In summary:
- Science World in Vancouver is hosting a “Robot Zoo” exhibit from October 9, 2026 – April 4, 2027.
- Attractions like this can offer a more humane alternative to captive animal attractions and mobile live animal programs by giving children an opportunity to learn about animals without requiring animals to be kept in unnatural or stressful conditions.
- The VHS’s Campaign Manager, Nadia Xenakis, spoke with a journalist from BCIT to outline the concerns with mobile live animal programs and how alternatives like the Robot Zoo can pave a kinder path forward.
Captive animals: Welfare risks without a proven educational benefit
While children may see an animal in a zoo or at a mobile live animal program for a few minutes, captive animals spend their entire lives in unnatural and often stressful environments.
Captive wild animals have limited opportunities to engage in their complex natural behaviours. Travel can also be extremely stressful for animals as they are moved between their permanent housing and schools or other settings for temporary display.
Meanwhile, researchers and academics are critical of claims that learning results in increased conservation efforts from participating in mobile live animal programs. Instead, these programs may give children the impression that it is okay to remove animals from their natural environments so we can interact with them.
Technology provides a path forward
There are many alternative ways for children to learn about animals in a way that allows them to express their natural behaviours, including:
- Walks to look at native wildlife
- Visiting with companion animals in a home or shelter
- Videos and books about non-native wild animals in their natural habitats
Technological developments like the Robot Zoo are a great way to explore interactive, engaging, and up-close experiences for children to learn more about animals while respecting the freedom of live animals to engage in their natural behaviours and live in their natural habitats.
Cover image: Andrew Chen/(BCIT)