ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the question of animal agency as it relates to zoos, menageries and circuses. It focuses on three case studies: the celebrity animal, the deviant animal and the performing animal. The chapter outlines some of the most important historical approaches to the study of zoos and menageries and situate these within the wider history of animals. It also explores the role of zoos as symbols of power and sources of knowledge, before going on to consider the particular place of zoos within broader debates over animal welfare. The chapter discusses animal agency, and the specific ways in which zoo animals might inform this debate. A recurrent theme in the history of zoos and menageries has been the relationship between exotic animals and different forms of power. Important function of the zoo has been as a venue for the production and dissemination of knowledge. Zoos, menageries and circuses have also been studied from an animal welfare perspective.
