While most zoos in the US
and Europe have moved away from cramped cages
the tension between displaying captive animals and a scientific purpose
persists
Wednesday 23 March 2016 17.14 GMT
Last modified on Wednesday 23 March 201620.57 GMT
It hasn’t been a great month for zoos and aquariums. Seaworld
finally bowed to pressure to end its
captive orca breeding program, three US zoos were criticized for secretly flying 18
elephants out of Africa and zoo keepers in Calgary accidentally
killed an otter with a pair of pants, adding to a list of mistakes that
includes giving a knife to a gorilla.
These unrelated events have provoked questions about the modern role
of zoos and what, if any, future they should have. While most zoos in the US
and Europe have done away with cramped, empty, concrete dungeons and embraced a
message of conservation, the difference between the vast natural ranges of
elephants, whales and polar bears and their zoo environments remains stark.
“Animals collected from the wild are doomed to a rather dull life – a
sort of life they don’t deserve,” said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals. The
not-for-profit group launched a legal action to stop three US zoos from
importing 18 elephants from Swaziland, only, as Feral puts it, for the trunked
beasts to be “whisked away at midnight” before the court hearing. The zoos
maintain this was for the elephants’ welfare.
“Dallas Omaha
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