Mammals in UK zoos have, on average, 100 times
less space than in the wild A new scientific report has revealed that mammals in UK zoos on average are kept in enclosures one hundred times smaller than their minimum home range in the wild. The report comes shortly after another study criticising the welfare of carnivores in zoo.
Jordi Casamitjana, an Independent Animal Welfare Consultant with particular experience of the captive wildlife industries, compared the average enclosure size of a random sample of fifty mammals in 103 UK zoos (25% of all UK zoos) to the home range of the species in the wild. The results provide statistical information to back up the claims of zoo critics who have argued that animals in zoos are confined to restricted enclosures much smaller than the space they have in the wild. This restriction, in addition to unnatural social groupings, different climate, inappropriate diets and lack of enrichment, leads to welfare problems for wild animals in zoos, including physical and psychological problems.
22% of all species in the study were kept in zoo enclosures on average 1,000 times smaller than their minimum home range. These include Asian elephant, chimpanzee, giraffe and Californian sea lion. Of the fifty species in the study, the African buffalo was found to have an average enclosure size 10,000 times smaller than the minimum home range for this animal. Species whose zoo enclosures were one hundred times smaller include the Lar gibbon, red panda and serval. Only 10% of the species studied had enclosure sizes similar to their minimum home range.
The report's author concludes: "Considering these values, and applying it to human beings, a person that has lived in a village of 1 km² most of his/her life would be in the same spatial situation than a captive zoo animal if this person was confined for life to live in a telephone box." A spokesperson for the Captive Animals' Protection Society commented: "This study backs up with statistical analysis what we have always said - that animals in zoos are confined in unnatural conditions. A cheetah, the fastest land animal, cannot reach her top speed of 60 mph when confined in a cage. An elephant, who may walk 17 miles a day in the wild, cannot do so in her tiny barren enclosure. The zoo industry may argue that such animals do not need to hunt or forage for food, or migrate with the seasons, but this simply reveals how unnatural a captive life is for wild animals. These animals are designed for a life in the wild, not for a life in a zoo for the amusement of humans. It is now down to the public to express their concern by avoiding zoos." A report by scientists at Oxford University, published this week in Nature, reveals that carnivores suffer greatly in zoos as they cover much larger areas in the wild than can be provided in captivity. They found that polar bears have enclosures in zoos that are one million times smaller than their smallest home range. WHAT YOU CAN DO
Photographs © Captive Animals Protection Society |
