This House Would Ban Zoos. Content

LBRT: This house would ban zoos. Content: 1. Key Articles 2. Additional Resources LearningLeaders – All Rights Reserved - 7/18/16 1 ARTICLE 1 ZOOS AND WILDLIFE PARKS ARE NO WAY TO TREAT AN ANIMAL November 8, 2012 Over the past century, thousands of species have disappeared from our planet, and many more are on the critically endangered list. Yet even as extinction, we console ourselves with the thought that we are preserving many species in zoos and wildlife parks. As the owner and operator of two such parks Howletts and Port Lympne in Kent you would expect the Aspinall Foundation, founded by my late father John, to argue that it is sometimes right to keep animals in captivity. Although we do agree that there are times when the interests of the species can be best served by animals being kept in captivity, we believe that it is scandalous that so many zoos around the world remain packed with often miserable animals, kept in unnatural conditions where they remain incapable of breeding, despite frequently being paired biblically, two by two. In these zoos, lions, tigers, elephants, rhinos and other wonderful creatures exist in these conditions largely, if not solely, for humans to gawp at, on the pretext that they and their children are being educated about the wonders of the natural world. This view may have been partially justified up to the advent of the digital age, and the spread of information via television. Today, the idea that zoos provide the sole or even the best repository of learning is risible. At the Aspinall Foundation, we believe that mankind owes it to nature to re-evaluate the role of zoological institutions in the 21st century and to change the way we think about animals in captivity. The ultimate aim should be to render zoos and wildlife parks obsolete including our own. The continuing presence of animals in captivity is, we believe, a sign of certainly a role for such animal collections for at least the next two or three decades. But it can no longer be for the simple collection and display of animals. Rather, the beating heart of any such institution, anywhere in the world, must be true conservation. This means that the rationale for maintaining collections of wild animals always, preferably, in wildlife parks with LearningLeaders – All Rights Reserved - 7/18/16 2 large open spaces has to be the protection of endangered species, coupled with sustainable breeding programmes and projects to reintroduce them to the wild. The ultimate aim should, wherever possible, be the return of the captive and captive-bred creatures with whom mankind is privileged to share the planet. The Aspinall Foundation has worked tirelessly to become a world leader in the captive breeding of endangered species. Our animal parks have seen the births of 135 gorillas, 33 black rhinos, 123 clouded leopards, 33 Javan gibbons, 104 Javan langurs and 20 African elephants. Our charity manages conservation projects in Congo, Gabon, Indonesia and Madagascar, as well as providing financial support to partner projects around the world. We are dedicated to helping prevent some of the most endangered species on the planet from becoming extinct. We do this through restoring, wherever possible, animals to their natural habitats and by protecting those habitats. Between 1996 and 2006, we released 51 gorillas in the Congo and Gabon into an area of some million acres which had been the first large wilderness area to see gorillas hunted to extinction. In the coming year, the foundation is planning to release from its parks an entire family of 11 lowland gorillas, six Javan gibbons and eight Javan langurs. Three black rhinos have already been released this year, and are all doing well. The work is not easy, and requires dedication and resources. But it offers a possible blueprint for the future of animal conservation, away from the confines of crowded zoos which serve better to illustrate the arrogance of man than the glory of the animal world he has done so much to destroy. We believe in the right of animals to coexist on our act now to save it. BY: Damian Aspinall SOURCE: The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/9664354/Zoos-and- wildlife-parks-are-no-way-to-treat-an-animal.html LearningLeaders – All Rights Reserved - 7/18/16 3 ARTICLE 2 MAULING, ESCAPES AND ABUSE: 6 SMALL ZOOS, 80 SICK OR DEAD ANIMALS September 18, 2015 The owner of the Reston Zoo in Northern Virginia has extolled the plastic bucket, and a frostbitten spider monkey went so long without treatment that it had to be euthanized. The Natural Bridge Zoo in western Virginia is billed as a sanctuary, but on recent visits, federal inspectors found more than 40 animals in need of veterinary care and questioned staff about a video that shows employees jabbing a monkey with sticks. The Tri-State