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Animals Are Very Fascinating
To say the animal kingdom is diverse is an understatement. From the massive whales that swim through Earth’s great oceans, to the little canaries eating pellets, the diversity of wildlife on Earth is absolutely immense. The sheer diversity of creatures and their behaviours is deeply fascinating to mankind.
However, there is a problem: many species of animals do not exist in areas where people live. How can they see and appreciate them? Enter the zoological park: an establishment which maintains a collection of wild animals, typically in a park or gardens, for study, conservation, or display to the public. Better known simply as “zoo” the subject of zoos being animal cruelty is something that been discussed many times. A lot of people insist that zoos do not need to exist and are animal cruelty. Reasons typically include how the animals are best left alone in nature, zoos mistreat them, and that they only care about profit. While some of these points do have some truth in them, it is unintelligent to label all zoos as bad. There are both good zoos and bad zoos. In fact, labeling all zoos as bad is the very reason why there is a lot of misinformation about how modern zoos function. Zoological parks are good for the following reasons:
- An accreditation system exists to help people make informed decisions about the animal park they wish to visit.
- Zoos are a necessity for the conversation of animals.
- Seeing wild animals in-person provides excellent social, health, and mental benefits.
Legitimacy Checks Exist
Many industries require professionals to have certifications and licenses before they carry out their business. Even something as seemingly casual as driving. Drivers must have a valid license reflecting that they are certified to drive the class of vehicle they operating. The same is true for zoos.
In the case of zoological parks operating within the the United States, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is the independent accrediting organization for the best zoos and the best aquariums in America, assuring the public that when they visit an AZA-accredited facility, it meets the highest standards for animal care and welfare. The AZA website even has many detailed pages on numerous matters including how their accreditation works, to ease concerned minds about their legitimacy.
For zoological parks across the world, WAZA, World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, is the global alliance for regional associations, national federations, zoos and aquariums, dedicated to the care and conservation of animals and their habitats around the world. Their membership consists of nearly 400 leading institutions and organizations around the world, and this number continues to grow.
If a certification or label is not good enough, reading a particular zoo’s mission is another way to determine their authenticity. What are their values? Do they practice what that they say? Reading, understanding, and seeing their values in practice goes a long way in having faith in a zoo that really does care about its animals.
Zoos, as with other industries, have their validation checks to help people make more informed choices about which zoo is best to visit.
Zoological Parks Successfully Conserve Animals
Yes, believe it or not, zoos are a necessity to conserve and restore wildlife. A very common negative point against zoos is that wildlife should be free in the wild. This point would make sense if zoos were actually known for inappropriately capturing excess wild animals. This is not true, leading to the first point.
While some wild animals are wild-caught stock, a good portion of the animals in a zoo’s collection comes from stock that has been bred from other zoos or other captive environments. Some animals are also taken in as animals from the wild, that are unsuitable to be returned. Ethical scientists and animal experts agree that taking animals from the wild is not acceptable for captivity.
In addition to captive breeding, zoos play a part in species conservation through reintroduction programs. Zoos work with scientists and vets to create programs to increase the chances that animals bred for reintroductions to the wild will survive. The public usually does not see the animals involved in captive breeding for species reintroduction programs. This allows for the animals to maintain more of their wild instincts. Species of birds, amphibians, insects, and other animals have been successfully restored to wild areas. The Toronto zoo’s trumpeter swans are a good example of this. This zoological park is one of several release sites for immature birds, and thanks to efforts made for breeding and releasing, the population of trumpeter swans has rebounded healthily.
Rather than accusing zoos of keeping wild animals for show and entertainment, it is important to research zoos’ individually and learn which ones have truly helped animals.
Nothing Wrong With Looking At Animals
There is nothing wrong with looking at wild animals in captivity. It is only a problem if the animals are used for inappropriate entertainment or are kept under incorrect care conditions. In fact, looking at animals in-person brings many social and health benefits.
Many people, especially those in huge concrete cities such as Toronto or Los Angeles, will never see a proper assortment of wild animals in various environments. Books and documentaries have become much more detailed and immersive, but it will never be the same experience as seeing a living animal in-person, hearing it, watching what it does, and even touching it depending on the species and circumstance. That alone will bring a greater understanding and perspective to many and hopefully give them a greater appreciation for wildlife, conservation efforts, and what they can do to contribute.
Touching animals. No proper zoo would ever let visitors casually touch any animal, at any time, for as long as they, or all the parts of the animal. Good zoos inform people which animals can be touched, when they can be touched, and where they should be touched. This physical connection with wildlife is crucial in getting people to have a better bond with the animals they share the world with. It is also good way of getting practical experience for handling animals that can be kept safely in a domestic setting such as parrots, some reptile species, and others, while getting live feedback from an animal expert.
Ambassador animals. An animal ambassador is an individual of a species that is used to educate the public about the species. Ambassadors are often tame or habituated and live permanently at the zoological park or area they are based. Studies have shown that the presentation of ambassador animals is a powerful catalyst for learning for a variety of reasons:
- Increases the length of time that people are engaged with the program animals thereby lengthening the potential time period for learning and overall impact.
- Provides the chance to personalize the learning experience, catering the teaching session to what interests the visitors.
- Allows the visitors the opportunity to make specific inquiries about topics in which they were interested.
- Enhances the delivery of cognitive and empathetic messages. Increases affective learning and attitudinal change.
Looking at animals is good. Especially when the animals are kept well, and visitors are being educated about them.
Zoological Parks Are Not Animal Cruelty
Zoological Parks are not animal cruelty. Some individual parks do indeed treat their animals badly, and are only in it for money and entertainment. Most, however, are not. An accreditation system exists to keep zoos in check on who is legitimate and who is not. Zoos have proven that they are necessary for the conservation and restoration of numerous species. Lastly, in order for more and more people to take animals seriously, visiting them in-person helps tremendously. People can read books on Spix macaws and learn that they are the most threatened species of parrot in the world. However, seeing, perhaps even holding an ambassador Spix macaw, will bring more personal connections to the species as whole, than it would through simply reading a book or watching a video.
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