The public, if consulted at all, are being asked to make decisions on incomplete and often untruthful information. Society is being conned into believing that all is well with planet Earth, that all development is sustainable, that science can rectify past mistakes and that politicians are taking the necessary steps. Nothing can be further from the truth. The planet lies haemorrhaging and poisoned by man made pollution. The destruction of natural resources continues and we are entering the extinction vortex. Zoos are being promoted as conservation backstops where endangered species can be bred when all else fails, in reality most species in zoos are not endangered and returning them to the wild is rarely successful. What is needed is a complete change of mind set, a return for example to the traditional African beliefs of co-existence not conservation.