Captivity for Conservation? Zoos at a Crossroads

Captivity for Conservation? Zoos at a Crossroads Captivity for Conservation? Zoos at a Crossroads

Abstract This paper illuminates a variety of issues that speak to the question of whether 'captivity for conservation' can be an ethically acceptable goal of the modern zoo. Reflecting on both theoretical disagreements (animal protectionists versus wildlife conservationists) and practical challenges (the small percentage of endangered species actually exhibited in zoos, disappointing success of reintroduction programs), the paper explains why the 'Noah's Ark' paradigm is being replaced by an alternative 'integrated approach.' It explores the changes in the zoo's core tasks that the new paradigm implies. And it pays special attention to the changes that would have to be made in zoos' collection policies: connection with in situ projects, emphasizing local species and the local biogeographical region, exchange of animals among zoos and between zoos and wildlife, and a shift towards smaller species. Finally the question will be addressed whether the new paradigm will achieve a morally acceptable balance between animal welfare costs and species conservation benefits.

Introduction

Today, the animal world is under severe attack as a result of two strongly interconnected global processes. On the one hand, global environmental changes such as climate change, land use and land cover change, deforestation and desertification have a disruptive impact on plant and animal life. Entire populations are being confronted with the alternative to abandon their original habitat or to go extinct. On the other hand, globalization causes massive dislocations of entire populations. As trade, travel, transport and tourism boom, the world is becoming more and more borderless and, by the same token, it is becoming increasingly vulnerable to invasive species. Since globalization took off, more plants and animals have become globetrotters than ever before.

Because animals are constantly on the move worldwide as a result of these global processes, traditional in situ (place-based) conservation methods seem no longer sufficient to save threatened species. The magnitude of anthropogenic environmental stress from bioinvasion, habitat fragmentation, nitrogen deposition, biodiversity loss, and, above all, climate change, makes it unavoidable to replace the hands-off approach that has guided mainstream species conservation until recently by a more proactive and interventionist strategy.

However, this new strategy has led to manifold conflicts between wildlife conservationists and animal protectionists. As Michael Soulé has remarked in his presidential address at the third annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology in nineteen eighty-nine: "Conflicts between animal rights groups and management agencies are increasing in frequency and cost-the cost being borne by endangered species and ecosystems as well as by the public that pays for expensive rescue operations and time-consuming court battles."

In his address, Soulé claimed that among the many environmental challenges of the coming decades, 'the onslaught of alien species' would be the most revolutionary. And he foresaw that attempts by conservationists to control destructive exotics would meet resistance from 'well-meaning animal welfare enthusiasts', who oppose eradication programs that involve techniques such as hunting and trapping or make use of pesticides such as piscicides, chemical substances which are poisonous to fish.

Another potential area of conflict between wildlife conservationists and animal activists concerns managed relocation (also known as assisted colonization or assisted migration). The human-aided relocation of threatened species may be required when their historical ranges have become inhospitable due to climate change or habitat fragmentation and destruction, and when moving on their own to other regions where environmental conditions are more suitable is impossible. Relocated animals will inevitable experience chronic stress at all stages of the process, from capture and captivity to transport and release to novel areas. Such relocation-induced chronic stress increases the overall vulnerability of the individuals and, as a result, decreases the probability that the population will become self-sustaining.

Here, I will focus on yet another major battlefield between wildlife conservationists and animal activists: ex situ conservation through zoos and aquaria. As a response to the ongoing decline in effectiveness of in situ conservation and the accompanying loss of biodiversity, zoos began to turn their attention to the conservation of endangered species and wildlife in the nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties. Captivity for Conservation became a crucial slogan for the modern zoo. A major milestone in this development was the Convention on Biodiversity which was signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in nineteen ninety-two. In the wake of the Earth Summit the first World Zoo Conservation Strategy was launched in nineteen ninety-three. Its conclusion explicitly stated that, at a time when species, habitats and ecosystems worldwide are threatened with extinction, modern zoos must commit to the conservation of species and wildlife.

Caring for our planet's biological systems is one of the greatest challenges to humankind. Consequently, conservation is being seen as the central theme of zoos, and zoos should thus further evolve into conservation centers.

In this scheme of things the zoo was envisaged as a kind of Noah's Ark which owed its raison d'être primarily to its contribution to the conservation of species through breeding and reintroduction programs. As the main institution for ex situ conservation of wild animal species, the zoo was now confronted head-on with the potential conflicts between animal protectionists and wildlife conservationists.

In this essay, I will analyze the moral issues at stake in these conflicts over the zoo with an eye to possibilities to bridge the differences between the conflicting parties. I will argue that both sides of the controversy may find common ground in the view that zoos will be morally justifiable only if the costs in terms of animal welfare and freedom are clearly outweighed by the benefits to species preservation. Next, I will argue that the Noah's Ark paradigm does not meet this standard, that it therefore has lost credibility and has gradually given way to a new paradigm: the 'integrated approach' in which the zoo is primarily seen as a conservation park or center. I will then set out the implications of the new approach for the zoo's core tasks and explore the collection policy options that are open to zoos in order to carry out these tasks in the best possible way. Finally, I will address the question whether the new paradigm may achieve a morally acceptable balance between animal welfare costs and species conservation benefits. But in order to understand what is at stake in the battle over the zoo's legitimacy and right to existence I will first take a closer look at the heated philosophical debate between animal ethicists and environmental ethicists.