These days, a family trip to the zoo is generally either depressing or deadly, a stigma that zoos around the country are working to dispel. From this winter's reports of a bear gnawing on a plastic bag at the Buffalo Zoo, to an escaped tiger gnawing on a patron at the San Francisco Zoo, things aren't looking up for those in the business of zooing.
The San Francisco Zoo is under more fire this week, as experts have deemed their facilities "outdated" and reminiscent of a 19th century, Eastern European circus, according to The San Francisco Chronicle (2/2/08). Indeed, the idea of ogling creatures in cages doesn't have much of a place in 21st century praxis. The city's Board of Supervisors are in fact pushing for the zoo's transformation into a rescue center, which, at this juncture, appears to be the only practical purpose for such a place.
Just as animal cruelty is no longer acceptable for Barnum and Bailey, it is also growing in unpopularity for zoo-goers. The public would rather see animals that are happy and properly cared for than animals that are sickly or ill tempered.
In January, the Buffalo Zoo ranked No. 5 in the list of the "Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants," put out annually by a group called In Defense of Elephants, according to The Buffalo News (1/11/08). The group said that the elephants are kept in small pens through Buffalo's harsh winters and made to lie on concrete floors or stand in their own urine and feces.
There are still no ironclad reports of how or why the tiger at the San Francisco Zoo was able to escape and kill a young man, but it is undeniable that when any animal is kept locked up in poor conditions, they will be angry. And no one wants to be in the way when those elephants figure out how to escape.
Perhaps it is time to say goodbye to the antiquated zoos of yester-century and usher in a new way of relating to animals; one that apologizes for everything we messed up so badly in the past-or face Jumangi-esque consequences.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
