Expert: Sazzle - 4/27/2007

Question
Im am doing a project about animal cruelty in zoos could you please tell me your views on it
thx
James

Answer
In order to fully answer your question I need more information on your angle.  Are you talking about cruelty in zoos in the middle east/Asia, south America etc? Are you looking at the progress that has been made in the UK and US in the last few decades taking us out of the cruelty zone and into a state where zoo animals now enjoy the highest possible levels of welfare? or are you looking for the isolated incidents within the current system where an animal has "slipped through the cracks" and suffered cruelty due to improper husbandry or professional misconduct on the part of their keeper?

When researching cruelty generally it is very important NOT to use any websites or materials which mention animal rights as sources as these are biased and most often false sources.  Animal rights organizations have one aim only and that is to stop all human interaction with animals altogether.  As such they will tell any lies they can get away with to further their arguments. They do NOT care about animal welfare.
Cruelty is essentially anything which causes the welfare of an animal to be compromised either mentally or physically.  There are five basic rules known as the five freedoms of animal welfare which can be used as a guide to determine if an animal has a satisfactory level of welfare.
1) freedom from hunger and thirst
2) freedom from pain and disease
3) freedom from thermal or physical stress
4) freedom from fear or distress
5) freedom to express normal behaviour.

These can be applied to almost any situation involving animals although there are grey areas in some cases.  For example a wolf would naturally hunt live prey but this in turn compromises the welfare of the prey animal so food must be given to the wolf after humane slaughter in order to maintain welfare for the prey animal.  However this leaves a gap in the "normal behaviour" a wolf would exhibit so other stimulation must be found.  This can include similar toys you would give to a domestic dog, training to work for food in other ways than killing etc etc.

I hope this is helpful, if you post a follow-up letting me know the angle of your project I'll be able to help more.
Sarah