Aspinall Part 4 – The moral dilemma
But Damian has called zoos immoral; “gaols that lock up the innocent for life”. So his goal now is to set all the animals that were born in his zoos free. “If I could extinguish all zoos over the next 30 years, including my own, I would. I wouldn't hesitate” he has said. “Please show me the statistical evidence that zoos educate. And that education that they claim they're doing has helped animals in the wild. There is no evidence because it's a lie.” He went on to say regarding any child visiting a zoo – “their face should be one of disgust. That's what's so wrong. We've culturalized them that, "Oh, those animals are here for our pleasure." They're not. We don't have the right as a species to take animals to pleasure our children. That disgusts me. These poor animals.”
Now here’s the thing – he’s apparently disgusted by my children looking at his animals in awe, but he is quite happy to take my money for the privilege, and entrance fees are not cheap. He admits his own foundation’s parks are ‘prisons’ of a sort, but he justifies their existence by stating their ultimate goal is to return the animals to their homelands. Most zoos discourage close contact between the keepers and the animals. The rationale is: the less contact, the more like real conditions in the wild. But that’s not the Aspinall way, and that has led to even more controversy over releasing animals, particularly gorillas, back into the wild.
[Continued in part 5]
Aspinall Part 4 – The moral dilemma
But Damian has called zoos immoral; “gaols that lock up the innocent for life”. So his goal now is to set all the animals that were born in his zoos free. “If I could extinguish all zoos over the next 30 years, including my own, I would. I wouldn't hesitate” he has said. “Please show me the statistical evidence that zoos educate. And that education that they claim they're doing has helped animals in the wild. There is no evidence because it's a lie.” He went on to say regarding any child visiting a zoo – “their face should be one of disgust. That's what's so wrong. We've culturalized them that, "Oh, those animals are here for our pleasure." They're not. We don't have the right as a species to take animals to pleasure our children. That disgusts me. These poor animals.”
Now here’s the thing – he’s apparently disgusted by my children looking at his animals in awe, but he is quite happy to take my money for the privilege, and entrance fees are not cheap. He admits his own foundation’s parks are ‘prisons’ of a sort, but he justifies their existence by stating their ultimate goal is to return the animals to their homelands. Most zoos discourage close contact between the keepers and the animals. The rationale is: the less contact, the more like real conditions in the wild. But that’s not the Aspinall way, and that has led to even more controversy over releasing animals, particularly gorillas, back into the wild.
[Continued in part 5]