Living in a cage doesn’t
seem right to anyone, but you have probably seen a pet or animal behind bars
that you have fallen in love with. Many people don’t agree with zoo’s, seeing
the facilities as evil organizations restricting animals from being free in
order to cash in on their misery. As a former zookeeper, hearing this I can
only wonder, would these people feel so strongly about the wellbeing of these
animals if they never saw one in a cage? Many of these animals have to be in
their cage for the protection of their species. Many people from urban
developed countries could not understand the wonderful inspiring awe that is
felt from seeing such great animals such as rhinos, elephants, and crocodiles
if zoos did not exist because they would not see these animals in the wild.
Seeing a 2 dimensional picture does not do justice to the size and persona of
these animals, standing in front of them for the first time you can get a
feeling like a child going to their first 3-D movie. These feelings can inspire
the next generation of zoologist or conservationist are worth so much on their
own, but this isn’t the only value of a zoo.
Zoos started to become
established in the United States in the late 19th century, although
husbandry was still inadequate, the path towards modern zoos was starting. By
the 20th century restrictions on the wild animal trade began to
develop. With restrictions making obtaining animals more difficult this
resulted in zoos beginning breeding programs to supple other facilities with
healthy captive bred animals. Captive bred animals not only allowed for some
profit in selling animals to other facilities but also ensured that they would
keep their stock of animals, but it also attracted visitors to see baby
monkeys, tigers, and other animals. This in itself has benefited the welfare of
many animal species that are not taken from the wild and allow people to enjoy
the wonders of seeing these species. Collection-based institutions owe their
existence to nature (Miller et al). Although there has been a rough dark
history with keeping wild animals in captivity, zoos have come a long way to
become better facilities and contribute to conservation. The Association of
Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
the advancement of North American zoos in the areas of education, conservation,
and the wellbeing of captive animals. The AZA sets regulations on the captive
management of captive animals, requiring a set of standards to be reached and
maintain that are higher than required by law for a facility to become
accredited. (HISTORY &
PURPOSE OF MODERN ZOOS, 2016)
Despite
the standards zoos have reached, some people still insist that zoos are bad
places for animals. People often times don’t realize that zoos contribute to
conservation and many animals such as the white rhino only have individuals on
the planet left thanks to zoos. Many zoos also contribute to animal populations
by releasing captive bred animals back into the wild. The AZA established a
computerized database called the Annual Report on Conservation and Science
(ARCS) which is a database to track various projects such as an individual’s
origin, breeding history, and genetic relationships. This database is an
important tool for keeping track of the numbers and health of a captive
population in terms of its viability to return to the wild or to be used in
breeding programs. Several examples of the successful work zoos have
contributed to conservation can be seen such as the California condors, which
were on the brink of extinction in the 1980’s, collaborations with the San Diego
Zoo and other organizations were able to release captive bred individuals
increasing their population from 22 birds to over 240 on the wild and roughly
200 in captivity. There are many other examples of reintroduction success, but
most importantly AZA facilities allow for funding to examine problems occurring
in wild populations, in 2015 alone AZA facilities spent $186,000,000 towards
field conservation, and $30 million on scientific research. This funding allows
us to diagnosis and address threats to wild populations such as disease,
pollution, and poaching. (Aza.org, 2018)
Aza.org. (2018). Conservation Success Stories
in AZA-Accredited Zoos and Aquariums. [online] Available at:
https://www.aza.org/aza-news-releases/posts/conservation-success-stories-in-aza-accredited-zoos-and-aquariums
MILLER, B., CONWAY, W. and READING,
R. (2004). Evaluating the Conservation Mission of Zoos, Aquariums, Botanical
Gardens, and Natural History Museums. Conservation Biology, 18(1), pp.86-93.
HISTORY & PURPOSE OF MODERN ZOOS.
(2016). [ebook] Woodland park zoo. Available at:
https://www.spl.org/Documents/audiences/CHI/2016GRC_activities/1_TimelineActivity%20-PurposeofModernZoos.pdf
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