US ZOO FIGHT

[Guest guest]

Claims of neglect add claws to zoo fight

By Dennis Wagner, USA TODAY

PHOENIX — Tinkerbell the porcupine wasn't performing well during educational

shows at the Phoenix Zoo three years ago, and keepers decided to reduce her

diet.

 

Veterinarian Kris Nelson, at the elephant habitat, says animals have suffered

from incidents of improper care.

Tom Tingle, The Arizona Republic

 

They didn't want to hurt the little pincushion — just give her some incentive.

But Tinkerbell died of starvation, and her death has become part of a dispute

over the care of animals at the 125-acre exhibition.

 

The furor prompted the Arizona Zoological Society to commission a review by

independent experts, whose report is due this month. It also has brought an

investigation by Agriculture Department inspectors who enforce the nation's

Animal Welfare Act.

 

But the Phoenix Zoo is hardly alone in its turmoil: During the past three years,

wildlife menageries and aquariums across the nation have come under fire after a

series of animal deaths and claims of neglect and mismanagement. Investigations

have stretched from the historic National Zoo in Washington, D.C., to zoos in

other cities including Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit, Topeka and Toledo, Ohio.

 

The controversy is sparking heated arguments between animal rights activists and

zoo defenders.

 

" Zoos should be for animals. Unfortunately, most of the time they're for

people, " says Richard Farinato, director of captive wildlife programs for the

Humane Society of the United States.

 

" This is probably just the tip of the iceberg because this is a very poorly

regulated industry, " says Debbie Leahy director of People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals.

 

But Jane Ballentine, a spokeswoman for the non-profit American Zoo and Aquarium

Association (AZA), says that wildlife parks are being victimized by " animal

rights extremists " and " sensationalist media " although zoos are cleaner, safer

and more humane than ever.

 

An estimated 134 million people visit the nation's zoos and aquariums every

year, more than professional football, baseball and basketball combined, the AZA

says. The 211 zoos and aquariums accredited by AZA care for about 800,000

animals.

 

Zoo animals as celebrities

 

There are few national statistics about the care of zoo animals. The Agriculture

Department inspects all licensed wildlife exhibits annually but doesn't tally

complaints or violations, spokesman Darby Holladay says.

 

Jeffrey Hyson, a historian at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia who is

writing a book on American zoo culture, says evolving social values have

collided in zoos.

 

Animal rights activists are more aggressive. Media scrutiny has intensified.

Modern zoos, trying to capture public imagination and dollars, cultivate a

" Garden-of-Paradise " image that promotes animals as lovable stars — what Hyson

calls " charismatic megafauna. "

 

Ruby, the Phoenix Zoo's artistic elephant, was a typical example. The zoo

promoted its paintbrush-wielding pachyderm, and she gained worldwide celebrity

before her death in 1998. Seven years later, the zoo still runs a Web site

dedicated to Ruby's memory.

 

Denny Lewis, who directs zoo accreditations for AZA, says animals' deaths are a

law of nature in the wild or captivity — and should not be a cause for

finger-pointing.

 

" Animals die, " Lewis says. " Most of the time, it's because of old age or

sickness, just like with human beings. "

 

Zoos in recent years have seen fatalities among elephants, lions, tigers, bears

and other animals:

 

• Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo became a target of protests after the deaths of two

gorillas, a camel, three elephants and three endangered langur monkeys. State

prosecutors announced a criminal inquiry. Federal inspectors and the AZA

launched reviews. Zoo spokeswoman Kelly McGrath says " there was absolutely no

error " in the animal deaths.

 

• Two red pandas at the National Zoo died in 2003 after eating rat poison. Two

zebras succumbed to hypothermia and starvation. Animal enclosures were infested

with rats. A lion died after being anesthetized. Congress commissioned a study

by the National Academy of Sciences. Operations were overhauled. The zoo's

director was forced out.

 

• Captive elephants have perished at such a rate in the past decade that some

zoos have surrendered them to wildlife sanctuaries.

 

" There are lots of questions coming now ... about what are we doing with these

animals and why do we do it. (We've) had 200 years of keeping elephants in

captivity in the USA and we still aren't doing a good job, " Farinato says.

 

Elephants a concern

 

According to the AZA, 40 of the 77 zoos that have elephants plan to expand their

facilities for them in the next five years. But several zoos have stopped

exhibiting elephants because the climate is colder than their natural habitat or

because they're too old to care for. (Related story: New homes for elephants

debated)

 

Zoos have evolved since the first wild animals were captured for show nearly

5,000 years ago. Today's zoos emphasize wildlife conservation and public

education.

 

" I don't know of a single case where someone intentionally harmed an animal in

an accredited zoo, " says Lewis of AZA. " These are some of the most caring,

compassionate people. "

 

Some zoo scandals start with internal squabbling, not outside criticism. Phoenix

Zoo President Jeff Williamson says the backbiting among employees grew so fierce

last year that he had to replace the top curator and the chief veterinarian.

 

Kris Nelson, a volunteer on the zoo committee that reviews animal health issues,

was upset about the chief vet's dismissal. So she went public last month with

details of incidents in which she says animals suffered from improper care.

 

Zoo board President Ed Fox calls Nelson's complaints " misguided " but vows to fix

any deficiencies the outside review exposes.

 

Zoo officials know they are being observed carefully now.

 

" To some degree, we are victims of our own success, " McGrath says. " Zoos have

raised public awareness of wildlife. And that's a good thing. "

 

Wagner reports daily forThe Arizona Republic.

 

Contributing: Martha T. Moore in New York.