Zoological Park in Western Maryland advertises itself as a great stop for kids, but an inspector reported that some children had reached through a cage to pet tigers while a guide stood nearby. Those are among a host of •problems identified at six small zoos in Maryland and Virginia that are popular destinations for •Washington- area families. Over the past decade, more than 80 animals have died, been injured or become ill because of neglect at the zoos, and more than 200 others were kept in inhumane conditions, according to hundreds of pages of federal inspection reports, interviews with keepers and court documents. Minor problems were reported at four more zoos. LearningLeaders – All Rights Reserved - 7/18/16 4 Inspectors allege that animals went unfed and without water, were kept in the dark and in filth, and had serious injuries and wounds that were left untreated. Documents also report safety lapses including decrepit cages and animal escapes that placed workers and visitors at risk. Alleged violations were documented by inspectors with the U.S. Agriculture Department as recently as this summer. Problems persist at roadside zoos, in part, because oversight and enforcement are often lacking. In recent years, the number of penalties issued by federal authorities to small zoos in the eastern half of the United States has remained at a level previously deemed too low by government auditors. And when enforcement was pursued, it often came years after the violations. Small zoos are a world away from such big-name institutions as the have shoestring budgets and are not certified by the national organization that determines whether larger zoos are properly caring for animals. Someone wishing to open a small zoo needs only fill out a brief application with the USDA, demonstrate knowledge of animals and undergo an inspection no formal training required. States are free to pass laws requiring higher standards of care in zoos, but most of the regulation has fallen to the federal government. The heads of the Oakland and Detroit zoos reviewed The Washington less, Ron L. Kagan, executive director of the Detroit Zoo, said substandard care was all too common. Zoo owners defended their operations. in an e- Ashley Rood testified in a Fairfax County courtroom that she grew injured wallaby in 2012. The keeper said she found a bucket of water LearningLeaders – All Rights Reserved - 7/18/16 5 Rood said she leapt into a nearby dumpster and ripped open a trash dripping with water. Parmesan had been drowned. Wh euthanized and that he could do whatever he wanted with his The testimony helped secure Meghan Mogen cruelty, and a federal administrative complaint filed by the USDA this summer alleges that it was just one of a constellation of problems at small zoos run by the family. The responsible for the care of hundreds of animals. In addition to the Reston Zoo, Eric Mogensen owns Virginia Safari Park in Natural Bridge, Va., about two hours from Reston, and his father, Karl, owns the neighboring Natural Bridge Zoo. All three zoos have been cited by federal regulators and criticized by animal welfare groups in recent years and past decades. The family has consistently disputed the allegations. Reston Zoo has 30 acres of attractions, typical of small zoos in the area. Kids seem to enjoy the safari rides and the petting barn. But a federal complaint filed against Eric and Meghan Mogensen in June says that the Rood said in an interview that keepers with little or no relevant experience were asked to care for sick animals and even manage births. She said some animals suffered and died as a result. The federal complaint alleges that keepers placed an African crested porcupine, native to a warm climate, outside as the temperature plummeted to 8 degrees one day in January 2014. Hours later, Mr. Quills collapsed, but the zoo did not send him to a veterinarian. Keepers treated the porcupine with medicinal fluids that were past their expiration date. He died hours later. LearningLeaders – All Rights Reserved - 7/18/16 6 Two years earlier, the complaint alleges, the zoo waited about two weeks to get veterinary treatment for a spider monkey suffering from had to be euthanized. Diarrhea, lameness and eye conditions in other animals allegedly were not treated properly, according to the complaint. Eric Mogensen wrote in e-mails that the zoo is contesting all the allegations. He also wrote that the zoo has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars upgrading the facilities. mission is to nurture exotic species. But this past spring, federal inspectors found more than 40 animals in need of veterinary care, including camels with weeping lesions and a llama with a mass under its jaw. The inspections followed an undercover investigation by the Humane Society.

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