Pros and Cons of Zoos

Zoos. Love them? Or hate them? Personally, I don’t love them, and I don’t hate them. I fall somewhere in between. This stance will attract the distaste of people on either side. However, I often find the gray areas in life. Let me explain my thinking on this one. 

What Got Me Thinking

What got me thinking about this topic was seeing an episode of The Zoo: San Diego on Animal Planet. I happened to catch episode 4, A Lion’s Tale, when it aired on TV, and I was struck by the emotional connection displayed between the staff and the animals in their care. In this episode, a 15-year-old lion, who has lived beyond his life expectancy in the wild, begins to show signs of physical decline. The animal keepers and the veterinarians involved in his care need to determine the best course of action for him. They conduct tests and scans to figure out what’s wrong with him and what can be done about it. From the looks of things, this zoo has extensive medical facilities and well-trained staff to provide the best medical care possible.

At one point in the episode, one of the keepers tearfully mentions that the team does not want the lion’s last day alive to be his worst day. This comment struck a chord with me, for it reminded me of my own concern for my pet cat Bailey as she declined physically in her old age. Although I ultimately decided with my veterinarian to euthanize her to end her incurable physical suffering, in the several years that have passed since then, I have continued to struggle with whether I did the right thing for her at the right time. The fact that the animal professionals at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park showed the same level of care and concern for the animals in their facility spoke volumes to me.

Bailey Cat (Personal collection/Karen P. Peirce)

Nonetheless, I’m still conflicted over zoos. I’m not alone. Even PBS is conflicted over zoos. PBS has a legacy of leadership in educational children’s programming, such as Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers (who was an alum of my alma mater Rollins College—check out its tribute page to him). Therefore, if even PBS sees both sides when it comes to zoos, there must be merit to both stances. In case you worry that my reasoning here is just an appeal to false authority (what does PBS know about zoos, anyway?), let me summarize what PBS’s research-based web series Above the Noisehas to say about zoos and provide some additional research as well. 

The Human-Animal Connection

As Above the Noise explains, one of the pros about zoos is that people are able to get up close and personal to animals they would likely never see in person otherwise. After all, not everyone can afford to go to Africa to see elephants in their natural habitat, or to Australia to see kangaroos, or to China to see red pandas. But many people live near a zoo where at least some of these animals are on view. In this sense, zoos promote personal connections to animals. And, as I mentioned in my previous post about birding, building a personal connection to animals can inspire people to take positive action to protect them. 

In fact, one research study published in Zoo Biology and undertaken at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park found that visitors to the zoo who experienced an up close interaction with elephants as well as the chance to see active elephant behavior in person reported the greatest positive changes to their intent to promote the conservation of elephants. Furthermore, Above the Noise refers to a study published in Conservation Biology that found visitors to 26 zoos reported learning about specific actions they could take to help protect animals. These examples of research show that by providing opportunities for personal connection with animals, zoos help create a mindset among their visitors that animals deserve protection.

Concerns about Animal Welfare

But maybe this information about human-animal connectedness is not enough to outweigh your concerns about the welfare of animals in zoos. Above the Noise also tackles this topic. The show explains that some animal behaviors in zoos, such as pacing, hair pulling, and self-hitting, result from boredom, inadequate physical space, and stress. But the show also explains that these behaviors can be found to different extents in different zoos, as some zoos are run more effectively than others.

Indeed, a study published in the journal Animals reviewed the methods used for assessing the health of animals in zoos. The researchers found a variety of approaches in use. This research highlights the challenges that exist in understanding what healthy bodies and behavior look like for a wide range of animals in captive environments.

Such a finding may lend support for the idea of an accreditation process for zoos, although without standardized, scientifically-based guidelines for animal welfare in zoos, it’s hard to find much comfort in an accreditation process that at this point is only based on hypotheses. Still, to ensure you’re attending a zoo that practices the best possible treatment of animals based on current knowledge, you can look for accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). According to the AZA website, today there are 239 accredited zoos and aquariums in 12 countries.

PETA’s Stance

Despite zoos’ animal welfare efforts and their emphasis on educating people to care about animal conservation, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is not convinced there’s anything positive about zoos. As a result, the PETA website offers several arguments against zoos. Among these arguments is the claim that by displaying animals in enclosures, zoos perpetuate the idea that human domination of nature, particularly animals, is acceptable. I can see both sides here, for while I think some people who visit zoos might unquestioningly accept the domination of humans over animals, I’m also persuaded by the research studies I mentioned earlier that show some people who visit zoos are called to action to help animals survive in the wild.

PETA also questions the emphasis on conservation that zoos tend to claim. PETA points out that many of the animals owned by zoos are not members of endangered species. PETA also points out that captive breeding of animals for the purpose of releasing them into the wild is largely an unsuccessful effort, and the Above the Noise episode mentions this as well.

Concluding Thoughts

So what’s my final verdict? As I said at the start of this post, I see both pros and cons to zoos. I think it’s important to consider each particular instance rather than making blanket statements about all zoos or all animals or all people. What do you think?

3 Benefits of Birding

I come from a family of backyard birders. My parents kept a pole mounted bird feeder in the backyard when I was a kid, and we’d look out the kitchen and dining room windows to watch the birds feeding. We also had a feeder that sat on a window sill, and we’d get close-up views of the birds that way. Both sets of grandparents also fed the birds. I remember looking out my paternal grandparents’ kitchen window to see their bird feeders hanging from a pole in the side yard next to the driveway. And, my maternal grandparents kept checklists of the birds they saw at their feeder.

