History Main / MenagerieOfMisery

* ''WesternAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'': Exaggerated in "[[Recap/HTFFromAToZoo From A to Zoo]]", where the cast goes to a zoo. The zoo is bad both for the animals, who have tiny, cramped environments and lax safety and protection; ''and'' the guests, with all the animals being fiercely violent and homicidal (resulting in the majority of the episode's deaths) and no security, employees, or first aid being available at any point (not that a first-aid kit would do much to help the MadeOfPlasticine titular characters).

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': Hobbes hates the zoo and sees it as equivalent to a prison for animals, as shown in one strip where, when Calvin asks to go to the zoo, Hobbes asks Calvin if they can visit a prison afterwards.

->'''Calvin:''' Mom wants to know if we'd like to go to the zoo today.
->'''Hobbes:''' Can we tour a prison afterwards?

* In ''Fanfic/TheManyWorldsInterpretation'', two academically-minded people from the Literature/{{Discworld}} cross to [[Series/TheBigBangTheory Pasadena, California]]. While quantum research Wizard Ponder Stibbons is finding lots of things in common with people like Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter, his co-researcher Johanna Smith-Rhodes, an Assassin by education and a zoologist by vocation, is being shown the animal handling facilities at Caltech by an excited Amy Farrah-Fowler. After a very big wince at Amy's casual terminology -- she dismisses orangutans as mere monkeys [[note]]Johanna knows the Librarian. Who is very definitely an ape[[/note]], Johanna looks around her, at bare spartan cages, not big enough for their occupants, in a warehouse room with no windows, and is horrified. Reminding herself not to get angry, she starts reforming the animal-handling culture at Caltech.

* ''WesternAnimation/CreatureDiscomfortsLifeInLockdown'': The aim of the film is to highlight how animals in captivity can suffer from neglect or abuse by using interviews with people in lockdown. It includes animals in zoos (a pair of tigers and an orangutan in concrete cages with little space).
* ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'': ZigZagged. The film has a major "fish belong to the ocean, not to tanks" message but also establishes that the Marine Life Institute is primarily a rescue center that releases animals that recovered from their injuries, and its fish habitats are more or less accurate to real-life aquariums. Yet, the "touch pool", from the animals' point of view, is depicted as a terrifying place where the poor starfish and sea cucumbers hide for their lives from [[HumansAreCthulhu the giant hands of human children]]. Also, the Cleveland Aquarium is referred to as a scary place where animals end up if they are in a too bad condition to be released to the wild.

* Discussed in the ''Film/{{Dragnet}}'' film, after Joe talks about how good the animals have it at the zoo. Pep expresses skepticism.

* In the [[Film/Dumbo2019 live-action remake]] of ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'', there is the darkly appropriately named Nightmare Island in the Dreamland theme park. In this attraction, all the animals on display (a [[SavageWolves gray wolf]] billed InUniverse as [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent the Werewolf of Central Park]], a [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodile]] billed as the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon-like]] monster Reptilla, a [[BearsAreBadNews grizzly bear]] billed under some sort of nightmarish sounding name, and [[spoiler: Mrs. Jumbo]] painted to resemble a skeletal CruelElephant and billed as Kali the Destroyer) are kept in small alcove style cages built into the walls of the island building's interior, given precious little ability to avoid being in constant view of the guests, heavily decorated and costumed to look as fearsome and scary as possible for the sake of guests' amusement, and also implied to potentially undergo brutal beatings for the sake of sticking to their 'acts'. And while the environments within the cages (with the potential exception of [[spoiler: Mrs. Jumbo's cage]]) seem to be relatively naturalistic, the overall size of said cages and other unpleasant living conditions make this detail a very small comfort for the animals.
* ''Film/JurassicPark'' implies this to be a factor in why the park failed, with John Hammond failing to have proper welfare for the dinosaurs which resulted in a triceratops suffering from food poisoning and the raptors living in an enclosure far too small for them.
** ''Film/JurassicWorld'' had greatly improved on this which is part of why it was successful, however it is still heavily implied that because the ''Indominus Rex'' lacked social interaction and lived its entire life in an enclosure that was too small it became extremely aggressive and unhinged, which is why it would break out and cause the collapse of the second park.
* This was a main premise in the film ''Film/ZebraInTheKitchen'' (1965). A boy working at the zoo, in a protest against the appalling living conditions of the animals, takes the zookeeper's keys and lets all the animals loose! Hilarity ensues as the jungle animals wander all over town.

