AGAINST ZOOS

[Guest guest]

http://www.satyamag.com/jul00/laidlaw.html

 

Zoos: Myth and Reality

By Rob Laidlaw

 

 

 

In recent years, zoos have become the target of intense public scrutiny and

criticism. In response, many have tried to repackage themselves as

institutions devoted to wildlife conservation, public education and animal

welfare. But most zoos fail to live up to their own propaganda and vast

numbers of zoo animals continue to endure lives of misery and deprivation.

 

Nearly every zoo, from the smallest amateur operation to the largest

professional facilities, claims to be making important contributions to

conservation, usually through participation in endangered species captive

propagation initiatives and public education programming. The zoo world

buzzword of the moment is " conservation. "

 

Yet, with an estimated 10,000 organized zoos worldwide, representing tens of

thousands of human workers and billions of dollars in operating budgets,

only a tiny percentage allocate the resources necessary to participate in

captive propagation initiatives, and fewer still provide any real support

for the in situ protection of wildlife and their natural habitat.

 

So far, the record on reintroductions to the wild is dismal. Only 16 species

have established self-sustaining populations in the wild as a result of

captive breeding efforts, and most of those programs were initiated by

government wildlife agencies—not zoos. The contribution of zoos in this

regard has been minimal, and often involves supplementing existing wild

populations with a small number of captive-born individuals who are

ill-prepared for life in the wild.

 

As the futility of captive breeding as a major conservation tool becomes

evident to those in the industry, many zoos are now turning to education to

justify themselves. Yet, zoo claims that they teach visitors about wildlife

conservation and habitat protection, and their contention that they motivate

members of the public to become directly involved in wildlife conservation

work, doesn't stand up to scrutiny. The truth is that scant empirical

evidence exists to prove that the primary vehicle for education in most

zoos—the animal in the cage—actually teaches anyone anything. In fact,

viewing animals in cages may be counterproductive educationally by conveying

the wrong kinds of messages to the public. Also, the legions of

conservationists that zoos should have produced, if their claims were true,

have never materialized.

 

*Humane Treatment

*But there is one issue about which there appears to be widespread

agreementæat least in principle. So long as wild animals are kept in

captivity, they ought to be treated humanely.

 

Studies have shown that animals can suffer physically, mentally and

emotionally. For this reason, captive environments must be complex enough to

compensate for the lack of natural freedom and choice, and they must

facilitate expression of natural movement and behavior patterns. This

principle has been widely espoused by the modern zoo community in various

articles, books and television documentaries.

 

Yet despite the best of intentions or claims, most animals in zoos in North

America are still consigned to lead miserable lives in undersized,

impoverished enclosures, both old and new, that fail to meet their

biological and behavioral needs. Many in the zoo industry will bristle at

this statement and point to numerous improvements in the zoo field. They'll

claim they've shifted from menagerie-style entertainment centers where

animals were displayed in barred, sterile, biologically irrelevant cages, to

kinder, gentler, more scientifically-based kinds of institutions.

 

But many of the " advances " in zoo animal housing and husbandry are

superficial and provide little benefit to the animals. For example, the many

new, heavily promoted, Arctic " art deco, " polar bear exhibits that are

springing up in zoos across the continent consistently ignore the natural

biology and behavior of these animals. The artificial rockwork and hard

floor surfaces typically resemble a Flintstones movie set more than the

natural Arctic ice and tundra habitat of polar bears. These exhibits are

made for the public and dupe them into believing things are getting better.

What they really achieve is more misery and deprivation.

 

In addition, many new exhibits are hardly larger than the sterile, barred

cages of days gone by. And one look at the prison-like, off-display holding

and service areas in most zoos, where many animals spend a good portion of

their lives, is proof of the hypocrisy of zoo claims that things are better

for the animals than they were in the past.

 

*Behind the Invisible Bars

*If not all is well behind the invisible bars of North America's more

luxurious zoos, a more transparent problem is found in the hundreds of

substandard roadside zoos that dot the continent. These amateurish

operations fall far below any professional standard and do nothing but cause

misery and death to thousands of animals.

 

My own investigations have revealed animals in visible distress lying

unprotected from the full glare of the hot summer sun; primates in barren

cages with no opportunity to climb; groups of black bears begging for

marshmallows as they sit in stagnant moats of excrement-filled water,

scarred and wounded from fighting; nocturnal animals kept without shade or

privacy; animals without water; and the list goes on and on.

 

Many zoos, including those that meet industry guidelines, also annually

produce a predictable surplus in animals that often end up in the hands of

private collectors, animal auctions, circuses and novelty acts, substandard

zoos, and even " canned hunt " operations where they're shot as trophies [see

Green interview].

 

A look at compliance with the zoo industry's own standards (which in the

author's view do not necessarily constitute adequate standards) demonstrates

how bad the situation really is. Of the estimated 200 public display

facilities in Canada, only 26—slightly more than 10 percent—have been deemed

to meet the standards of the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums

(CAZA).

 

In the U.S., out of the 1,800-2,000 licensed exhibitors of wild animals

(which includes biomedical research institutions, breeding facilities, small

exhibitors, travelling shows, educational programs using live animals, zoos

and aquariums), about 175 are accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium

Association (AZA), equivalent to less than 10 percent of all facilities.

 

Times are changing, and with them, public attitudes. Increasingly, members

of the public find the confinement of animals in substandard conditions

offensive. Zoos across the continent are feeling the pressure. They have to

accept that if wild animals are to be kept in captivity, their needs must be

met.

 

Are there good captive environments where the biological and behavioral

needs of animals are being satisfied? The answer is yes. A recent Zoocheck

Canada survey of black bear and gray wolf facilities in North America

revealed a number of outstanding exhibits where the animals displayed an

extensive range of natural movements and behaviors. But they are few and far

between.

 

Can zoos make a useful contribution to conservation and education? Again,

the answer is yes. The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (Jersey Zoo) in

the U.K., for example, clearly shows that zoos can become leaders in

conservation education and wildlife protection. But few actually do.

 

I can't understand why the more responsible segments of the zoo industry

have not come to their senses and acknowledged the obvious—the present state

of zoos is untenable. Either zoos can voluntarily adopt humane policies and

practices, push for the closure of substandard facilities, and participate

in advocating for laws to help wildlife, or they can be dragged kicking and

screaming into the new millennium. It's their choice.

*

Rob Laidlaw is Executive Director of Zoocheck Canada, which he helped

establish in 1988. He is a specialist in captive wildlife issues and has

conducted close to 1,000 zoo, circus and wildlife display inspections

throughout Canada and the U.S. To learn more, visit www.zoocheck.com or call

(416) 285-1744.*