There are fates worse than death. Roadside zoos represent some of the cruelest conditions for privately owned exotic pets in North America. “Roadside zoo” is a term used for exotic pet owners who have turned their private menageries into lucrative businesses. Here you can find bears living in concrete pits without shelter, streams, or berries to forge while their babies are taken away for $20 for opportunities. Or you might find social animals, such as spider monkeys, bears, elephants, or alligators, forced to live a life of solitary confinement and isolation. It is not uncommon to see nocturnal animals, such as ocelots or porcupines, on display for paying daytime customers. Reptiles are often housed in the smallest, dirtiest, and most ill-equipped enclosures, denying basic needs such as clean water, privacy, and hiding space.

While roadside zoos may seem like relics of the past, they are very much present today and can be found throughout the United States. In fact, my home state of North Carolina has no laws governing the buying or keeping of exotic animals, and is home to seven roadside zoos which house thousands of exotic pets. Without regulation, the animals suffer as they are forced to spend their entire lives imprisoned as spectacle, and at the mercy of their profit-driven owners.

It is important to note that these images were not taken undercover, or with any kind of special access. They were made during regular business hours and taken from the perspective of any other visitor. This is important because these animal’s suffering is in plain sight, and is visible if you choose to see it. I hope that these images make us feel deeply and ask us to rethink our sense of entitlement and power in enslaving others for entertainment and profit.