Should be noted some zoos do spend enough on habitats to make them worthwhile, however this is very slim as well as not doable for all animals.
In my state (Colorado) we have something called a sanctuary [1]. From humans being put high up into the air (via a 40 foot tall bridge that crosses the entire complex) which simulates a more natural way for us to observe the different animals they house (they specialize in carnivorous species), to larger and more natural feeling habitats for each different species (over 720 Acres devoted to over 450 rescued animals)
They spoke of Zoos and how bad they are most of the time, however the Denver Zoo they said were better then most other Zoos in our country when it came to building decent habitats. However in my opinion the sanctuary is an example of how every Zoo should alter its setup. I wouldn't even mind helping donate to my local zoo for this change and I highly believe the masses would contribute as well.
That zoo expands on the Hagenbeck concept – an idea Carl Hagenbeck developed in 1907, where he wanted to construct a zoo without glass or fences – and researched how far and high animals could leap, and just built moats of the appropriate size around their habitat sin his zoo.
If you live within a drive of the Washington D.C. zoo, much of the zoo is built in this way. There's even a rope over the humans that monkeys can climb across to navigate between different parts of their habitat.
However, some of the harder to contain animals still end up behind glass or bars. But then you can also get up to within an inch or two of a mature Gorilla and interact with him a bit.
I can't help but feel sad for the animals, but you can also learn tremendous amounts about them by seeing them so close.
In my state (Colorado) we have something called a sanctuary [1]. From humans being put high up into the air (via a 40 foot tall bridge that crosses the entire complex) which simulates a more natural way for us to observe the different animals they house (they specialize in carnivorous species), to larger and more natural feeling habitats for each different species (over 720 Acres devoted to over 450 rescued animals)
They spoke of Zoos and how bad they are most of the time, however the Denver Zoo they said were better then most other Zoos in our country when it came to building decent habitats. However in my opinion the sanctuary is an example of how every Zoo should alter its setup. I wouldn't even mind helping donate to my local zoo for this change and I highly believe the masses would contribute as well.
[1] http://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org