Sadly, it was reported today that Gezi, and eight year-old giraffe at the San Francisco Zoo, died of cardiac and respiratory arrest. Gezi’s body is scheduled to undergo a necropsy this week that will explain what led to her premature death.
On average, giraffes live to be about twenty-five years old. Gezi had lived at the zoo since 2001, and she had given birth to two calves.
The San Francisco zoo has come under scrutiny from animal rights advocates in the past for incidents involving the death of an elephant in 2004, and just last year when Tatiana, a Siberian Tiger, escaped from her enclosure (See: Are Zoos Cruel) and killed a man before she was shot to death. The zoo has long been accused of placing profit above the welfare of the animals it keeps. Check out the following youtube video, taken by an animal advocate at the San Francisco Zoo: (not graphic)
So I’d like to revisit this discussion. Are zoos inherently cruel? One has to question whether or nor forcing an animal to live in captivity for it’s entire life is ethical. The enclosures may seem beautiful and elaborate, but they are still what they are: enclosures. Animals are never free to follow their natural instincts. They aren’t free to run, to hunt, to hide, to climb, or even to be alone. They are there PURELY for human entertainment. In the past, I have often conceded that zoos are acceptable only if they are created for the purpose of rehabilitation. Now, I have to wonder if that is ever the case. If the main goal of a zoo were animal rehabilitation and welfare, it wouldn’t be a zoo. The animals would not be forced to live out their lives in unnatural enclosures where humans can watch and taunt them. Imagine if our world were surrounded by glass so that wild animals could watch us, laugh and point at us, and bang on our walls. Imagine how unsettling that would be.
Is it fair to breed and/or keep animals in captivity? Should zoos be allowed to continue to run solely for human entertainment, or should they no longer be allowed to bring animals into their establishments?
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