Captive Dilemma

FIG. 1 AFRICAN LION (PANTHERA LEO). BLACKPOOL ZOO, LANCASHIRE UK

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CaptiveDilemma

Zoological parks - simply a venue to keep animals used for entertainment, or can they play a role in animal conservation?

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FIG. 2 AMUR LEOPARD (PANTHERA PARDUS ORIENTALIS). TWYCROSS ZOO, LEICESTERSHIRE UK

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Traditionally, zoos were considered a form of entertainment for the paying public – people have been visiting zoos since Elizabethan times when the royal menagerie was opened to the British public by Queen Elizabeth I. Today the UK is home to approximately 48 zoological parks, plus safari parks and smaller wildlife centres and private animal collections open to the paying public. While wildlife populations plummet in what has been reported as the sixth mass extinction, what role if any do zoos play in both contributing to and mitigating the effects of wildlife decline and species extinction?

The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) is an organisation which represent around 100 members in the UK and Ireland. They claim that they represent the “best zoos in the UK” which raises a question: which zoos they do not represent and who oversees zoo standards for non-BIAZA members? BIAZA estimates that almost 30 million people visit their associated zoos, which would account for approximately 1 in 3 people in the population; but this figure accounts for only some of all zoos visited each year. BIAZA are keen to stress that they support over 1,400 research projects carried out within UK zoos, clearly adopting the pro-conservation and pro-education approach to selling the business of zoological parks.

Twycross, Blackpool and Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Twycross Zoo owns around 500 animals, including one of the largest collections of monkeys and apes. Twycross is a registered charity which states its primary aims as education, conservation and research. The zoo has recently expanded to include snow leopards in its collections, along with new black rhino and lion enclosures. The critically endangered all-female Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) herd previously resident at the zoo were moved to Blackpool zoo to provide a more suitable enclosure and for potential breeding with Blackpool’s bull elephant. Recent research has shown that captive Asian elephants’ have the highest welfare in multigenerational, related mixed herds where there are more positive social interactions.

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Despite Twycross’ humble beginnings as Molly Badham’s personal monkey collection including numerous juvenile chimpanzees housed in her home and kept as pets, and their use in commercial work such as the PG Tips adverts, the zoo has evolved since its opening in 1963. Twycross stress their involvement in conservation and welfare programmes which support wild animal populations, field projects and captive breeding programmes.

Blackpool Zoo in Lancashire houses over 1,350 animals including an all-male pride of African lions (Panthera leo), endangered mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei) and a lone endangered Amur tiger (Panthera tigris). The zoo is owned by an international entertainment operator based in Spain, Parques Reunidos, who own many amusement and theme parks along with entertainment centres and ten zoos including Blackpool Zoo. Parques Reunidos have a reported annual revenue of around $570 million USD. Multi-million-pound investments have been made at Blackpool Zoo towards building or improving the elephant, gorilla, giraffe and sealion exhibits, presumably to bring the zoo in line with latest research into captive animal behaviour and quality of life, and to increase its attraction in light of shifting public attitudes.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park (YWP) in South Yorkshire is a member of BIAZA and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). YWP works on a slightly different model of exhibiting some animals rescued in poor conditions from other zoos. These include 13 lions rescued from a Romanian zoo. They claim to have the largest enclosure for their Amur leopards in the world. Animals exhibited include critically endangered black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) and endangered Grevy’s zebra (Equus grevyi), both of which are being kept with the stated aims of captive breeding and conservation of species. Five male polar bears, including one ‘retired’ from a theme park near Seoul, South Korea, and Ussuri brown bears are also owned and exhibited by the registered private limited company.

YWP’s role as a home for many animals rescued from less favourable conditions in captivity may be seen as an ironic one; but the general public have clearly responded well to YWP’s approach to exhibiting rescued captive animals and their pro-conservation message. WWFfunded conservation technology research utilising YWP’s only resident polar bear exhibit was recently publicised as providing valuable data for use in human-wildlife conflict research.

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FIG. 3 CHIMPANZEE (PAN TROGLODYTES). TWYCROSS ZOO, LEICESTERSHIRE UK

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FIG. 4 BORNEAN ORANGUTAN JUVENILE (PONGO BORNEO). TWYCROSS ZOO, LEICESTERSHIRE UK

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Breeding for conservation?

Copenhagen Zoo was in the spotlight in 2014 when it was shown to have euthanised a giraffe and four lions. The euthanasia of captive-bred animals has been standard practice for decades in zoos engaged in captive breeding programmes, while the realities of excessive and uncontrolled breeding by zoos have been kept from the paying public. Zoos generally breed more animals than they can house and exhibit, citing an inability to predict which females will become pregnant and how many offspring will be born, resulting in the need to euthanise some of their animals. EAZA state that “a quick death without suffering” is permitted where too many animals have been bred in captivity.

