Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 10 hours ago
๐ Pre-order my debut book 'This is Vegan Propaganda (And Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You) here: earthlinged.org/orderbook
๐ฑ If you find my work valuable, you can become a regular supporter or make a one-off contribution through the following links (thank you!): earthlinged.org/support & patreon.com/earthlinged
โ๏ธ Find out more about what I do & sign up to my newsletter: earthlinged.org
๐ Download my FREE e-book: earthlinged.org/ebook
๐ Make the switch to vegan & get all of the support you need: switchtovegan.co.uk
Todayโs video:
When I was growing up, a day out at a zoo was one of my favourite activities. I loved seeing all the different animals and I never once questioned whether or not zoos were ethical, or if they actually did benefit the conservation of animals in the wild.
Interestingly, I stopped going to zoos before I became a vegan, with the last zoo I visited being Barcelona Zoo. I had recently seen the movie Blackfish and had become passionate about the captivity of marine animals, but I hadnโt yet extended that concern to the captivity of terrestrial animals as well.
However, as I was wandering around Barcelona Zoo I came across a bear enclosure, inside of which was a bear sat forlornly looking around. I followed the gaze of the bear as they looked at each of the walls of the enclosure and it suddenly hit me, these are wild animals being held captive. They have no agency, no chance of escape and no freedom.
We are often sold the idea that animals are well-cared for and happy in zoos and that zoos do important conservation work, but is this actually true? As is the case with farmed animals, we often mistake the fact that the animals are given food, water and medication as constituting care. However, providing the basic requirements for an animal to survive hardly constitutes genuine care and appreciation for the best interests of the animals.
Itโs time to recognise zoos for what they really are, animal prisons that exist for the primary reason of making money.
Todayโs video is an in-depth look into the ethics of zoos, and the arguments that they use to justify their existence.
Connect:
๐ Find more content on Instagram: instagram.com/earthlinged
๐ Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/earthlingedpage
The Disclosure Podcast:
๐๏ธ iTunes: apple.co/3853BF2
๐๏ธ Spotify: spoti.fi/37ZtGVS
๐๏ธ RSS feed: feeds.buzzsprout.com/254157.rss
All sources + transcript: surgeactivism.org/zoos
Huge thank you to @ryuji_chua and Karla for their amazing work at Surge Media! instagram.com/kfxanimation
๐ Pre-order my debut book 'This is Vegan Propaganda (And Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You) here: earthlinged.org/orderbook
๐ฑ If you find my work valuable, you can become a regular supporter or make a one-off contribution through the following links (thank you!): earthlinged.org/support & patreon.com/earthlinged
โ๏ธ Find out more about what I do & sign up to my newsletter: earthlinged.org
๐ Download my FREE e-book: earthlinged.org/ebook
๐ Make the switch to vegan & get all of the support you need: switchtovegan.co.uk
Todayโs video:
When I was growing up, a day out at a zoo was one of my favourite activities. I loved seeing all the different animals and I never once questioned whether or not zoos were ethical, or if they actually did benefit the conservation of animals in the wild.
Interestingly, I stopped going to zoos before I became a vegan, with the last zoo I visited being Barcelona Zoo. I had recently seen the movie Blackfish and had become passionate about the captivity of marine animals, but I hadnโt yet extended that concern to the captivity of terrestrial animals as well.
However, as I was wandering around Barcelona Zoo I came across a bear enclosure, inside of which was a bear sat forlornly looking around. I followed the gaze of the bear as they looked at each of the walls of the enclosure and it suddenly hit me, these are wild animals being held captive. They have no agency, no chance of escape and no freedom.
We are often sold the idea that animals are well-cared for and happy in zoos and that zoos do important conservation work, but is this actually true? As is the case with farmed animals, we often mistake the fact that the animals are given food, water and medication as constituting care. However, providing the basic requirements for an animal to survive hardly constitutes genuine care and appreciation for the best interests of the animals.
Itโs time to recognise zoos for what they really are, animal prisons that exist for the primary reason of making money.
Todayโs video is an in-depth look into the ethics of zoos, and the arguments that they use to justify their existence.
Connect:
๐ Find more content on Instagram: instagram.com/earthlinged
๐ Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/earthlingedpage
The Disclosure Podcast:
๐๏ธ iTunes: apple.co/3853BF2
๐๏ธ Spotify: spoti.fi/37ZtGVS
๐๏ธ RSS feed: feeds.buzzsprout.com/254157.rss
All sources + transcript: surgeactivism.org/zoos
Huge thank you to @ryuji_chua and Karla for their amazing work at Surge Media! instagram.com/kfxanimation










![Slaughterhouse workers confess on camera | Nowhere to Run - Short Documentary
In this short Surge documentary, released on #WorldVeganDay, we meet Doug, Susana and Carl, ex-slaughterhouse workers from the UK, Mexico and New Zealand. Each share their experiences working in the business of killing animals and shine a light on an industry that exists in the shadows of society.
In 1906, the author Upton Sinclair released his novel The Jungle. The book, which became an international bestseller, is a fictionalised account of Sinclairโs experiences interviewing slaughterhouse workers and researching the conditions that they were working in.
In the novel, Sinclair describes the workers becoming so desensitised to violence that the number of brawls, rapes and murder began to rise: โThere is but scant account kept of cracked heads in back of the [stock] yards, for men who have to crack the heads of animals all day seem to get into the habit, and to practice on their friends, and even on their families, between times.โ
The reality is, we expect people who spend every working day repetitively stabbing chickens, pigs, cows and lambs to hang up their bloody aprons at the end of the day and then just integrate back into normal society. Slaughtering animals is an inherently violent thing to do and the emotional burden of doing so day after day is not something that can shrugged off lightly.
A huge thank you to Doug, Susana and Carl for sharing their stories and to everyone who worked on this Surge Media production.
๐ฑ Join my Substack to read regular articles from me and to support my work - thank you so much! https://earthlinged.substack.com/welcome
๐ฟ To donate to my work (thank you!): http://earthlinged.org/support & http://paypal.me/EdWintersEE
My books:
๐ How to Go (and Stay) Vegan: https://howtogoandstayvegan.com
๐ How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time): https://geni.us/howtoarguepb
๐ This is Vegan Propaganda (& Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You): https://geni.us/vppb
๐๏ธย Personalised/signed books: https://earthlinged.org/shop
Watch next:
My viral university speech: https://youtu.be/Z3u7hXpOm58
My latest short film: https://youtu.be/lRyKX5WPTfY
Listen and subscribe to The Disclosure Podcast:
Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/disclosurepodapple
Spotify: https://bit.ly/disclosurepodspotify
๐ฑ Find more content: https://instagram.com/earthlinged / https://www.tiktok.com/@earthlinged / https://facebook.com/earthlingedpage
About Ed:
Ed Winters is a best-selling author, vegan educator, public speaker and host of The Disclosure Podcast. Ed has spoken at over 1/3 of UK universities and at every Ivy league college, including as a guest lecturer and Media & Design Fellow at Harvard University. Slaughterhouse workers confess on camera | Nowhere to Run - Short Documentary](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sWyK389BJoI/mqdefault.jpg)