Over Memorial Day weekend, a toddler fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. What happened next would lead to a fierce debate: Fearing the boy was in danger, a zoo worker shot and killed the gorilla, a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla named Harambe. The boy was unharmed. Many people, including animal welfare advocates, condemn the gorilla killing. Others – among them renowned primate expert Jane Goodall – say the zoo had no choice. Now the incident is raising a larger question: what is the value of keeping animals in captivity? Do the benefits zoos provide – like education, conservation, even entertainment – outweigh the risks to human and … Continue reading Andrew C. Revkin