Fighting Extinction
What is the purpose of a modern zoo? For the Melbourne Zoo their mission is very clear, "Fighting Extinction". www.zoo.org.au/fighting-extinction/
But they would be in accord with the Adelaide Zoo's four points:
1. Conservation
2. Education
3. Research
4. Recreation
www.zoossa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/The-Role-of-a-Modern...
Each of these are important objectives. But it is important to stress in an era when people are rightly concerned for animal welfare, that modern zoos do place the welfare of their animals at the top of the priority list. Tomorrow I'll give you an example of how far we have come in our changed perceptions of zoos and their purpose, and certainly in the way animals are kept.
One more point that needs to be stressed. None of the animals in this zoo (or I would suggest most modern zoos around the world) were taken from the wild. These animals are either bred in this zoo, or have been traded with other zoos around the country who specialise in certain breeding programs. Now this is very important.
The biggest problem we face with animal species around the world is the decline of biodiversity through loss of habitat. We are winning the war against poachers in most cases (but still more needs to be done), but what we are failing to do is control human population growth. If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, the number one environmental issue in the world (from which all other problems follow) is the continued exponential human population growth.
Why is this so? (As Prof. Julius Sumner Miller used to educate us on TV in the 1970s.) Because humans need space. Space to live and grow their crops, and their (unfair) share of the natural resources. This means deforestation in large measure (especially in the regions of greatest population growth). Rainforests are cut down, and with it whole habitats for creatures so rare now as Orang-utans and Tigers. Something needs to be done to save these animals in the wild.
But zoos serve a vital role in researching animal needs and also maintaining their viability through breeding programs. We need zoos. They are an important part of the recreational life of our cities, but most of all, they are a lifeline for seriously endangered species.
Fighting Extinction
What is the purpose of a modern zoo? For the Melbourne Zoo their mission is very clear, "Fighting Extinction". www.zoo.org.au/fighting-extinction/
But they would be in accord with the Adelaide Zoo's four points:
1. Conservation
2. Education
3. Research
4. Recreation
www.zoossa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/The-Role-of-a-Modern...
Each of these are important objectives. But it is important to stress in an era when people are rightly concerned for animal welfare, that modern zoos do place the welfare of their animals at the top of the priority list. Tomorrow I'll give you an example of how far we have come in our changed perceptions of zoos and their purpose, and certainly in the way animals are kept.
One more point that needs to be stressed. None of the animals in this zoo (or I would suggest most modern zoos around the world) were taken from the wild. These animals are either bred in this zoo, or have been traded with other zoos around the country who specialise in certain breeding programs. Now this is very important.
The biggest problem we face with animal species around the world is the decline of biodiversity through loss of habitat. We are winning the war against poachers in most cases (but still more needs to be done), but what we are failing to do is control human population growth. If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, the number one environmental issue in the world (from which all other problems follow) is the continued exponential human population growth.
Why is this so? (As Prof. Julius Sumner Miller used to educate us on TV in the 1970s.) Because humans need space. Space to live and grow their crops, and their (unfair) share of the natural resources. This means deforestation in large measure (especially in the regions of greatest population growth). Rainforests are cut down, and with it whole habitats for creatures so rare now as Orang-utans and Tigers. Something needs to be done to save these animals in the wild.
But zoos serve a vital role in researching animal needs and also maintaining their viability through breeding programs. We need zoos. They are an important part of the recreational life of our cities, but most of all, they are a lifeline for seriously endangered species.