Zoo breeding tragedies highlight the need for a Roar-Free UK

(c) Aaron Gekoski / Born Free

July 2025 marks ten months since Born Free released Clawing at the Cages: The Problem with Keeping Big Cats in Zoos. The report details the variety of issues that big cats experience when kept in zoos, including tiny enclosures which prevent natural roaming behaviour and being housed in inappropriate social groupings. As a result, big cats in zoos frequently display so-called ‘stereotypical behaviours’, such as obsessive pacing and circling, a sure sign of extreme and longstanding stress.  

Like other animals in zoos, captive big cats are rarely released into the wild; they are simply forced to breed, sometimes with fatal consequences, to produce further generations of captive animals to continue stocking zoos for public entertainment, while serving no meaningful conservation purpose. 

Sadly, a number of incidents at UK zoos since the report’s release have further highlighted the issues with keeping big cats in zoos.

In March 2025, Yorkshire Wildlife Park announced the birth of lion cubs resulting from the mating of a mother and her son. While this does not appear to have been intentional, it is by no means a one-off incident when it comes to the inbreeding of big cats in zoos and highlights the unnatural social groupings that big cats endure in captivity and the increased likelihood of such situations arising.

In July 2025, eight-year-old Amur tiger, Valentina, tragically died at Marwell Zoo, after being introduced to and attacked by male tiger, Pasha. This was the first time they had shared an enclosure together in what was an attempt by the zoo and the wider industry to encourage the two animals to breed. Valentina’s death is sadly another in a long line of fatal incidents involving big cats, as highlighted in ‘Clawing at the Cages’.

Just four weeks earlier, a month-old snow leopard cub died unexpectedly at the Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent.

While big cats continue to be kept in zoos, these incidents will sadly not be the last.

(c) Aaron Gekoski / Born Free

A 2022 survey commissioned by Born Free, revealed that over three quarters (76%) of UK residents believe the UK government should end the keeping of large animals in zoos. A further YouGov poll in 2025 found that only 43% of respondents thought it was acceptable for zoos to continue keeping big cats, highlighting the changing tide of public opinion. To date, 7,500 supporters have signed our Roar-Free UK petition.

Ever since we were founded as ‘Zoo Check’ in 1984, Born Free has been intrinsically linked with the protection of big cats. With many wild big cat populations vulnerable to extinction, our work to protect them has never been so crucial.

Born Free recognises that the protection of big cats requires a multifaceted approach that encompasses policy, community engagement, rescue and care, and conservation. Rescue and care initiatives provide relief for big cats suffering from exploitation or neglect, while conservation and community engagement efforts address the root causes of population decline.

Effective policy is essential to create the legal and regulatory environment that safeguards big cats in the wild and in captivity. That is why Born Free continues to call for a Roar-Free UK – no more breeding of big cats in zoos, an end to the importation of big cats from other zoos or the wild, and improved welfare conditions for those that are already here – until we can phase out the keeping of big cats in captivity altogether.

By working synergistically across these areas, Born Free strives to create a future where big cats are free from captive exploitation, and where they can thrive in their natural habitat where they truly belong.

READ THE REPORT