As adults we often have to take difficult decisions about how to bring up our children, what to expose them to, what to let them see and hear, while teaching them what we believe is right and what is wrong.

It is morally wrong to allow our children to think that elephants, or other animals, in circuses are living an acceptable life, when the evidence for the opposite is overwhelming. We may destroy some illusions by telling them this, but it is insincere to allow animals to suffer for the purpose of encouraging our children to appreciate them. Such appreciation can come from visits to zoos or wild animal parks that meet acceptable standards, or films from the wild, as well as our own attitudes.

Think for a moment about the successful global focus on whales. How many people has seen a whale in the wild, and really been able to observe its behavior? Very few. How many have seen one of the endangered species of whales in a zoo? No one. And yet, people all over the world appreciate whales, their complex behavior and the need for their conservation.

A zoo can be an acceptable place for elephants, if it provides the space and conditions that elephants require. We have a long way to go, though, before the zoo industry is even close to meeting such standards. When that happens elephants can be elephants, and people can learn to appreciate the world's biggest land mammal the way they really are.

Alternatively, we can visit them in the wild, or through the amazing possibilities provided by the internet and multimedia technology.