Research Assessment #1

Date: ​13 September 2019

Subject: ​Zoological Veterinary Science

MLA Citation:

Borrell, James. “8 Reasons That Zoos Are Critically Important for Conservation.” Dr. James

Borrell, 17 June 2016,

www.jamesborrell.com/8-reasons-that-zoos-are-critically-important-for-conservation/​.

Analysis:

One hesitation with working with exotic animals outside of their natural habitats is the

burning question: is it ethical? This article, penned by Dr. James Borrell argues in the

affirmative. According to this resource, zoos are an essential part of wildlife conservation

because of the controlled environment in which endangered animals are able to thrive. By

eliminating natural predators, controlling disease outbreaks, and providing reliable resources, it’s

possible to replenish dwindling populations with the eventual goal of reintroducing them to the

wild.

To many, this perspective is dangerous. For one thing, holding wild animals in captivity

is often viewed as immoral. By restricting them to enclosed spaces, humanity is effectively

stripping animals of their nature and denying the natural order. Processes of extinction and

evolution is the way of life, and to try to control that is playing God. At the same time, however,

it’s important to factor in the variable that human interference with the world is what has caused

many animals to go extinct in the first place. By creating a controlled habitat in which animals

can thrive, humanity is simply working to correct their negative impact.

issue. There are many ways of looking at human impact on wildlife, especially exotic species,

however, as it currently stands, it is a static factor in our society. In order to truly work towards

the most ethically justifiable outcome, it’s crucial to take steps toward being educated and

responsible with the privilege of working with wildlife. Quite frankly, having the opportunity to

review this article allowed me to reassess my priorities as a professional. Although I would like

to pursue a career working with exotic animals, I want to make it a priority in my career to be

cognizant of human impact and wildlife conservation. This perspective isn’t enough to change

my focus, and I’m still eager to advance in the veterinary track, it’s also worth considering the

option of working directly with wildlife conservation or research to better our understanding of

how to best provide for animals in captivity.

After making this self-assessment, I’ve decided to broaden the scope of my outlook

somewhat. Moving forward, I plan to look into conservation and research facilities in my area.

One of the reasons I was (and continue to be) excited about veterinary zoology was the fact that

working with so many wildly different types of animals would prevent me from growing bored,

and make each day unique. Despite this, the prospect of pursuing a career in which I could find

myself becoming an authority on a topic is somehow equally exciting. When I was interested in

the (human) surgical pathway, I never felt excited thinking about specialization. There was never

a specific field of study that interested me, and I felt that despite the complexities of anatomy, I

would grow tired of working with the same focus each day. Even more disinteresting was the

idea of research and publication. I didn’t think myself capable of coming up with an idea and

making it happen. However, I have a very different point of view when considering specializing
in a species and working with a research group. Quite frankly, the more research I have

conducted, the more comfortable I’ve become with pursuing a career in animal sciences.

While keeping in mind my end goal of pursuing veterinary zoology, I intend to look

further into what exactly animal research institutes do, starting with primate research. My

exposure to this field through the Duke University Lemur Center sparked my interest several

years ago, and I will take the opportunity to let myself be inspired, and learn more about what the

world of animal biology has to offer.

1. There are 39 animal species currently listed by the IUCN as ​Extinct in

the Wild​.​ ​This statistic initially confused me, as there are hundreds, thousands, MILLIONS of

species historically that have gone completely extinct. Then, of course, the rest of this paragraph

explains that it specifically refers to animals outside of captivity, ​in the wild.​ ​These are

species that would have vanished totally were it not for captive populations

around the world, many of which reside in zoos. For me, this is the single

most important role zoos can play. Incidentally, it’s the same for ​botanic

gardens​ too, but no-one seems to care about those!

2. For species whose survival in the wild looks in doubt, zoos often set

up ‘insurance’ populations.​ These are captive groups of animals that could

in a​ worst case scenario​ ​While extinction is absolutely a worst case scenario, I don’t think

it’s fair to associate reintroduction with worst case scenarios. Species reintroduction can be

conducted in positive situations as well! Like if there was relocation of a population, or like

when the grey wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone after being over-hunted and driven out

decades earlier! ​assist in reintroduction to the wild, should the original population
go extinct. The Amur leopard, for example: There are perhaps 35-65 left in the

wild, a species teetering right on the brink. But fortunately there is a long

running ​breeding program​ ​Does this breeding program include forced mating or is it more

of a captive situation where breeding happens naturally and gestation is monitored? I should look

further into this concept and become educated in order to form a developed opinion. ​with over

200 surviving in captivity ​Is 200 a large number for this sort of thing?​. The ​Zoological

Society of London​, as an example, participates in over 160 of these

programmes.

3. Reintroduction.​ It is often argued that zoos are bad because so few

reintroduction actually happen. I would argue that it’s not the zoos at fault, it’s
that a reintroduction can’t occur if the reason they went extinct in the first

place hasn’t been resolved. Amongst the most well known and successful

reintroductions are:

● The Scimitar-Horned Oryx​,​ having become extinct in Africa in the

1980s, zoos around the world maintained a captive population and at

last this year, a reintroduction led by the ​Sahara Conservation Fund​ has

begun​.

