How many zoo animals are killed each year?
The so-called “surplus” animals in zoos are often killed, even if they are healthy. Even though many of us want to know how many animals die in zoos each year, these numbers are not easy to track. According to In Defense of Animals, up to 5,000 zoo animals are killed each year — mind you, only in Europe.
Because animals in zoos are killed for many reasons, such as old age or disease, just as pet animals are often euthanized because of health problems, it is beyond the scope of this list to identify every case where an animal is killed in a zoo.
The 15 Disheartening Animals in Captivity Statistics
Animals living in captivity, such as zoos, parks, and aquariums, have very little in the way of legal protection. It's estimated that of all animals held by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, 75% of them have been abused.
In the U.S., the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) says flatly that incidents of killing healthy surplus animals "do not happen at AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums." The whole thrust of captive management in this country centers around birth control.
According to National Geographic, Zoochosis is a neurological disorder that plagues nearly 80 percent of zoo animals, and is characterized by symptoms of anxiety and depression in zoo animals.
"The elephant is the most dangerous," says Dr. Keith Hinshaw, vice-president for animal health and senior veterinarian at the Philadelphia Zoo. "He's the number one offender. More animal handlers have been killed by elephants than any other animal."
Animals suffer in zoos. They get depressed, psychologically disturbed, frustrated, they harm each other, become ill, go hungry, and are forced to endure extreme and unnatural temperatures. These animals cannot live as they would wish to live.
Zoos are ultimately harmful to animals for three main reasons. First, zoos breed animals inhumanely. Second, they do not effectively help animals get back into the wild. Third, they do not provide enough resources for the animals in their care.
For many vegans it goes without saying that zoos represent the use of animals for entertainment, and as such they're not a place that vegans would visit or be in favour of. For others, the rescue and conservation efforts of some zoos makes the issue a little less black and white.
Zoos have helped remove animals from the endangered species list and have saved many from extinction. Without the efforts of zoos, there would be fewer animal species alive today!
What do zoos do when an animal dies?
Once the decision is made, ideally, the animal is shifted into an area of the zoo where it can be euthanized and easily removed from the compound. If the elephant can't be shifted, the procedure would take place wherever the animal is.
Babies are great crowd-pleasers, but when the babies grow up, they don't attract the same number of people, so zoos often sell them off in order to make room for younger animals. The unwanted adult animals are sometimes sold to “game” farms where hunters pay to kill them; some are killed for their meat and/or hides.
Some get transferred to multiple zoos throughout their lives. But a large number of them go to private breeders, pet owners, circuses, roadside zoos, and canned hunting ranches.” Once the animals are sold to other owners, the people who purchase them can do what they please with the animals.
...
Arturo (polar bear)
| Species | Ursus maritimus |
|---|---|
| Died | July 3, 2016 (aged 30–31) Mendoza, Argentina |
| Owner | Mendoza Zoological Park |
Animals in zoos are forced to live in artificial, stressful, and downright boring conditions. Removed from their natural habitats and social structures, they are confined to small, restrictive environments that deprive them of mental and physical stimulation.
Captive Populations
In conservation situations, zoos use captive breeding as a tool to prevent extinction of a species that cannot survive in the wild, often due to the deterioration of a species' habitat.
We should still have zoos for a few reasons. Zoos provide animals with food and a habitat that is made to resemble their natural habitat. Zoos also breed animals to increase their population. And most zoos have educational programs that help children learn about different animals and conservation efforts.
Even a lifetime in the most humane zoo will have left animals too affected by years of sheltered existence. Captive animals seldom learn crucial survival skills and often are too habituated to human contact. Lacking a natural fear of humans, they are vulnerable to poachers and ill equipped for life in the wild.
Reasons why people think keeping animals in zoos is bad for their welfare: the animal is deprived of its natural habitat. the animal may not have enough room. the animal is deprived of its natural social structure and companionship.
- Harambe the Gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo, May 2016. ...
- Two Lions at the Santiago Metropolitan Zoo, May 2016. ...
- African Painted Dog at the Pittsburgh Zoo, November 2012. ...
- Tatiana the Siberian Tiger at the San Francisco Zoo, December 2007.
What do zoos do when an animal dies?
Once the decision is made, ideally, the animal is shifted into an area of the zoo where it can be euthanized and easily removed from the compound. If the elephant can't be shifted, the procedure would take place wherever the animal is.
Animals don't like to put on shows—they're used and abused for the sake of human entertainment. To force bears, elephants, tigers, and others in circuses to perform confusing and physically demanding tricks, trainers use bullhooks, whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, and other painful tools of the trade.
Many zoos and animal facilities that house exotic animals compost excrement to make a nutrient dense, organic soil amendment. The manure is collected and mixed in with hay, straw, or wood shavings during the compost process. The benefits of zoo poo are numerous.
In reality, “an elephant never forgets" is a generalization that's not true all the time because all elephants forget things from time to time. However, scientists have proven that elephants do have incredible memories.
The consensus among the Christian denominations seems to be that, as Pope John Paul II said in 1990, animals do have souls. But they don't all agree on whether or not they're welcomed into heaven along with people.
Results. In 84% of species we analyzed (85% for males and 83% for females, including all carnivores), longevity was higher in zoos than in the wild for both sexes (Figs 2 and 3A).
