Sir Marcus Worsley was a British Conservative Party Politician who was a member of parliament between 1959 and 1974, he served as a High Sheriff and Lord Lieutenant for North Yorkshire. The films in his collection, made by his father, are film themed around his family, the royal family and Hovingham, where he and his family resided, therefore these films are a very typical ‘home movie’ of the period, whilst also being a documentation of life. In 1828, London Zoo opened and was created by...

Sir Marcus Worsley was a British Conservative Party Politician who was a member of parliament between 1959 and 1974, he served as a High Sheriff and Lord Lieutenant for North Yorkshire. The films in his collection, made by his father, are film themed around his family, the royal family and Hovingham, where he and his family resided, therefore these films are a very typical ‘home movie’ of the period, whilst also being a documentation of life.

In 1828, London Zoo opened and was created by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, it is believed to be the first zoo in the UK. Zoos were previously only for the wealthy or for zoological research, but eventually they were opened to the public for entertainment purposes. Little to nothing was known about the animal’s held captive in these zoos, but due to scientific and technological advancements within the last 100 years zoos now have animal specialists and even specialists in animal husbandry, health, nutrition and behaviour . Furthermore, modern day zoos are not just about displaying exotic animals to the public; they have a focus and legal obligation to conserve species populations due to the growing realisation and documentation of a decline in wildlife because of habitat loss . The conservation role of zoos took prominence in the 1960s thanks to activists like Jacques Cousteau and Rachel Carson , but this prominence increased even more in 1984 when an African Elephant named Pole Pole died in London Zoo and began a debate on the ethics of keeping animals in zoos . Additionally, conservation has become increasingly more important as some species are extinct in the wild , this has made breeding programmes essential within zoos and has increased political activism surrounding global warming, Co2 emissions, the use of plastics and animal testing.

The film shows the captive animals in very bleak and bland conditions, concrete surrounds the animals as this allows the exhibits to be easily cleaned and there is no attempt to replicate the conditions these animals would have faced in the wild. This deeply contrasts present day zoos as they try to replicate the wild as much as possible within the animal’s enclosures, not only do they aim to replicate conditions of the wild but modern-day zoos aim to not cage the animals or force them to live in cramped conditions like zoos of the past. In addition to this, Safari Parks have become increasingly more popular as they give the animals more space to roam around in and they are not caged, this is seen as more humane by society due to the increased importance of morals. Legally speaking 21st century zoos must have a licence to operate, they face random inspections, must keep records, and meet conservation requirements and this is also due to the changes in societies morals and ethics over the last century.

References;
GOV.UK. 2015. Keeping zoo animals. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/guidance/keeping-zoo-animals> [Accessed 18 November 2021].
Zoological Society of London (ZSL). n.d. Introducing the Modern Zoo. [online] Available at: <https://www.zsl.org/education/introducing-the-modern-zoo> [Accessed 18 November 2021].
Bida, D., 2015. The Evolution of Zoos. [online] Zooshare.ca. Available at: <https://zooshare.ca/the-evolution-of-zoos/> [Accessed 18 November 2021].
Ghosh, S., 2018. British Zoos - Their politics and history. [online] Kate on Conservation. Available at: <https://kateonconservation.com/2018/06/04/investigating-british-zoos-guest/> [Accessed 18 November 2021].