General public can help encouraging better zoos<\/p>\n
The London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals,
\nWSPA, a non-profit organization promoting animal welfare around
\nthe world, recently investigated the condition of animals in
\nseveral zoos in Indonesia, along with its local counterpart
\nAnimal Conservation for Life, KSBK.<\/p>\n
WSPA's expert Rob Laidlaw shared the organization's findings
\nwith The Jakarta Post and offered solutions through an e-mail
\ninterview from his Canada office.<\/p>\n
Question: What are the investigation's crucial findings?<\/p>\n
Answer: The WSPA\/KSBK investigation revealed that a
\nsignificant portion of Indonesia's zoos are grossly overcrowded.
\nThere are simply far too many individual animals for their
\navailable space and resources. If these zoos were to reduce the
\nsize of their live collections, it would result in an increased
\nlevel of resources being allocated to a smaller number of
\nanimals.<\/p>\n
This would most certainly have a positive impact on the
\noverall standard of animal husbandry. In addition, as the
\ncollections are downsized and some animals vacated, their current
\nresidents could be joined with other cages, thereby increasing
\nthe amount of space available for the animals that remain.<\/p>\n
Q: Compared to other zoos in Asia and the rest of the world, how
\npoor are the conditions of Indonesia's zoos?<\/p>\n
A: While there are comparable poor physical facilities in many
\nother zoos throughout the world, Indonesia's zoos seem to be
\nparticularly crowded and use greater numbers of animals in shows.
\nCollectively, they rank among the worst in the world.<\/p>\n
Q: Indonesia is currently undergoing a severe social, political
\nand economic crisis. Maybe the zoos are experiencing financial
\nhardship and therefore cannot properly manage its animals?<\/p>\n
A: I think national, regional and international crises do have an
\neffect on the operations of zoos. Historically, that effect has
\nbeen limited to individual zoos, such as those in a war zone or
\ndirectly in the path of a hurricane. In any event, if a zoo is
\nsituated in an area of conflict or is prone to natural disasters,
\nit is the responsibility of the zoo management to anticipate a
\npossible emergency situation.<\/p>\n
Q: But even before the crisis, Indonesian zoos were facing
\nfunding problems in improving the welfare of their animals?<\/p>\n
A: While funding is certainly a problem in many Indonesian zoos,
\nI don't believe it is a primary cause of the grossly substandard
\nconditions encountered by WSPA and KSBK. Certainly, building new
\nexhibits and restructuring entire zoos can be expensive, but
\ntremendous improvements in animal husbandry, housing and welfare
\ncan still be achieved when resources are lacking.<\/p>\n
This is often accomplished through low-tech enclosure
\nmodifications, changes to husbandry protocols and changes to zoo
\nmanagement policies and procedures.<\/p>\n
Changing feeding schedules and food presentation is another
\nlow-cost way Indonesian zoos could improve animal welfare.
\nInstead of merely presenting food in one spot once a day, zoos
\ncould employ staggered schedules that spread feeding out over the
\nentire day.<\/p>\n
Husbandry protocols that improve animal welfare can be changed
\nat no cost. For example, the chaining of elephants, particularly
\nhobbling both forefeet together, could be ended. In most cases,
\nalmost immediately and it wouldn't cost the zoos anything. Public
\nfeeding, which encourages abnormal begging behavior and makes it
\ndifficult to control individual diet quality and food intake,
\ncould easily be stopped. It would definitively have a positive
\nimpact on animal health and welfare.<\/p>\n
Indonesian zoos could substantially improve their exhibits
\nthrough the addition of appropriate cage furnishings. Many of the
\nexhibits encountered during the investigation were barren and
\nfailed to provide animals with shade, privacy, soft substrate
\nareas and cage furnishings, all of which can be provided at a
\nvery low cost.<\/p>\n
There are hundreds of low or no-cost measures that could be
\nemployed by Indonesian zoos to improve the welfare of their
\nanimals. Lack of money should not be an impediment to improving
\nthe conditions and welfare of animals in Indonesian zoos.<\/p>\n
Q: What should the government and zoo management do to
\nconsistently improve the conditions of both the animals and zoos?<\/p>\n
A: Improving conditions for animals in Indonesian zoos has to
\nstart with national legislation that requires zoos to be licensed
\nand to adhere to modern, professional zoo practices, including
\nproper animal husbandry and housing standards. It should also
\ncontain an effective enforcement mechanism and provision for
\nseizing animals and closing down substandard zoos.<\/p>\n
Individual zoos that wish to improve animal welfare should
\nconduct an assessment of current conditions and problems using
\nthe assistance of outside experts. This is particularly
\nimportant, as many of the zoos seem to be unaware of how grossly
\nsubstandard they actually are, so an internal assessment may not
\nbe useful.<\/p>\n
The next step would be the development and implementation of a
\nplan to address the problems, prioritizing those areas that are
\ncausing severe animal suffering. All Indonesian zoos should also
\nseek advice and training from their international counterparts.<\/p>\n
Q: In addition to the authorities, what role can the public play
\nin improving the welfare of zoo animals?<\/p>\n
A: Since zoos are primarily structured and operetta vehicles of
\nentertainment for the general public, zoo visitors can have
\nconsiderable influence over how they operate. There are however,
\nseveral factors that limit that influence. One of the most
\nimportant of these factors is knowledge. Since the majority of
\nzoo visitors possess little or no knowledge about the biology and
\nbehavior of the wild animals they are viewing, they typically
\ndon't recognize problematic conditions.<\/p>\n
Most zoo visitors also have no specialized knowledge about
\nexhibit design, environmental enrichment, preventive animal
\nhealth programming, zoo safety and security protocols and all
\nother aspects of modern zoo animal management that potentially
\nimpact on zoo animal health and welfare, so they often assume the
\nzoo knows what it is doing and say nothing. This certainly seems
\nto be the case with Indonesian zoo visitors.<\/p>\n
I believe the public can play a significant role in making
\nsure that zoos operate in a humane and responsible manner. All
\nthey require is a little knowledge and the motivation to voice
\ntheir opinion.<\/p>\n
-- Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/general-public-can-help-encouraging-better-zoos-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }