DIERBAAR: Moeten dierentuinen nog bestaan, en zo ja in welke vorm? | HanzeMAG DOCS

This documentary by five Hanze students poses an uneasy question: do zoos truly protect animals, or are we perpetuating an outdated system? Should zoos still exist, and if so, in what form? In their documentary, Medialism minor students Job Boerendonk, Isa Sombekke, Nua Wattimury, Vera van de Vegte, and Marlee Latupella delve into the debate on animal welfare, education, and ethics. The idea for this documentary arose when Marlee, as a child, saw a lion pacing in its enclosure. The experience deeply affected her and made her think about animal welfare in zoos. Years later, she returned to the same zoo and discovered that the lion she remembered still exhibited the same behavior. During the minor's opening day, she shared this story, and it resonated with the others. They formed a small group and got to work. They spoke with a former zoo director, a policymaker, and an activist. The resulting story doesn't offer easy answers, but it reveals the complexity of the problem. From enclosure to habitat Biologist Henk Hiddingh, former director of the Northern Zoo, among others, has witnessed changes in the sector over the decades. According to him, traditional animal enclosures have increasingly been replaced by large areas that mimic natural habitats. "As a visitor, you're visiting a biotope," he says. "That's a real step forward from the past." He calls this development positive for animal welfare. More space, more dynamism, more stimuli that match natural behavior. At the same time, he is critical of the rise of amusement park elements. "If you build a roller coaster in a zoo, you automatically turn animals into attractions." Mannie the lion The students illustrate this tension with the story of Mannie, an African lion born in 2018 in a Dutch park, Mondo Verde in Limburg, which also had attractions. Due to limited space, constant visitor noise, and a lack of enrichment, he developed stereotypical behavior. He spent large parts of his life indoors. Returning to the wild was impossible. In 2025, he was transferred to a specialized sanctuary in South Africa, where he was given access to a large natural enclosure. His behavior visibly changed. His childhood remained a defining moment. Mannie's story raises the question of when a zoo oversteps its own purpose. "Mental suffering is underestimated" For Alex Romijn, director of the Bite Back Foundation, the answer is clear. The organization advocates for empty cages and an end to the use of animals for human entertainment. According to Romijn, zoos present themselves as educational and conservative institutions, while historically they themselves contributed to the removal of animals from the wild. He argues that visitors often fail to see the repetitive behavior resulting from stress and boredom. "Mental suffering should not be underestimated." Strict regulations and ethical dilemmas On the other side is Marc Damen, member of the Council for Animal Affairs and former zoo director. He emphasizes that the Netherlands is among the most strictly regulated countries in Europe when it comes to zoos. There are 58 accredited zoos that must meet strict legal requirements. According to him, this doesn't mean there aren't any dilemmas. Issues surrounding reproduction, overpopulation, and the killing of healthy animals are complex and not taken lightly, he says. Ethics committees and internal procedures play a role in this. The Council advised zoos to be more transparent about these kinds of choices. A sector in flux What the documentary primarily demonstrates is that change rarely comes from a single moment. Oversight, legislation, societal pressure, and scientific insights gradually push the sector forward. According to the filmmakers, whether zoos have a future depends less on their existence itself and more on how they are organized, monitored, and legitimized.