* The owner of ''Literature/DrFranklinsIsland'' has been [[LEGOGenetics splicing animals with human DNA]], making mostly weird, awkward hybrids like a capybara with human lips and back legs and piglets with human hands. He has them displayed centrally in his compound. The enclosures themselves are a bit small but not outrageously so, but the zoo is noted to smell and the mutated animals seem very unhappy, especially a jungle cat whose brain was affected and then its mate died - it covers its face with its paws and moans and cries. After Dr. Fraklin [[TestedOnHumans tests the process]] on two humans, [[ForcedTransformation forcibly]] turning them into MixAndMatchCritters, the doctor has them put on display as well.

* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians:'' Percy, Annabeth, and Grover hitch a ride on a zoo animal transport train that turns out to be mistreating its cargo, keeping them in filthy cages and giving them the wrong food.

* 'From Cages to Comfort' is an episode of ''Series/AnimalCops Houston'' where the team deal with one of these. A man keeps a number of bears and tigers in cramped cages and gives them water by spraying a hose at them. The Animal Cops move them to the Houston Zoo where a large concrete enclosure is an ''improvement''. Once they are checked over, the animals are transferred to zoos across the US or, in the case of animals too old (Bruiser the black bear) or too distressed (Ivan the tiger) to travel, moved into a better enclosure in the Houston Zoo.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'': The zoo from "[[Recap/TheXFilesS02E18FearfulSymmetry Fearful Symmetry]]" is explicitly stated to have been abysmal in the recent past before the episode, to the point where they actually hired new management along with a scientific adviser to reform the zoo. Also notable in that the (fictional) zoo in question had never once had a live birth of any animal in captivity, ever. [[spoiler: The animals are regularly abducted by aliens and made the subject of strange experiments, including the theft of their unborn children.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTeddyRuxpin'': The Ying Zoo keeps its exhibits (many of whom are actually sapient) in positively tiny cages more akin to prison cells than anything else. At least one animal is kept in a perpetual state of hunger so it can continually eat itself for the guests' amusement, while a nocturnal bat-like creature finds itself constantly illuminated. [[TheBarnum The Sorceror Of Ying]], who runs the place, boasts to have "captured one of everything from Grundo and the Land of Ying" as he extols patrons to come. And he's not above turning his more exotic guests into new exhibits if he can, even charging them room and board, as Teddy and Grubby found out when they attempted to infiltrate the place.
* Alluded to in the opening scene of ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode [[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS4E33TheRoots "The Roots"]], where the kids mistook a trip to the mall for a trip to the zoo because Nicole told them they were going to see, "depressed, out of shape creatures walking around in circles."

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Discussed in "Fry and Leela's Big Fling". Guenter points out that Simian 7's zoos differ from the ones on Earth by having exhibits that replicate the animals' habitats so perfectly that they don't realize they're in captivity (with a herd of gazelles bumping into an invisible wall, proving his point). The zoo shown in the episode, however, is actually very accurate to real-life modern zoos, minus the presence of extinct animals and aliens.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Defied in "Fluttershy Leans In". Fluttershy hires some ponies as experts for the animal sanctuary she is building, all of whom turn out to know nothing about animal welfare. One of them in particular, Wrangler, even adds in the cramped cages expected for this trope, with her idea of making them comfortable is by putting pillows in them. Naturally, things don't suit well for the animals, so Fluttershy gets a proper expert, Big Daddy [=McColt=], to help build a proper animal sanctuary that looks like the natural, wide-open habitats seen in modern zoos.

* In Margaret Bloy Graham's 1967 children's story ''Be Nice to Spiders'', the caged animals are shown as being lackluster and miserable on account of all the flies that have populated the zoo. After a spider takes up residence in one of the cages and deals with the flies, the animals' moods improve. This spreads throughout the zoo as the spider moves from cage to cage.

* In Margaret Bloy Graham's ''Be Nice to Spiders'', the caged animals are shown as being lackluster and miserable on account of all the flies that have populated the zoo. After a spider takes up residence in one of the cages and deals with the flies, the animals' moods improve. This spreads throughout the zoo as the spider moves from cage to cage.