● The Californian Condor​, only 23 existed in the wild in the early 1980s.

The last of the wild population was taken into captivity in a last ditched

attempt to save the species, with chicks being reared at ​San Diego zoo​.

It worked. There are now more than 400 in the wild.

● The Golden Lion Tamarin​,​ perhaps the most famous of all

reintroductions. In 2003, the Golden Lion Tamarin was downlisted from

Critically Endangered to Endangered after thirty years of tireless

conservation efforts involving the ​Smithsonian National Zoological Park

and the ​Associação Mico-Leao-Dourado ​in Rio de Janeiro. More than

one-third of the wild population are descendants of the reintroduction

program which has contributed significantly not only to the numbers of

their range.

Indeed the very idea of reintroducing species is new, and fraught with

difficulties. It’s risky and hard. No-one wants it to go wrong, so give them your

support. ​I jumped the gun with the reintroduction thing, but this further supports my argument.

4. In 2014, 700 million people visited zoos worldwide.​ OK, not all zoos are

good at engagement. Indeed not all zoos are good full stop. But, surely that

number of visits had to create some sort of ​connection with the natural world

that might not have occurred otherwise.​That’s true! While it’s selfish to put animals in

captivity for human pleasure, it’s inarguable that exposure to wildlife across the world is an

incredible experience and opens the doors for children to find a passion for nature. Also, it helps

raise awareness of things like endangered species!

5. Zoos are a living museum.​ What we learn about wild animals in captivity

can help us manage and conserve them in the wild. From animal behaviour,

to reproductive rates to dietary requirements. ​To be fair, the main reason we would

need to be educated on this sort of thing (besides knowing something just to know something) is

to make zoos more responsible. Sort of a closed cycle there...

with conservation efforts taking place half a world away, believe me, I know.

But by enabling people to experience wildlife first hand, and using that as a

vessel in which to tell a story, ​we can I hope increase participation in

international conservation efforts. ​That’s a good point related to the previous idea of

people visiting zoos! Education is essential!

7. Helping respond to emergencies.​ In the last 20 years, an estimated 168

amphibian species have gone extinct. In addition to habitat loss, ​chytrid

fungus​ has emerged as a deadly threat to worldwide amphibian populations.

Responding to threats such as this, especially in small or medium sized

vertebrates is surely one of the greatest uses of zoos around the world. In

fact, many zoos have set up specialist ​amphibian​ centers and are pioneering

treatment and breeding programmes. ​This section also defends the education angle I

struggled with earlier (the closed cycle). By learning in a closed environment, we can make a

difference in the real world as well!

8. They remind us that we can succeed.​ Conservation is full of bad news

stories, yet on many occasions I have stood peering through glass at a

species that shouldn’t exist. At WWT Barnes on the outskirts of London I have

stood on a wet Winter day watching ​Nene​, which was once the world’s rarest
goose (now, incidentally, successfully reintroduced). In Antsohihy,

Madagascar I have peered through the mesh fence at the world’s only

population of ​Malagasy pochard​, a duck thought to be extinct for years and

then rediscovered. In the UK I’ve stood while a ​Bali Myna​ flew over my head,

a bird numbering less than 100 in the wild (but thankfully more than 1000 in

captivity). For me at least, zoos remind us that ​conservation does work, we

just need more of it. ​That’s a big idea in this article. Although it can be said that extinction

is a natural process, biodiversity is essential to a healthy ecosystem, and doing our part to

conserve that is important.

But zoos are not perfect. ​Should they continue to keep large predators, or

intelligent primates? Over the next few decades, probably not. Should large

new animals be collected from the wild? No, unless there is a compelling case

to develop a captive breeding program. But are zoos changing and

developing? Yes! More than ever, good zoos are aware of their evolving role

in conservation and responding to it.

Would I rather have a species in captivity, than not at all. ​One hundred

times, yes.​ ​What we don’t need is knee-jerk reactions to tragic accidents.​This

refers to Harambe, which was discussed in an introductory section which wasn’t included in this

research assessment.

It’s easy to attack zoos

It’s absolutely right that there are bad zoos too​, both in the UK and around

the world. But I would argue that it’s easy to criticise something with a visible

and physical presence. What is much, much harder is taking action to support

conservation in the field, to reduce the impact of ​climate change or tackle

pollution. ​Very important to mention! I’m not sure the relevance to the sentence, but things like
pollution and climate change kill of animal populations all the time and can lead to us needing

conservation efforts. Prevention is more important than treatment.

These things are a lot less tangiable, a lot harder to get to grips with. It’s

difficult for one individual to feel that they have made much of a difference,

and so often we don’t get the same feeling of satisfaction or achievement.

That I think is why so many animal rights groups attack zoos, when instead I

would argue that they could achieve a much greater net good by working

together and protecting natural habitats.

Zoos are run by people who love animals, but as with any passion project, we

might differ in our views on how best to achieve what we want. So I would

urge you to support the good ones, improve the bad ones, don’t tar them all

with the same brush and remember: The focus should be on protecting

natural habitats and that zoos can help achieve that.