Among the many other fun and exciting attractions to visit in our community, a visit to the zoo has always been a memorable experience. This invaluable life experience has been undermined by a group of activists across the country. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world's largest animal rights organization, argues that zoos deprive animals of meeting their most basic needs. They urge people not to go to zoos and argue that the money spent buying tickets goes to finance the keeping and trade of animals, not rescue and rehabilitation. They continue to say in summary that zoos deprive animals of their rights. So this heated debate revolves around animal rights and how the zoo industry inhibits them. Is the zoo really bad for animals? Should we get rid of the zoo and let the animals return to the wild? Mazur and Clark (2001) argue that the zoo is a monument to a long tradition of people's fascination with nonhuman nature. Since early Egyptian, Greek, and Chinese societies, wild animals have been kept in captivity to satisfy human curiosity with exotic objects (p 185). Most Western zoos today, however, espouse much more benevolent values ​​such as supporting biodiversity conservation through specialized animal breeding, research and education programs. The role and purpose of zoos have changed enormously in recent decades. Many modern zoos today aim to provide their visitors with the opportunity to encounter the natural world and become involved in conservation actions. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has conducted a series of studies and surveys to evaluate the impact of a visit to a zoo or aquarium. This study revealed that the zoo... the center of the paper... and wildlife. Works Cited Amy Miller, (2014). What zoos do: U.S. zoos work to preserve animals around the world through conservation, research and education. School news. Retrieved from http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnewsBBC News, (2003). Free born star McKenna honored. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/animals-used-entertainment-factsheets/zoos-pitiful-prisons/Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Why zoos and aquariums are important: evaluating the impact of a visit. Association of Zoos and Aquariums. [Information sheet]. Retrieved from http://www.aza.org/uploadedfiles/education/why_zoos_matter.pdfMazur and Clark (2001). Zoos and conservation: Policy making and organizational challenges. Yale F&ES Bulletin. Retrieved from http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic983317.files/Readings%20October%2026/Mazur%20and%20Clark.pdf