This is a good point, and similar to what my family was saying. When I say, exploitation is exploitation, it is overly simplistic, so let me give an example of what I mean. As a child, I used to help out at a small dairy farm. The cows spent nearly every day outside, coming in only to be milked and if the weather was very cold, rainy, or snowy. They ate exclusively grass and hay (dried grass). They had names and the births of calves were celebrated. They were never branded, hit, or kicked. They lived the natural lifespan of a cow. Calves were kept with their mothers. Cows were never raped (there was always a bull in the herd, so pregnancy was done naturally). This sort of farm is a far cry from the typical factory dairy farm. The former is obviously kinder to the cows. However, I would say it's still exploitation. The farmers are still taking milk that doesn't belong to them. And because they only need one bull, the bull calves are sent to slaughter once they start to mature.
So, my gut feeling with the London zoo is, while it might do a lot of great stuff like conservancy and rehabilitation, be non-profit, and do its best to offer the animals an enriching environment, they are still keeping wild animals in an artificial envirnment for the pleasure of human onlookers. I want to keep an open mind though, and that's why I was wondering if anyone here had a different perspective or could offer info I was missing.
As far as my family goes, I genuinely enjoy spending time with them. I don't wish to exclude myself from their company if I can help it. They make me laugh and I know that, at the end of the day, they are there for me. But sometimes, I find it difficult to be vegan around them. I feel like I often have to apologise for being difficult and am put in the position of choosing between my family and my values. Even the family members who say they support my being vegan make me feel badly - especially when I say no to something like beeswax, wool, or the zoo. They make me feel like I'm the problem. They think they've educated themselves and have come to the conclusion that veganism isn't necessary in order to care about animal or environmental welfare.
I want to show the people in my life that being vegan is actually rather easy and hardly ever feels like a sacrifice. I don't want to give the impression that to be vegan means to make a fuss or cause inconvenience for others. I want them to feel comfortable around and accepted by me. I don't know a single person IRL who's vegan, so sometimes I feel really alone and unsure of how best to navigate non-vegan relationships. I know a couple of people who call themselves vegan, but they buy leather, beeswax, and wool; as well as meat, dairy, and eggs for their non-vegan friends and family (as gifts or treating them to a meal), so to me, they're more plant-based, rather than vegan.