|
|
About zoos
Beyond The Bars
What You Can Do
MOVIE: Sad Eyes, Empty Lives
These days, zoos like to boast that they do valuable conservation work by breeding and saving endangered species. More people are becoming aware of the suffering of zoo animals and that zoos are what they have always been....galleries of captive beasts.
Although more than 112 million people visit zoos in the U.S. and Canada each year, most zoos operate at a loss and must find ways to cut costs. Zoo officials often consider profits ahead of the animals' well being.
Animals suffer from more than neglect at some zoos. When Dunda, an African elephant, was transferred from the San Diego Wild Animal Park, she was chained, pulled to the ground and beaten with axe handles for two days. One witness described the blows as 'home run swings'. A San Francisco zookeeper stated that you have to motivate them and the way to do it is to 'beat the hell' out of them.
Most zoo animals natural needs are seldom met.
Zoo babies are great crowd pleasers, but when the babies grow, zoos often sell or kill animals who no longer attract visitors. Deer, tigers, lions and other animals who breed often, are sometimes sold to "game" farms, where hunters pay for the privilege of killing them. Other "surplus" animals may be sold to smaller, more poorly run zoos or to laboratories for experiments.
EDUCATE YOURSELF: Zoos are covered under the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The AWA requires that all animal displays be licensed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which must inspect zoos once a year.
AVOID ZOOS: Do not patronize a zoo unless you are actively working to change it's conditions. Avoid smaller, roadside zoos at all costs. If no one visits these substandard operations, they will be forced to close down.
ZOOCHECK: Start a "zoocheck" to build a strong case for implementing changes at your local zoo.
