Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal Volume 12 Issue 1 Article 4 July 2020 THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT IS LACKING: HOW TO UPDATE THE FEDERAL STATUTE TO IMPROVE ZOO ANIMAL WELFARE Rebecca L. Jodidio Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/gguelj Part of the Animal Law Commons, and the Environmental Law Commons Recommended Citation Rebecca L. Jodidio, THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT IS LACKING: HOW TO UPDATE THE FEDERAL STATUTE TO IMPROVE ZOO ANIMAL WELFARE, 12 Golden Gate U. Envtl. L.J. 53 (2020). https://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/gguelj/vol12/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Academic Journals at GGU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal by an authorized editor of GGU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Jodidio: The Animal Welfare Act is Lacking THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT IS LACKING: HOW TO UPDATE THE FEDERAL STATUTE TO IMPROVE ZOO ANIMAL WELFARE REBECCA L. JODIDIO1 I. INTRODUCTION Visiting the zoo is a beloved national pastime — American zoos attract 183 million people annually.2 For many Americans, zoos provide the first, and sometimes only, opportunity for individuals to be in the presence of animals outside of domesticated cats and dogs. However, for the animals themselves, zoos can cause suffering. Two philosophies support the protection of wild animals in captiv- ity: an anthropocentric and ecocentric view. According to the former, anthropocentric view, wild animals hold an extrinsic value and when they cease to be valuable to humans, or conflict with our other values, their interests can be sacrificed.3 The latter, ecocentric view, holds that wild animals have intrinsic value, can be morally harmed, and how we treat them should not be judged solely by the benefit to humans of a 1 Rebecca L.