Monaco--World leader in animal welfare????

Set on a cliff-face beneath the palace, overlooking the harbour and the millionaire's yachts, this small zoo appears out of place in an area full of wealth and glamor. The tiny principality on the north Mediterranean coast has one of the most affluent standards of living but this is not shared by the inmates of the archaic zoo.

The first impression of the zoo is of stepping back in time into a menagerie of an age where little or no thought was given to the needs of the animals. The enclosures are tiny, with little or no apparent enrichment or stimulation. Safety considerations appear little more than basic confinement, with members of the public still able to make contact with some of the animals, including Capuchin monkeys and an extremely powerful adult orangutan.

Visitors can even buy biscuits at the entrance to feed the animals. Such practices not only increase the chances of injury to members of the public, but also the potential for spreading disease from animals to people and between animals within the zoo. Whilst it might be argued that people who care about animals will avoid establishments like this, it was nonetheless disappointing to see visitors teasing the animals, particularly the white tiger.

Two leopards are being kept in a circular aviary-type structure with little room to carry out any natural behaviors. A similar structure next to this holds a panther. Whilst the white tiger has a larger enclosure, the animal is terribly exposed to the public and, like many of the animals in Monaco Zoo, displays typical stereotypic behavior patterns such as repeated pacing up and down.

A single orangutan lives alone in a small circular cage, with just a few plastic toys for company. It is said the ape had originally come from a US vivisection laboratory.

Another social animal living in confined isolation is the zoo's hippo, who's pathetic little pool contrasts with the expansive millionaire's playground of yachts that spreads out behind it.

Some enclosures provide little shelter from the intense heat while others, such as the chinchillas and birds, appeared filthy.

Monaco is one of Europe's bastions of the animal circus, with Monte Carlo's annual international circus festival enjoying royal patronage. This connection is evident at the zoo, with several animals, including the panther and hippo, coming from circuses.

There seems little that can be done for these animals other than close the zoo down and move them elsewhere. Chiselled as it is into the Monte Carlo cliff face there is no real prospect of expanding these enclosures or substantially enriching the lives of the animals there.