Time to do away with zoos, CAP tells govt

 

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) has called on the government to reconsider the “archaic” concept of zoos, claiming it is no longer necessary in the modern era and comes at a hefty cost.

Its president Mohideen Abdul Kader said the Covid-19 pandemic has also revealed the harsh reality that it is time to phase zoos out. 

“The Covid-19 pandemic has posed a serious challenge to zoo operations because they generally survive on gate collections, rentals, and support from donors and sponsors. 

"Lockdowns badly affected gate collections and financial aids that many zoos depend on.

“Closer to home, the annual operational cost of keeping the two giant pandas from China was RM2.25 million in 2015. This excludes the cost of maintaining about 5,000 animals of different species,” he said in a statement today.

It was previously reported that Zoo Negara had an RM1 million monthly operational cost - RM400,000 for wages, RM350,000 for food and RM180,000 for utilities.

Mohideen urged the public to turn to documentaries and a plethora of photographs, videos, and information available on the Internet instead of going to the zoo.

“Zoos are things of the past where you can only see and learn about animals at these places.

“Animals belong in wildlife parks rather than within enclosures even if the enclosures are not surrounded by moats or barred cages.

“They should be roaming free in their natural habitat,” he said, adding that televisions and documentaries spawned a whole generation growing up with an awareness of wild animals in their habitat.

Despite the physical needs of animals being met in captivity, the conditions of confinement and exposure to human presence induce psychological stress on the animals, namely through their abilities to metabolise toxic substances, resist infections, and reproduce, Mohideen added. 

The CAP president said that the argument of zoos serving conservation and research was unjustified due to the technology of electronic devices and equipment available today.

“How many people have the opportunity to visit a zoo to learn about bored 'wild' animals in an artificial environment? People can gain more knowledge by watching documentaries such as those presented by naturalist David Attenborough.

“If scientists want to study wildlife, they can now track wildlife electronically with devices such as geo-positioning system (GPS) trackers, tracking collars, and remote cameras.

“Scientists do not need to keep them in a zoo to observe them,” Mohideen stressed.  - Mkini