Born Free condemns shocking practices in European zoos
Born Free has strongly condemned recent events at two European zoos, that have sparked outrage among animal welfare advocates and horrified the wider public.
Baboons at Nuremberg Zoo (c) Michelle Bender, Flickr creative commons
The killing of 12 healthy baboons at Nuremberg Zoo in Germany, along with a controversial social media post by Aalborg Zoo in Denmark encouraging people to donate unwanted pets as food for their captive carnivores, have been met with fierce criticism.
Our charity, which was founded in 1984 because of concerns for the welfare of wild animals in captivity, has labelled the actions as ‘deeply troubling’ and symptomatic of a wider ethical crisis in the zoo industry.
“The deliberate killing of healthy baboons at Nuremberg Zoo is a brutal and unethical approach to animal management,” said Dr. Mark Jones, Head of Policy at Born Free. “These animals are sentient, intelligent beings. While we don’t condone threats to zoo staff or others, the zoo’s attempt to justify their killing as a means of managing overcrowding is unacceptable, reflects a deeply disturbing failure to uphold the duty of care owed to the animals in its charge, and raises serious questions about the competence of the zoo’s animal management practices.”
Tiger at Aalborg Zoo © Jo-Anne McArthur, Born Free
At the same time, Aalborg Zoo faced a backlash after publishing a post inviting people to donate unwanted pets so the zoo could kill them to feed to its carnivores. While the zoo reportedly responded to the backlash by claiming that it would not accept dogs or cats, but would only accept ‘small livestock’ such as chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs which would be ‘gently euthanized by trained staff’, the messaging was widely perceived as callous and insensitive.
Also, acceptable methods for the humane euthanasia of such animals typically involve the administration of lethal doses of drugs, which would preclude the feeding of the bodies to other animals because of the risks associated with drug residues.
“The invitation posted by Aalborg zoo is not only irresponsible, but also deeply distressing,” continued Dr. Jones. “Pet animals have a particular place in human-animal relationships. The idea that they should be disposed of in this way, on the basis that it will somehow enhance the welfare of the zoo’s captive carnivores, reflects a lack of empathy and an alarming trend to treat animals—whether wild or domestic—as disposable commodities.”
Born Free has long argued that zoos fail to meet the physical, psychological, and emotional needs of many species. The charity is calling for a full review of zoo practices across Europe and greater transparency in animal management processes.
Those species whose needs clearly cannot be met should be phased out, and investment should be shifted away from the keeping of wild animals in captivity for public display and entertainment, and towards protecting wild animals in the wild where they belong, with a focus on the provision of sanctuary care for those animals that cannot be returned to the wild.
Shockingly, many animals in zoos are routinely killed because they are surplus to requirements and are not needed by international breeding programmes or other zoos. These include young and healthy animals, along with elderly individuals.
“These incidents must serve as a wake-up call,” Dr. Jones concluded. “We must move towards a more humane future—one in which animals are respected as individuals with intrinsic value, not reduced to subjects for public entertainment or surplus stock to be culled.”
These incidents coincided with the release of our latest report highlighting the suffering of wild animals in zoos. ‘Our Captive Cousins’ details the physical, psychological and behavioural issues experienced by great apes in zoos and dismantles the zoo industry’s attempts to justify their keeping on conservation and educational grounds.
JUNGLE NOT JAIL FOR OUR CAPTIVE COUSINS
Born Free is encouraging the public not to visit zoos that house great apes, and to write to those zoos telling them why. Will you help us spread the word?