4. Read the following texts and then use the information to fill in the table below.

Circus

For hundreds of years, people have enjoyed going to the circus. Shows include spectacular acts by acrobats, clowns, trapeze artists and animals. However, training animals to entertain is an issue that has been much debated. Animals are often kept in small dirty cages and are only let out when they are being trained. Some trainers have even been known to starve or beat the animals to make them perform. However, some circus entertainers say that these animals have been spared from death and would otherwise have been kept in zoos.

Safari Park

In recent years, there has been a growing trend towards keeping wild animals in safari parks. Such parks are large areas of open land where animals are allowed to wander in relative freedom. Visitors drive through the parks, thus enabling them to see the animals in a more «natural environment». For obvious reasons, dangerous animals still need to be carefully guarded and visitors need to be made aware of safety procedures.

Problems have arisen for animals that are faced with different climates, especially those from hot humid countries that then have to survive cold winters somewhere in Europe for example.

Zoo

Animals have been kept in captivity for many years. In modern zoos animals are placed in small enclosures which try to simulate their natural habitat. Zoos became popular in the first half of this century and nearly every major city has a zoo which the public pays to visit. Although campaigners argue that zoos are cruel for animals and that the enclosures where they are kept are far too small, zoos do provide educational information about animals. They increase the public’s knowledge of the dangers many animals face and they often rescue animals which would have otherwise been killed.

National Parks

The twentieth century has seen the establishment of national parks all over the world. They are areas of country where the government protects the natural environment. Animals are allowed to live freely and development is strictly prohibited. In many parts of the world these parks are an important way of ensuring that certain animals don’t become extinct. The Nairobi National Park in Kenya was established in 1946 and many endangered species live there freely. However, these parks are often difficult to manage because of their size and it’s not difficult for poachers to continue killing even after a park has been created.

	Advantages	Disadvantages
Circus
Safari park
Zoo
National Park

5. Look at the table above. In pairs, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the places where animals are kept. Use the expressions below to help you.

• Useful expressions