Evidence suggests that humans first domesticated animals beginning about 10,000 B.C.E., but collecting wild and exotic animals did not begin until about 3,000 B.C.E. During the next few millennia, gardens, animal collections, parks, and animal reserves grew in numbers and range. But it was not until the development of the nation-state in the sixteenth century that organized menageries, zoos, and aquaria emerged and proliferated (Kisling Jr. 2001). In the early twenty-first century visiting zoos is one of the most popular activities in many countries, yet keeping animals in zoos—particularly large mammals such as elephants and whales—raises important ethical questions that pit the interests of science and conservation against those of animal rights.

History

The first recorded examples of animal collections were found in the great civilizations of Mesopotamia, such as Assyria, Sumeria, and Babylon. Animal collections were the privilege of the wealthiest people, usually royalty...