I WAS delighted to hear that keeping elephants in zoos or safari parks is to be banned.

Legislation will prohibit importation of any new animals and the existing elephants will be allowed to die out naturally. Campaigners have long warned that the highly intelligent animals suffer from mental illness in zoos. They are also plagued in captivity by illnesses, including crippling arthritis, and live far shorter lives than in the wild.

It would be good if similar legislation could be applied to other animals which in my opinion are totally unsuited to zoos - polar bears, giraffes and gorillas to name but a few.

As a child I saw a bored polar bear pacing up and down in a zoo’s concrete enclosure and have never forgotten it.