13th August 2024

Over the past nine days England’s capital has again become the canvas for arguably the world’s most famous street artist, Banksy. The artist, whose true identity remains a mystery, has been decorating London with daily graffiti works, all depicting animals.

Banksy has been applying his unique brand of activist art to the streets of the UK, and the world, since the 1990s, and has grown in notoriety and acclaim during his decades to become the world’s most famous graffiti artist. His works are often political statements or comments, and as such, whenever a new Banksy appears, people quickly try to puzzle out its meaning. The latest of the nine animal-themed installments has led many to conclude that this latest series is a commentary on our relationship with animals, and a criticism of the keeping of wild animals in captivity.

In each of the new Banksy works in London, animals can be seen interacting with, and often constricted by a human environment. From the first one, a goat balanced precariously on a small ledge, to a wolf howling within the artificial constraint of a satellite dish, to sea birds picking their dinner off a fish bar’s sign, each one reflects an element of the ways in which human activity affects animals. The latest work shows some of the most artificially constrained animals of all, wild animals, breaking free from ZSL London Zoo where they have been incarcerated for nothing more than the business of human entertainment.

Unsurprisingly, the zoo has missed the point. The statement released to the press focussed on how much joy animals bring to spectators, not on the critical commentary the work suggests. They have surrounded the graffiti with barriers and pledged to protect it from exposure or vandalism, but we hope that visitors see the real message and choose not to buy a ticket to the zoo.

Freedom for Animals has been working for a world without cages since 1957. Join us as a Freedom Champion today.