People often have strong feelings about zoos. You may love them or you may hate them. We are fascinated by all the strange animals, but we feel uncomfortable at the same time. We feel that the animals are in prison in their cages. They belong in the wild, not in the zoo with people walking past and looking at them all day long.

I am sure that everyone has seen a bear walking up and down, up and down, in a cage. We know that the bear cannot be happy. Animals should live in their natural environment and bears should live in forests with other bears, not on a floor of concrete. They should be able to fish by the side of a river, or eat fruit from trees. They should not have to wait for a zookeeper to come and feed them.

The problem for many animals is that their natural environment is becoming smaller and smaller. Many animals are now rare and in danger of extinction. Zoos can offer a home to animals which no longer have anywhere else to live.

Zoos do not need to be cruel and uncomfortable places for animals. Nowadays many zoos give animals much more space than in the past and try to create a natural environment whenever possible. Going to a zoo is not only an enjoyable experience, but it is educational (particularly for children) and it is better than a book or a television programme if we want to learn about wildlife. Zoos allow us to study animals and to protect them. Zoos are even more important today than they were in the past.