Breaking News:
IS IT UNETHICAL FOR A ZOO TO KILL A HEALTHY GIRAFFE?
By Vithika Hota
English Major @ EFLU Hyderabad
Published November 4th, 2022 23:12(IST)
-8 min read-
Lions ate the remains of Marius, a healthy giraffe, after the Copenhagen Zoo killed him because his genes were well represented in other zoos.
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Kasper Palsnov/Scanpix, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
"What is the worth of a 54-year-old bull in comparison to a four-year-old fertile calf?"
- A zoo employee, when asked why healthy, non-human animals are 'euthanized'.
February 9th, 2014.
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Marius, a male giraffe who was 18 months old and in great condition, was "euthanized" by a Copenhagen zoo in Denmark while the rest of the world awoke to yet another typical Saturday.
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THE REASON?
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He was an "extra" animal who had to be put to death in order to clear up space for others with "rarer" genes to live, based on the explanation that he possessed genes that were surplus to demands of the facility's breeding program and were already plentiful in the regional captive giraffe population across other zoos affiliated with the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA).
THE GRUESOME PROCEDURE
In order to avoid injecting poison into his flesh, Marius was shot in the head. The procedure was then recorded, and following the dissection, chunks of Marius' meat were fed to the zoo's wild cats, bears, and other carnivores because "Why waste the 250 kgs of fresh meat?"
Sanitising the slaughter.
After his passing, there was a huge global backlash. The streets of Denmark erupted in rage, and Marius was made the poster child or rather poster corpse of what is now known as "zoothanasia," the killing of non-human animals "that" are no longer required in zoos for a variety of reasons, as if they were not sentient beings but rather mere commodities that may be disposed of at will.
The fact that the zoo had been begged to spare his life via an online petition on the Care2 platform signed by millions of animal rights activists and individuals from around the world made this act all the more horrific. (Sign Petition: Save Marius the Giraffe From the Bolt Gun NOW, n.d.)
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New homes were also found. Several zoos had agreed to take him in, and one compassionate person even offered 50,000 euros to adopt him. The zoo, though, refused. Despite having the chance to spend out his days in peace in a secure environment, Marius was slain.
Zoos: Educational and recreational spaces?
Calvin and Hobbes: Zoo Logic
The barbaric act draws attention to the underlying violence that exists in 'educational and recreational' settings like zoos. The victims are not limited to Marius. There are not enough credible sources of information, but in a research paper titled ‘How many healthy animals do zoos put down?’ by Barnes published in the BBC journal, Dr Lesley Dickie, the executive director of EAZA, reported that on an average, between 3000 to 5000 animals are euthanized every year in European zoos. (Barnes, 2014)
The zoo's 'head of conservation'
THE SOLUTION ZOOS EMPLOY?
simply allow animals to reproduce freely and then cull the surplus, frequently under the guise of "effective population control strategies," in order to prevent animals from turning infertile and to keep them engaged throughout their time in captivity.
Guy who ordered the culling says he likes animals
Check out the director of the zoo lying blatantly on media below:
SANITISING SLAUGHTER UNDER THE LABEL OF 'EUTHANASIA': An alarming trend?
Bo Kjellson, the zoo's CEO, was quoted as saying that they "only resort to the controversial practice if the animals cannot be transported to other zoos or if they are rejected by their group" in a press interview. He continued, "It's no secret in any way, and we don't try to hide the fact that we're working in this way.... So, it's unfortunately a natural path for groups of such extras."
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(Zoothanasia: The Cruel Practice of Killing Healthy Zoo Animals, 2020)
Natural ?!?!
CAUSE OF DEATH: EUTHANASIA?
Marius wasn't sick, and he wasn't in any kind of distress. None of the several other other creatures that were murdered because they were defenseless, "genetically dead" individuals were either. The description of the murder as "death through euthanasia" disturbs me the most. To get my point across straight, the animals aren't actually euthanized; rather, they are being zoothanised. It only serves to mask the crime to employ the phrase 'euthanasia' loosely to sterilize your slaughter.
(“Euthanasia,” Merriam Webster Dictionary, n.d.)
Zoos essentially undertake the obligation of securing the animal's health and well-being for the remainder of its life when they grab creatures from the wild and use them as factories to churn out more of their own inside cages for financial gain.
Arguments in favour of Zoothanasia- huh?
Moral duty of a zoo:
To manage and maintain their population in a sustainable way.
To do this, they need to:
1. Avoid overcrowding- to optimise food, medical care and other available resources
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2. Prevent inbreeding- to ensure diversity of gene pool
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This issue didn't exist in the beginning when zoos were being created. When the old inhabitants perished, new ones were caught to take their place.
FAST FORWARD TO 21ST CENTURY!
Advances in animal husbandry and veterinary care have significantly extended animals' lifespans in addition to ensuring their survival.
Zoos today routinely struggle with overpopulation as a result.
The challenge of moving an additional animal to another location is likewise not an easy one. Zoos must make sure the animals are transported to a location with the provisions required to provide enough food, shelter, and care. They contend that it is preferable to euthanize an animal rather than relocate them to a site where their quality of life will be degraded since identifying good areas to relocate to is a time-consuming, expensive, and difficult task.
Their core argument:
"Once the animals leave the zoo, who can guarantee they won't be used for the meat trade, poached, or mistreated in circuses for recreation?"
No obvious solutions.
As the battle between ethics and practicalities rages on, we find ourselves teetering in an uncomfortable position: outraged at the blatant violence, yet powerless.
What kind of tradeoffs are acceptable when it comes to animal welfare?
1. Should longevity be valued more highly than quality?
2. Is a peaceful death better than abandoning a helpless animal in the wild, where he would eventually perish from disease, famine, poaching, or a predator, whichever comes first?
WAY FORWARD
In essence, it is crucial to examine zoothanasia from an ethical perspective.
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1. To guarantee that zoos are not allowed to get away with using such careless, band-aid fixes to issues they created in the first place, stronger and more updated legislative measures must be put in place.
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2. There are few compelling arguments in favour of zoothanasia when there exist alternatives like safe sterilisation and contraception.
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Questions about whether negotiations on animal welfare are plausible only come from a self - centred, anthropocentric lens. Because every life counts, decisions involving a person's life or death should be given the highest priority feasible.
Real-world problems are rarely black-and-white or right-and-wrong, like most issues in life. Euthanasia may fall into this category of cases, but one should constantly strive to defend the right that is so fundamental to our existence: the right to a safe and healthy life.
Reference:
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Barnes, B. H. (2014, February 27). How many healthy animals do zoos put down? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26356099
euthanasia. (n.d.). In The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/euthanasia
Peralta, E. (2014, February 10). Copenhagen Zoo’s Scientific Director Defends Killing Giraffe. NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/02/10/274750447/copenhagen-zoos-scientific-director-defends-killing-giraffe
Sign Petition: Save Marius the giraffe from the bolt gun NOW. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.thepetitionsite.com/528/607/193/save-marius-the-giraffe-from-the-bolt-gun-now/
Zoothanasia: The Cruel Practice of Killing Healthy Zoo Animals. (2020, December 3). Alternet.org. https://www.alternet.org/2018/01/zoothanasia-cruel-practice-killing-healthy-zoo-animals/