When I became an adult, I kept up the tradition. Not every place I’ve lived has been conducive to bird feeding. However, I did hang a bird feeder from my outdoor balcony ceilings in both Tampa and Tucson. In Tucson I added a hummingbird feeder and reveled in the large number of hummingbirds I saw out my windows, especially the window my desk sat in front of where I spent many hours doing schoolwork and writing my dissertation. 

Later, when I lived in upstate New York and in Fargo, I hung feeders from poles in my backyards. In Fargo, I even signed up to take birding classes from the local parks department, which included early morning bird walks in some chilly spring weather. In each of the places where I’ve hung bird feeders, I’ve also had books that catalogued the birds found in each region. That way, I could keep track of my sightings as my maternal grandparents and my mother did before me.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Personal collection/Karen P. Peirce)

Despite my enjoyment of birding, birding is seen by some as a boring hobby. Who cares what birds are flitting by the windows? By others it’s seen as too complicated or confusing. Who can keep track of the differences between such similar looking birds? But there are benefits to birding. Here are three of them:

1) Birding can help develop an eye for detail. 

Yes, some birds look similar to each other. However, discerning the subtle differences between them can be good training for attention to detail. This skill is useful in many areas of life. For example, wouldn’t you prefer to avoid an anaphylactic reaction because your waiter brought your meal with no nuts instead of overlooking your “no nuts” request? Or wouldn’t you prefer to avoid an audit because your accountant listed the correct income on your tax return rather than overlooking that important detail? Or wouldn’t you prefer to have a great view of the stage because you paid attention to the seating chart when you bought your theater tickets?

Birding can teach attention to detail through helping you notice several particularities of bird anatomy and behavior. For example, to accurately identify a bird, you may need to notice differences in beak shape or beak color between similar birds. Or, you may need to note the difference between a 6-inch and an 8-inch wingspan. Or, perhaps you’ll need to notice that despite similar feather colors and body size, one species tends to feed off seeds on the ground while another feeds at the feeder. Noticing such differences can help you become a more detail-oriented person.

2) Communing with nature is good for your health.

Another benefit of birding is that it can bring you closer to nature, which aids in your health, to include psychological, cognitive, physiological, social, and spiritual improvements. I found an article that reviews research studies examining the relationship between interactions with nature and well-being. The article was published in 2013 by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and catalogued by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, part of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, an office of the National Institutes of Health. The article explains that in many research studies, interactions with nature have been shown to have health benefits.

The article noted studies have found that interacting with nature on a purposeful basis, “such as gardening or watching wildlife,” can benefit psychological health. According to the article, a study that was focused on cognitive well-being showed reduced levels of fatigue and increased attention when people were able to view nature through windows in an urban environment. Also, according to the article, in some studies, even just viewing images of nature was shown to benefit attentiveness.

Physiological benefits that counteract the effects of stress have also been found in relation to interacting with nature. For example, a study cited in the article showed better physiological reactions to stress from looking at pictures of offices with views of nature and indoor plants. Another study cited in the article showed faster recovery from surgery for patients with a view of nature from their hospital beds. Also, several studies reviewed in the article showed multiple health benefits for workers with indoor plants in their work environments.

The article cited several studies that showed interacting with nature can improve social support, reduce interracial conflict, lower rates of crime and violence, and increase social cohesion. On a spiritual level, the article reviewed studies that showed greater inspiration, feeling of connectedness, sense of awe, and transcendence resulting from interactions with nature. The article even summarizes one study as showing “wildlife viewing events can promote a deep sense of well-being, leading to spiritual fulfillment.”

After reading the evidence, you might still wonder if watching birds out of a window can really improve your health. Several of the studies reviewed in the article focus on passive viewing of nature, even through windows. Therefore, it seems like a real possibility that birding can be beneficial to feelings of well-being.

3) Birding can inspire you to take action to better the world.

Last, birding can inspire you to make positive change in the world. Recently, the Cornell Lab of Ornithological Science released a report about shocking declines in bird populations. The report indicates that 2.9 billion breeding adult birds have been lost in the United States and Canada over the past 50 years, an almost 30% population decline. The most common birds in North America all were found in the report to have suffered massive losses.

Included in the reported losses are sparrows, warblers, and finches. These are some of the most common birds spotted at bird feeders. Other common birds have also suffered losses. According to the report, Dark-eyed Juncos have declined in population by 168 million, White-throated Sparrows have lost 93 million, Eastern and Western Meadowlarks combined are down by 139 million, and there are 92 million fewer Red-winged Blackbirds.

The report suggests fundamental threats to the ecosystem are to blame for the struggles birds are facing. Loss of habitat due to agriculture and development are cited as causes. But all the news is not bad. According to the report, actions that have been taken to preserve such birds as raptors, waterfowl, and turkeys have been successful. And the report also indicates that remaining populations of even the declining bird species are still large enough to stage a rebound, if actions are taken soon to preserve them. 

Bird surveys, some conducted by backyard birders counting birds at their feeders, were cited in the report as a crucial means for collecting necessary data. This means backyard birders can have an impact on scientific studies of birds, potentially creating future policy changes that could improve our protection of the environment. I'd say that's a pretty major benefit of birding.