Are zoos

morally right?

SKILLS

LEVEL NUMBER LANGUAGE

Intermediate B2_1034X_EN English
Goals

■ Practise reading arguments

for and against zoos
■ Practise debating keeping
animals in zoos
■ Practise giving your
opinion about zoos

www.lingoda.com 2
 Do you think zoos provide a safe
environment for animals or do you
think they hold them captive?

Let’s discuss…

www.lingoda.com 3
Preview and warm-up

■ In this lesson you are going to think about, and discuss, whether it is right or
wrong to keep animals in zoos and to justify your opinion on the subject.

Are these giraffes in their natural habitat?

www.lingoda.com 4
Zoos

Read through these facts about zoos.

www.lingoda.com 5
 Zoos

?? ? ??
? ?? ?
? ? ???
?
?
?
?
? ?
?
?? ? ?? ???
Do any of the facts
on the previous Is there a zoo in
page surprise you? your hometown?

? ?
????????????
????????? ? ?? ?
? ?? ?
What kind of

?
animals can you
see at a zoo?
? Have you heard of
any unusual zoos?

www.lingoda.com 6
Why should animals be kept in zoos?

Firstly, a zoo provides many people with the only chance they will get to
see a large number of animals in real life. This human contact means
that we are more connected with animals and perhaps more invested
in their welfare. It makes people conscious of the diversity in the
natural world, and thus zoos raise awareness of animal
conservation. Zoos often save endangered species and usually have
breeding programmes for these animals which might have died out in
the wild; in this way, zoos are preserving the diversity of the animal
kingdom. Good zoos are accredited and animals in these zoos are
well-fed and well looked after. These zoos also provide animals with
habitats similar to those they would find in the wild.

www.lingoda.com 7
Vocabulary

A lion’s natural habitat is the savannas

of Africa.

Animal welfare is an important topic

for zoos.

Children should be conscious of how to

help endangered species.

It is important to preserve the diversity

of the animal kingdom.

www.lingoda.com 8
Vocabulary

Zoos can raise awareness of problems

animals have in the wild.

Wildlife conservation is one of the main

aims of zoos.

Many zoos have breeding programmes

for their animals.

We should only visit zoos which are

accredited.

www.lingoda.com 9
Fill in the gaps

Fill in the gaps with the following words:

accredited, breeding programme, habitat, raising awareness, welfare

1. The _______________ of animals in zoos

should be a priority, so they should have
spacious and clean enclosures and
appropriate food.
2. A _______________ is an important way for
zoos to ensure endangered species have
babies and don’t die out.
3. Zoos can help endangered animals by
_______________ of their problems in the
wild.
4. Enclosures in a zoo should look as close as
possible to the natural _______________ of
the animal.
5. _______________ zoos are ones which have
been checked and meet international
standards.

www.lingoda.com 10
Visiting a zoo

Have you been to a zoo before?

Did the zoo help you to make a connection with the animals? Were you
more aware of animal issues after your visit?

www.lingoda.com 11
Accredited zoos

Do you think it is important to

check that you are visiting an
accredited zoo?

www.lingoda.com 12
Why shouldn’t animals be kept in zoos?

On the other hand, keeping animals in captivity

puts them into a different environment to their
natural one, which can make them bored or
stressed. Many zoos do not provide animals with
enough space or stimulation to give them a good
quality of life. Moreover, humans do not have the
right to capture animals and keep them for
entertainment. Putting endangered species into
zoos only lowers their numbers in the wild. Most
animals which are bred in zoos are never
released back into their natural habitat but are
kept in captivity forever. By visiting zoos, children
are simply being taught that it is right to capture
and keep animals in cages rather than being
taught any empathy.

www.lingoda.com 13
 New words

in captivity Some people argue that animals should not be kept in captivity.

It is important for animals to have stimulation to keep them

stimulation calm and happy.

release It is difficult to release animals bred in captivity into the wild.

