Polar Bears. Their boats are breaking the ice the Bears depend on for survival, while the climate change we instigated is melting that same ice at frightening speed.

It’s a skewed world we live. Whether we accept it or not, zoos will become the only place where we can see many animals who’s very existence we take for granted. We should not merely save them so the next generation can still enjoy them – we need to save these species because they deserve to live and roam the planet as much as we do.

"Animals don't belong in captivity. They're not happy with a life lived in a zoo. How can you support that?"

I can’t say that an animal who grew up in a zoo, would be better off or happier in the wild. And really, who can give a definitive answer to that question?

We crave what we do not know, but we only pretend to miss something we’ve never had. Because who says that your life will be better with, or without it?

I’ll admit, we’ve never had a true peek behind the scenes of the zoos we visit, but I do believe they treat their animals well. Don’t listen to those archaic stories who want you to believe that all zoos are stuck in the 80s. Animal welfare is key –  zoos build large habitats and offer daily enrichment methods. They partake in conservation efforts in situ, and offer education to zoo visitors. Zoos are constantly developing and becoming better.

"If you love wild animals so much, why don't you go visit them in the wild?"

We wish we had the money and experience to find a place with little to no corruption, that offers the kind of wild experience we’d love the have. And that’s not even counting the amount of luck we’d need to see everything we want to see.

Zoos aren’t perfect. But animals aren’t perfect either, bei it in a zoo or in the wild. They sleep a lot, and they find places to sleep that make them nearly invisible to visitors.

But let’s keep in mind that animals aren’t aware of the fact that most people who visit a zoo, expect to be entertained by said animal, just like people who go on a safari expect to have the full experience.

But the animals didn’t get the memo to move around and play, just because there’s a spectator gawking at them - with a camera at the ready or not. Living at the zoo or in the wild is their day-to-day life; they face the rain just like we do, have bad moods just like we do, and have days when they just want to laze around and nothing.

Animals aren’t on this earth for our entertainment or amusement. There are still zoos, in nearly every country, where are animals are trained to perform tricks, or be near people to be petted and hugged – sometimes for money, sometimes for free as part of the zoo experience.

This is not something we support. This is wrong, as wrong as the illegal exotic pet trade. Wild animals should always be kept wild and not domesticated to the point where people think they’d make a good pet. In the end, it’s always the animal who suffers from a person’s bad decision.

At a zoo at least, animals are preferably taking care of by people who’ve been educated about the care and feeding of wild animals. Too often exotic pet owners – and yes, zoo visitors – end up getting hurt by a wild animal or hurting the animal. Taking care of a wild animal is a job, a career, and not a whim.