ZSL say that “good zoos work together” in reference to co-operative breeding programmes and a global network of zoos working together in line with the World Zoo Conservation Strategy. Species are selected for breeding programmes and zoos coordinate efforts to breed registered captive individuals on endangered species lists. ZSL manages and participates in many of these.

However, research has demonstrated that the nature of captive breeding programmes is highly resource-demanding, and lack of resources means that only certain species (typically large mammals) gain the conservation focus required in captive breeding programmes, leaving the majority of species to potentially become endangered and extinct in the wild. Research recommends captive breeding as the last resort for preserving biodiversity and should not be used to detract from the issue of preserving wild habitats.

It should be noted that most animals born in captivity almost exclusively remain in captivity. Captive-bred animals are very rarely released into the wild to join wild populations. Research shows captive-born predators do poorly in the wild when released, with a 33% survival rate due to lack of natural and social mating behaviours, lack of hunting skills, with less natural fear exhibited in captive-bred predators leading to human-wildlife conflict and death from hunting and poisoning.

There are also valid concerns about polluting the gene pools of isolated subspecies populations with captive-bred animals. Previous to standardised electronic animal record keeping systems (ARKS), Twycross Zoo’s animal database was found to be substandard when a hybrid Siberian-Bengal tigress was released into a pure Bengal wild tiger population in India and mated, resulting in polluted gene pool. The tiger was not the pure-bred Bengal the zoo had claimed, and no breeding records had been kept by Twycross Zoo. A number of breeding programmes for endangered species are now managed by the zoo.

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Changing Attitudes

Based on feedback from those working within zoos, it appears that many visitors still consider zoological parks purely as a form of entertainment for the benefit of the customer, where complaints of animals not being out on display or of sluggish, non-interactive animals are frequently directed at rangers and other members of staff. However, attitudes amongst the general public towards animal collections appear to be changing. Latest research suggests the general public consistently demonstrate a less favourable view of animals in captivity, citing conservation as being the main role of the modern zoo.

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) describe the work of captive breeding as a vital aspect of conservation work, and they say that they are primarily focused on breeding species which are at risk of extinction. They list the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx), Przewalski’s horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) and the Socorro dove (Zenaida graysoni) as three successful examples of species brought back from the brink of extinction as a result of co-operative captive breeding programmes.

ZSL admit that they continue to collect animals from the wild for captivity. There are organisations which aim to control and monitor collecting animals from the wild for captivity and sale, such as the Marine Aquarium Council which is a non-profit organisation promoting a voluntary education and certification service to fisheries obtaining fish, corals and invertebrates from the wild. They claim to facilitate an ecologically sustainable supply to marine parks and retailers. Many marine parks continue to buy cetaceans from traders dealing in wild-caught dolphins, while organisations such as the World Association for Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) apparently turn a blind eye to their members engaging in a lucrative and unsustainable trade which may inevitably contribute to declining cetacean populations.

Conservation programmes using improved reintroduction techniques and wild-caught animals, using large enclosure resembling the natural habitats of the species being re-introduced are now the recommended strategy for wild reintroductions of endangered species due to past failures of conservation programmes aiming to reintroduce mammal species into wild habitats and existing populations.

FIG. 5 BLACK-HEADED SPIDER MONKEY (ATELES FUSCICEPS ROBUSTUS). BLACKPOOL ZOO, LANCASHIRE UK

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FIG. 6 ALYONA - AMUR TIGER (PANTHERA TIGRIS ALTAICA). BLACKPOOL ZOO, LANCASHIRE UK

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The future for zoos

ZSL state that: “Good zoos do much more than simply display animals to visitors.” Ultimately, the question may instead be: are all zoos good zoos? Clearly, that is not the case as not all zoos engage in breeding for conservation purposes and many zoos are run poorly. Additionally, most zoos do not engage in or fund conservation works in the wild, which would seem to be the most effective way of conserving endangered species. As zoos around the world shift their positions from one of entertainment for the masses to that of education and conservation of species held within their collections, many others continue to treat collections of animals purely as a business venture with the sole aim of increasing profits from the footfall of their many thousands of annual visitors.

It may be that these businesses experience a backlash as people demand a different approach to the exhibiting of animals, from concerns about animal welfare, to conservation concerns arising from increasing population decline amongst wild counterparts of many captive animal species. This already seems to be taking place; social media and films such as Blackfish (2013) have played a role in highlighting the need for improved welfare, education and conservation within zoological and marine parks. As many zoos re-brand as wildlife parks and reserves with the changing attitudes of their customers, it may be that holding collections of animals with no purpose other than to entertain becomes an unsavoury throwback to the past and captive breeding with the aim of conservation of species and reintroduction becomes the new norm.

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