Zooland: The Institution of Captivity

The Cultural Lives of Law

by Irus Braverman

This book takes a unique stance on a controversial zoos. Zoos have their ardent supporters and their vocal detractors. And while we all have opinions on what zoos do, few people consider how they do it. Irus Braverman draws on more than seventy interviews conducted with zoo managers and administrators, as well as animal activists, to offer a glimpse into the otherwise unknown complexities of zooland. Zooland begins and ends with the story of Timmy, the oldest male gorilla in North America, to illustrate the dramatic transformations of zoos since the 1970s. Over these decades, modern zoos have transformed themselves from places created largely for entertainment to globally connected institutions that emphasize care through conservation and education. Zoos naturalize their spaces, classify their animals, and produce spectacular experiences for their human visitors. Zoos name, register, track, and allocate their animals in global databases. Zoos both abide by and create laws and industry standards that govern their captive animals. Finally, zoos intensely govern the reproduction of captive animals, carefully calculating the life and death of these animals, deciding which of them will be sustained and which will expire. Zooland takes readers behind the exhibits into the world of zoo animals and their caretakers. And in so doing, it turns its gaze back on us to make surprising interconnections between our understandings of the human and the nonhuman.

Genres: Animals, Nonfiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2012

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written by a person outside the zoological field to help others better understand ever changing field. Focusing exclusively on AZA facilities in North American the author breaks down common practices and policies found in AZA institutions. This includes a extensive look at record keeping, breeding, transporting and exhibiting. Irus Braverman not only includes a look from zoo professionals but also anti captivity activist and breaks each augment apart in a very unbiased and logical approach. I highly recommend this book if you and in the zoo profession or just really want to know not only why zoo's work but how zoo's work.

[Helby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title and cover image are misleading. I was concerned it would have more of an activist take on zoos rather than reality but luckily I was wrong. She thoroughly covers the back-end not-often-seen angle of zookeeping. As I have been involved with zoos for years, it was nice to see that work acknowledged. Even though it could be dry at times, the zoo industry is not always glamorous as its has an important administrative process as well.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a great, unbiased, introduction to how zoos and aquariums are run. It is information heavy but I love the real life interviews with zoo/aquarium staff.

[Lilith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible book! A great overview of how zoos as institutions work, how conservation does and doesn't work in captivity. 5/5

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well-researched account of the inner operations of AZA-accredited North American zoos. I work as a zookeeper and find it difficult to convey the complexities of zoo operations to the lay public. This book is a great place to start for anyone who wants to know more about how zoos work.

It should be noted that the author is not an insider to the zoo world, but rather an outsider who went to great lengths to learn about the zoo world by interviewing those who do work in it. This is evident throughout, as her tone is that of a detached third party, not of someone who has lived what she writes about, or who has synthesized the information others have provided to her. She's just an objective reporter. So it's important to understand what this book is and what it is not. The individuals she has interviewed are primarily senior managers and others with scientific or office jobs, so it's about the management of zoos, not so much about the management of animals in zoos. It will not give you much insight into the hands-on work keepers do to care for the animals. It is not about "a day in the life of...anyone". It will not give you a "feel" for what it's like to work in a zoo. It does acknowledge the ethical issues zoos face, but only at the surface level, and in a tone that is rather dispassionate. There is a lot of discussion about policies and procedures. Some readers may feel overwhelmed by the amount of information provided, but it is pretty accurate information.

Whether or not this information interests you is a call that each reader needs to make. If it's your thing, I don't think you'll be disappointed. I'm flattered that an outsider would put so much effort into understanding my field, and I found this an enjoyable read.

[Jon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, here's another real suck-fest of a book that completely failed in the execution. I love zoos, I think they are amazing, and when administered well, can humanely provide for the well-being of the animals while inspiring and educationg the public. This author, while managing to remain nuetral in the animal rights debate about zoos, absolutely gutted all of the wonderment and joy from such an interesting subject. Then I read the author's bio and found out it was written by a lawyer. That explains the endless coverage of policy and adminstrative details. There was even a chapter about registrars...and the registrar interviewed mentions how boring that subject is! I can see how these aspects are important to letting the reader know how a zoo functions, but it's like reading a report written for government approval, not a book for personal enjoyment. In the section about losing AZA zoo accreditation, at no point does the author even use a real example to give any sort of context or humanity to the story. Even as a law book, it mentions very little history of precident. Ugh, imagine being trapped in a conversation with this woman. And this is coming from a person that has a long history of enjoying boring books!

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was honestly a great overview of the entire Zoological career field that covered everything from record keeping and exhibit design to all of the various changes that have occurred in the industry over the last hundred years. Of the several books that I have read since being a layman coming into a Zoo and Aquarium this I feel is by far the best. I would recommend this book to any and every new hire starting at a Zoo or Aquarium . . . maybe more on the Zoo end. I honestly feel like there are some aspects of where I work that have become more clear because of this book.

All of that said, the subtitle and the cover image are unfortunate because I think they give the false impression that this book is critical of the industry and nothing is further from the truth.

[Gin Jenny (Reading the End) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned all sorts of things about zoo rules and zoo problems! I was really impressed with how conscientious zoo managers are in this book, but also how collegial. Maybe Braverman was painting a rosy picture, but it really seemed like all the zoos want all the other zoos to be awesome. Of course my illusions will probably be shattered when Bravo finally makes The Real Housewives of the American Zoo Association, but until then I can live an idealist.