A cage is a structure with bars in which zoo animals are often

cage kept.

www.lingoda.com 14
 alternatives to zoos

Safari parks or animal sanctuaries are alternative places to zoos where people can
see animals up close. Animals in these places are kept in their natural habitats and are
generally not made to perform for the public.

Safari parks can be found anywhere but the biggest are in

Africa.

Animal sanctuaries often rescue animals which have been

badly treated.

www.lingoda.com 15
Complete the sentences

Complete the sentences below with your own ideas.

1. Some people argue that animals kept in cages…

2. Stimulation is important for zoo animals because…

3. A safari park is a place…

4. In an animal sanctuary…

5. Releasing zoo animals into the wild is…

www.lingoda.com 16
Speaking

What do you think about safari parks and animal sanctuaries?

Have you ever visited one or would you like to?

www.lingoda.com 17
 justifying your opinion

When you give your opinion on a subject you must justify why you think
that or why you feel that way.

On the next page you will find some phrases to help you do that.

I believe that zoos are wrong because animals should not be

kept in cages.

www.lingoda.com 18
 New words

the reason I I believe we should keep animals in zoos. The reason I think this
think this is is…

the main
I do not believe that animals should be kept in zoos. The main
reason I feel reason I feel this way is…
this way is

…due to the Animals are stressed in cages due to the fact that they are not
fact that… in their natural environment.

Because of the entertainment value of zoos for communities, I

because of… believe we should keep them.

www.lingoda.com 19
Justify your opinion

Justify your opinion on these questions in one sentence using the

phrases from the previous page.

Which animal do you think would make the most

interesting pet?

Do you think
Which breed of humans should What is the most
dog do you think interesting animal
is the most
talk to pets like native to your
intelligent? they are also country?
human?

Do snakes What is the best

Are cats better
make good name for a pet
than dogs?
pets? bird?

www.lingoda.com 20
Comment on the sentences

Read the two sentences below and talk about them with your teacher.

“Zoos are a fun and traditional day out for

“
all the family. It would be a shame to lose
that.

“ No child has ever seen a dinosaur but

“
millions love them. We don’t need zoos to
make children empathise with animals.

www.lingoda.com 21
For or against?

Make a list of arguments for and against zoos.

Use what you remember from the lesson and add any of your own.

for against

www.lingoda.com 22
Debate

Present your arguments as a debate.

We should not
Zoos protect
keep wild
endangered
animals in
species.
captivity.

Student A: you are in

Student B: you are against
favour of keeping animals
keeping animals in zoos.
in zoos.

www.lingoda.com 23
Writing

Write a text explaining your position on zoos, either for or against,

giving reasons for your argument. You should aim to write a minimum
of 150 words.
Once you have written your text, present it to your teacher.

www.lingoda.com 24
Reflect on the goals

Go back to the second slide of the lesson and check

if you have achieved all the goals of the lesson.

yes no

_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________

www.lingoda.com 25
Reflect on this lesson

Think about everything you have seen in this lesson.

What were the most difficult activities or words? The easiest?

+ _______________________________
_______________________________

+ _______________________________
_______________________________

– _______________________________
_______________________________

– _______________________________
_______________________________
If you have time, go over
the most difficult slides again

www.lingoda.com 26
27 www.lingoda.com
Activity p. 10
1. welfare, 2. breeding programme, 3. raising awareness, 4. habitat, 5. Accredited
Answer key
Homework

www.lingoda.com 28
Your visit to a zoo or safari park

Think about a zoo or safari park that you have visited and what you
know about those places.

www.lingoda.com 29
Writing an email

Write an email to a zoo or safari park that you have visited with
suggestions on how they can do better for the animals in their
care.

– □ ×

To:

Subject:

Dear…

www.lingoda.com 30
About this material

This material is proudly provided by

and can be used by anyone for free and

for any purpose.

Who are we?

Why learn English online?

What kinds of English classes do we offer?

Who are our English teachers?

How do our English certificates work?

We also have a language blog!

www.lingoda.com 31