Buenos Aires Is Closing Its Zoo. Should American Cities Follow?

The Buenos Aires decision brings up the debate about whether all zoos and aquariums should close. One argument for keeping them open is that they teach kids to care for the environment. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums cites studies showing zoo and aquarium visitors “enhance the public’s understanding of wildlife and the need to conserve the places animals live.” But those studies are flawed because they ask zoo visitors whether they thought they learned anything, as Outside magazine pointed out last year.