Talking Animals: anti-captivity activist (& author) founded his first organization—and received national acclaim–at age 13

Justin Barker–an anti-captivity activist with a compelling narrative, starting with launching his first organization, Citizens Lobbying for Animals in Zoos, at age 13—recalls the family culture his parents cultivated that yielded a teen activist particularly empathetic to zoo animals and other captive wildlife.

Barker further notes that a key step in his journey toward becoming a precocious animal activist was a serendipitous visit to a used bookstore, where he picked up a copy of “Kids Can Save the Animals: 101 Easy Things to Do,” written by PETA president Ingrid Newkirk. The book served Barker as an instructional manual of sorts.

He recounts cajoling his Dad to take him to the Sacramento Zoo on a summer’s day. Upon arrival, even as a young kid, Barker observed a number of things that felt wrong about the facility, from the quality of the enclosures to the condition of, and types of, animals exhibited—particularly struck by the polar bear on display amidst 105-degree temperatures.

I inquired why he thought—as an early teen—he was not only upset by what he witnessed during his visits to the Sacramento Zoo, but compelled to take action against those upsetting sights. Especially when so many people of various ages and backgrounds are charmed by zoos, finding the animals—and how they’re presented—enchanting.

On a related note, he discusses a separate campaign to rescue and relocate two bears, Brutus and Ursula, who were living in what was left of a largely-defunct, ramshackle zoo that often flooded. Horrific conditions. Years later, he wrote a book, a YA memoir, chronicling those experiences, “Bear Boy: The True Story of a Boy, Two Bears, and the Fight to be Free.” The book was published a few years ago, yet just days prior to our interview, someone identifying himself as a blind person contacted Barker, asking if could make “Bear Boy” available as an audio book. Because he’s a tech wiz, he’d found a way to produce the audio book by the next day, and it was officially released Nov. 26, the day before this interview; we aired a brief audio clip.

We also touched on his current campaign: San Francisco Zoo Watch, which chronicles the years-long string of animal deaths—plus, at least one patron death—and various other forms of alleged mismanagement at the San Francisco Zoo.

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