In period settings, the protagonists may [[ValuesDissonance view the conditions as perfectly acceptable]] (or even ''revolutionary''), and/or the care of the animals is based on outdated knowledge.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'': Played with and defied. In the episode "The Zooing Time", Norbert gets arrested for a crime Daggett committed and is taken to a zoo, building up the expectation of this trope. But the zoo itself turns out to be an aversion, being the equivalent of a luxury resort with beautiful open enclosures (a lot like modern zoos in real life), although the animals have to behave naturally when guests come to look at them. Norb immediately settles in and has the time of his life. Unfortunately, a guilt-ridden Dag believes this trope to be the case and ends up destroying the zoo, so the animals lock him up in a cage that actually looks like a prison cell.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'': In the episode "The Zooing Time", Norbert gets arrested for a crime Daggett committed and is taken to a zoo, building up the expectation of this trope. But the zoo itself turns out to be an aversion, being the equivalent of a luxury resort with beautiful open enclosures (a lot like modern zoos in real life), although the animals have to behave naturally when guests come to look at them. Norb immediately settles in and has the time of his life. Unfortunately, a guilt-ridden Dag believes this trope to be the case and ends up destroying the zoo, so the animals lock him up in a cage that actually looks like a prison cell.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Defied in "Fluttershy Leans In". Fluttershy hires some ponies as experts for the animal sanctuary she is building, all of whom turn out to know nothing about animal welfare. One of them in particular, Wrangler, adds in cages for the animals, with her idea of making them comfortable is by putting pillows in them. Naturally, things don't suit well for the animals, so Fluttershy gets a proper expert, Big Daddy [=McColt=], to help build a proper animal sanctuary that looks like the natural, wide-open habitats seen in modern zoos.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Defied in "Fluttershy Leans In". Fluttershy hires some ponies as experts for the animal sanctuary she is building, all of whom turn out to know nothing about animal welfare. One of them in particular, Wrangler, adds in cages for the animals, with her idea of making them comfortable is by putting pillows in them. Naturally, things don't suit well for the animals, so Fluttershy gets a proper expert, Big Daddy [=McColt=], to build a proper animal sanctuary that looks like the natural, wide-open habitat seen in modern zoos.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'': Played with. In the first movie, the animals enjoy a life of luxury in the zoo, but a few of them (Marty the zebra and the four penguins) dream of living in the wild. After Marty escapes and his friends follow him to get him back to the zoo, an AnimalWrongsGroup declares that they escaped from the zoo because they suffer there, and ship all of them to the wild. Two movies later, the trope is played more straight: after Captain [=DuBois=] captures the animals and returns them to the Central Park Zoo, it looks more prison-like with higher fences around the habitats. And even after being locked there, [=DuBois=] is determined to shoot Alex with a poison dart.

In RealLife, zoos have changed a lot throughout time. In the 1800s to early 1900s, they were originally just harsh concrete cages. As time went by and regulations and concerns for animal welfare were established, zoos started to improve more and more, especially after the concept of endangered species appeared, when zoos gained an extra role to play: preserving animal species and breeding them in captivity. Now the US, Canada, and European countries have strict regulations on exhibits and must meet certain standards that give animals large, roomy enclosures made to resemble their natural habitat.

However, in a lot of media, zoos are shown as gloomy, maudlin places. Whilst the keeper(s) are generally portrayed sympathetically, the zoo authorities either care very little for the animals, or care but do not know anything about them. The exhibits are severely undersized, inadequate or simply falling apart and the animals escaping frequently. Visitors either come in order to make fun of the animals and throw stuff at them, or the zoo has hardly any visitors.

In period settings, the protagonists may [[ValuesDissonance view the conditions as perfectly acceptable]] (or even ''revolutionary'') and/or the care of the animals is based on outdated knowledge.

For example, the zoo doesn't have to be public. This trope could include the [[AristocratsAreEvil evil aristocrat]]'s private collection of exotic animals (whether real species, prehistoric ones or fictional creatures), who are neglected, abused (by their owner or his hired thugs) and only viewed as objects/curiosities and/or the occasional SharkPool (for carnivorous species).

