Many people, from all walks of life, take an interest in wild cats. Where there are people, there are opinions. These spark debates on a wide range of subjects, from the problems of captive husbandry to private ownership. Some of the arguments are logical and some based on gut instinct and personal feeling. Under the circumstances it is almost impossible to reach a consensus.
The purpose of this page is to develop a deeper understanding of some of the issues. The following essays cover a few ‘hot topics’. They are written in the knowledge that not everyone will agree with the ideas expressed. Ideas undergoing the writing process: “The politics of Cats” “Environmentalist vs Environmentalnut”, “People that have exotic animals have less freedoms”
What is the purpose of a zoo?
This is a loaded question that can be answered many ways! I will render my option of what our zoos purpose is; you are welcome to disagree or agree! I have always felt that discussion and honesty in this area is needed and hope nothing I say is misconstrued as an attack on the zoo community at large. It has been very difficult for zoos over the years to have the same purpose year after year. Like any other organizations, zoos get pushed and pulled in all directions depending on public opinion. Ask the question; what is the purpose of your local zoo? Once a clear purpose is explained, you can make a determination if the purpose of the zoo is being met and if it meets with your approval. I think you might be surprised what you find out in relationship of what you thought! Our purpose at the Cat Haven is to save cats in the wild. Everything we do is predicated on that basic premise. With that as the backdrop, we don’t take cats others don’t want any more (rescue), we don’t rehabilitate cats to be returned back to the wild (rehab.), we don’t collect cats for our private indulgence (others). Every zoo has a purpose and they might have a different purpose than others. For example, rescue facilities are in the business of helping animals that need homes. It is a very different purpose from what we do at the Cat Haven. That doesn’t mean what we do here at the Cat Haven is more important; it is just different. At the Cat Haven, we don’t represent ourselves as a rescue facility and I would hope a rescue facility would not represent themselves as a conservation facility unless they did that type of work also. Find the purpose and see if the zoo is doing what you think a zoo should be doing!
In the first days of the zoo, animals were put on display for the purpose of people to see. Period! No considerations were given to the animals, the attention was given to the public viewing of the animals without risk of harm.The theme seemed to be one of entertainment! This way of thinking was the norm for many years until people started to belief that animals in captive situations were due a better life. This believe began to take hold and zoos had to start thinking about change. If the purpose of the zoo is to have people see animals (and be entertained) they needed to make the animals cages look pleasing for the public. If the public thinks the animals are not happy at the zoo, they would be less likely to visit that zoo again. Image is everything and the wrong image was being portrayed. Zoos started to build big elaborate cages, costing millions of dollars. In my opinion zoos have gone too far in that direction. Don’t misunderstand the issue! I believe that animals in zoos should have a nice home, but the economics of enclosures needs to be put into perspective. We are in a time where zoos have to take a lead roll in saving animals. Spending millions of dollars on caging is not going to save animals in the wild. What is the purpose of the zoo?
Speaking from the perspective of cat conservation, currently there is no viable way of reintroducing captive cats back into the wild. Second, there is very little habitat for these cats to be put back into. With that being the case, the zoos should be far more diligent in conservation and protection of animals in the wild. Are you thinking to yourselves, “that’s what I thought zoos did.”? I was at a meeting with many zoo officials in 1999. A director from a very large zoo said, ” It is very difficult to hit people over the head with a conservation message when they come to my zoo to be entertained”. Is the main purpose of the zoo; to entertain people? If that is the case, should the zoos change their name? Maybe the name “amusement park” would be more descriptive of the operation. I would have no problem with an organization saying that they were an amusement park for animals. People could make a decision if they wanted to support the facility or not. Honesty is the key and I see far too little of it in the animal world. If zoos want to be known as the leaders in conservation, most will have to change the way they conduct business. It is hard to justify spending millions of dollars for the caging of a few animals while allowing other animals to be vanquished in the wild because of lack of funding. What is the purpose of the zoo?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your local zoo! If education is the only effort being made for conservation, the zoo better be doing a tremendous job. Anyone with animals can educate, but do they inspire people to take an active roll in conservation? Do they put real money in the field? Some zoos try and say they do conservation because they have a captive breeding program! There is a need for a limited captive breeding program but the key word is limited. Again, no one can save wild animals in a zoo. Be real and practical and I hope your zoo will be honest with you. Our zoos are a great resource, but sometimes they need to be brought back to reality. What is the purpose of a zoo?
Why do some people hate zoos?
One of the obstacles we faced when opening the Cat Haven was the choosing of a name. To be quite honest, we did not want to use the word “zoo” in the name because of the negative connotations the word invokes in some people. We have found that some people (a larger number than some might think) will not visit animals at a place with the name “zoo” attached to it. Several reasons are behind this reaction and what follows are thoughts to the explanation why.
Zoos, for many years, were at best a menagerie where people could come see the wild animals in safety with no regard to the animals’ well being. Small areas for the animals mostly made of concrete, for easy cleaning, were the norm. The job of the zoo wasn’t to make the animals happy; it was to allow people the opportunity to see the wild beast (of myth and story) up close. The idea was to be able to have these animals close to home. That objective worked fine for many years until some in the public started to look at animals as living, thinking creatures. “If that animal was me, would I like to be in that situation?” We use a large word, anthropocentric, to describe this human way of looking at a situation. If the answer was “no” to the question above, people decided they didn’t want to visit the zoo. A very wise director of a zoo once said that ” A zoo should be therapy for people to come relax and enjoy the animals.” In time, the concrete cages, that zoos thought were state of the art, were not allowing people to relax and enjoy the animals. The cages were having an opposite effect and depressing people. Zoos needed to change and some did, some are still in the process and some might not ever change. More natural-type habitats were built to replace the old concrete bunkers and the terminology started to change to make people feel better about their zoo. Cages became natural habitat enclosures, zoos became zoological parks and gardens, wild animal parks, or conservation facilities. Zoos had to change for two reasons; first, the people that work at the zoos wanted to have better conditions for the animals they work with. Second, zoos also realized that if people were not happy with the condition the animals were kept in, they would not visit the zoo and revenue for the zoo would go down. As sad as it might sound, money still drives the majority of change.
To this day, many people still won’t visit zoos because they don’t like to see animals caged. Animals should be free. But that is not a reality of life in all situations. We work very hard to make our cats happy here at the Cat Haven. They become our ambassadors for their wild cousins. That needs to be the new job of the zoos. Captive animals need to stimulate people to action, to preserve habitat and save those animals they come to love so dearly. Today, zoos have made great strides toward improving the conditions of the past. Now they face another difficult problem.
To this day, many people still won’t visit zoos because they don’t like to see animals caged. Animals should be free. But that is not a reality of life in all situations. We work very hard to make our cats happy here at the Cat Haven. They become our ambassadors for their wild cousins. That needs to be the new job of the zoos. Captive animals need to stimulate people to action, to preserve habitat and save those animals they come to love so dearly. Today, zoos have made great strides toward improving the conditions of the past. Now they face another difficult problem.
