World War Zoos

John M. Kinder is director of American Studies, professor of history at Oklahoma State University and author of the new book, World War Zoos: Humans and Other Animals in the Deadliest Conflict of the Modern Age. He chronicles the horrific effects of war on zoos throughout Europe, the US and the South Pacific and the sometimes heroic efforts by keepers and the public to preserve their animal charges even in times of scarcity and personal starvation. Zoos that were spared bombing still had to wrestle with difficult questions such as which animals should be euthanized when food supplies were low? Or which should be killed to prevent the escape of dangerous animals? Kinder examines the era from the Great Depression through the Cold War and its cumulative effects resulting in the zoological institutions and some of the policies we see today.

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