Debate about whether zoos, regardless of intentions and quality, are ethical or not is still common today. While very inadequate zoos do exist, posting real life examples will just trigger endless flame wars over animal rights and welfare, so Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease

* ''WesternAnimation/CreatureDiscomfortsLifeInLockdown'': The aim of the film is to highlight how animals in captivity can suffer from neglect or abuse by using interviews with people in lock down. It includes animals in zoos (a pair of tigers and an orangutang in concrete cages with little space).
* ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'': ZigZagged. The film has a major "fish belong to the ocean, not to tanks" message, but also establishes that the Marine Life Institute is primarily a rescue center that releases animals that recovered from their injuries, and its fish habitats are more or less accurate to real-life aquariums. Yet, the "touch pool", from the animals' point of view, is depicted as a terrifying place where the poor starfish and sea cucumbers hide for their lives from [[HumansAreCthulhu the giant hands of human children]]. Also, the Cleveland Aquarium is referred to as a scary place where animals end up if they are in a too bad condition to be released to the wild.

** ''Film/JurassicWorld'' had greatly improved on this which is part of why it was successful, however it is still heavily implied that because the ''Indominus Rex'' lacked social interaction and lived it’s entire life in an enclosure that was too small it became extremely aggressive and unhinged, which is why it would break out and cause the collapse of the second park.

* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians:'' Percy, Annabeth and Grover hitch a ride on a zoo animal transport train that turns out to be mistreating its cargo, keeping them in filthy cages and giving them the wrong food.

* ''Series/TigerKing'' takes an in-depth look at various big cat facilities around the United States. How they treat their animals vary, but Joe Exotic's Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park is portrayed as the worst. The facility in general is run-down, animals are kept in cramped cages that are far smaller than anything they would need in real life, the zoo is always in a precarious financial position and so the animals and employees are fed expired meat from supermarkets, and its proprietor gradually becomes more obsessed with becoming famous than actually caring for them.

* ''VideoGame/JurassicWorldEvolution'': If the player creates enclosures that are too small or lacking the right environmental needs, food and water. This will that will result in the dinosaurs being unhappy and they will break out and rampage across your park, which will effect your rating.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Menagerie is a continent that is controlled by [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus]]. [[LandDownUnder Located in the south east of Remnant, two thirds of its landmass is a harsh, inhabitable desert full of dangerous wildlife.]] As a refuge for any Faunus in the world to retreat to if [[FantasticRacism life elsewhere becomes too harsh]], the single settlement region is cramped and overcrowded. While Humans gave it to the Faunus as a peace-offering over the Faunus fight for equality, Menagerie has instead become a symbol of just how unequal the relationship between Humans and Faunus remains.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'': In "The Great Escape", June's class visits the zoo but the animals are less then lively. The zoo itself isn't too bad with some decent conditions. But the inhabitants turn out to be monsters glamored to look like animals and kept prisoner by a Demoness named Gigi who uses their energy to remain beautiful. Naturally anyone who isn't magically inclined can't hear them and they're taken down to an even worse prison underground after closing hours which does have cramped cages (though oddly get free time like a prison yard). June ends up captured, turned into a lemur and stuck there for a bit when she initially tries to break them free.
* ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984'': Defied and discussed in an episode where Rowlf thinking zoos just keep animals locked in cages. Even after Nanny explains most zoos don't use cages anymore, he's still unconvinced and the rest of the episode is spent explaining the benefits zoos offer such as protecting endangered species. By the end, Rowlf changes his view and is now anxious to visit the zoo, but [[HereWeGoAgain now Gonzo is scared to go]], fearing he is an endangered species and the zoo will want to keep him there.

** A second zoo is mentioned to be maintained by Horde Prime, home to unique and one of a kind animals found throughout his empire. When Hordak captures Swift Wind to send as an exhibit, he takes great pleasure in telling the winged unicorn how he'll be fed the best food and kept fastidiously groomed, but will never see the sky again as his wings wither and his feathers dull from disuse and captivity.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Discussed in "Fry and Leela's Big Fling". Guenter points out that Simian 7's zoos differ from the ones on Earth by having exhibits that replicate the animals' habitats so perfectly that they don't realize they're in captivity (with a herd of gazelles bumping into an invisible wall, proving his point). The zoo shown in the episode, however, is actually very accurate to real-life modern zoos.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Discussed in "Fry and Leela's Big Fling". Guenter points out that Simian 7's zoos differ from the zoos on Earth by replicating the habitats so perfectly that the animals don't realize they're in captivity (with a herd of gazelles bumping into an invisible wall, proving his point). The zoo shown in the episode, however, is actually very accurate to real-life modern zoos.

Debate about whether zoos, regardless of intentions and quality, are ethical or not is still common today. While very inadequate zoos do exist, posting real life examples will just trigger endless flame wars over animal rights and welfare, so '''Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease'''