The death of this young giraffe in Springfield, Missouri, is another sad example of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium's (AZA) callous disregard for the lives of individual animals as they promote the illogical breeding of captive wildlife in the name of conservation.

Giraffe, elephant and many species of antelope who are herd animals, are subjected to unspeakable cruelty, stress and death as they are torn from their parents and family and shipped in crates from one location to another to "preserve the species."

This ghoulish, unscientific practice has nothing to do with conservation and everything to do with providing more babies for exhibit in theme park zoos. Surplus male giraffe produced by these programs are sent to roadside zoos, animal auctions, hunting ranches and traveling circuses. Many, like Asante, do not survive.

Transfer records reveal the constant movement of animals across the country for breeding programs that are usually unsuccessful.

Ruby, our African elephant, was transferred eight times before coming to PAWS, and Benny, a young bull elephant in Mexico, was moved four times before he was 10 years old. A young bull elephant born at Springfield Zoo, was torn from his mother at age two and sent to Six Flags MarineWorld in California. He died a few months after his transfer, a horrifying testimony to the suffering inherent in captive breeding programs in zoos like Springfield.

Three old elephants from San Diego Wild Animal Park were transferred to the frigid climate of Chicago to make room for young elephants captured from the wild for breeding. The three old elephants died soon after, one as she was transported to yet another zoo. The Wild Animal Park's elephants captured from the wild are breeding successfully today producing more elephants than the facility can handle, and potentially more lethal transports of unwanted surplus. These elephants will be swept into the never-ending cycle of movement in AZA's exercise in futility, captive breeding.

And what has all this stress and suffering to do with the majestic societies of elephants, giraffe and other endangered species living in the wild? Researchers and scientists who study elephant families in the wild insist that captive breeding is not conservation. Protection of elephant habitat is critical to their preservation, and the money wasted on captive breeding programs could be used more efficiently to protect elephants, giraffe and other wild species.

Conversely, AZA states in their documents to our governmental agencies, "

Across all platforms, the new administration is urged to conduct a re-examination of department policies and regulations, and their interpretation, to show a greater recognition of the role and value of zoos and aquariums, including:

"The public display of wildlife for educational purposes to build widespread public and community support for conservation programs.

"Conservation breeding programs that are increasingly essential components in the protection and recovery of threatened and endangered species."

This rhetoric is so similar to the oil company reports that guaranteed many benefits from increased oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico until the recent catastrophe that was predicted by "out-of-the-mainstream" activists.

Transport of captive wildlife is dangerous and injurious to the animals. Circus animals are often seen with injuries resulting from transport, and many die as a result of being crammed into boxes, trailers, trucks and railroad cars.

Like the oil companies who have polluted our environment as they scoffed at the warnings of dedicated environmentalists, AZA is asking our federal agencies to update and abrogate specific policies (i.e. allowing the capture and import of wildlife from range countries) to "ensure that the United States has the finest zoological institutions and collections in the world, not only will the science of wildlife conservation advance, but the administration's conservation priorities will also benefit from increased public engagement and support."

 
To view videos of "conservation educational programs" for the public taken at major AZA-accredited zoos, click on the links below.

FORT WORTH ZOO AND THE PORTLAND ZOO

BULL ELEPHANTS, THE REAL STORY

PAWS supports many good zoos, but the radical and special interest policies of AZA which cause animal suffering and death cannot be allowed to become standard procedure for regulatory agencies.

"Out-of-mainstream activists", whose philosophy of animal welfare is supported by millions around the world, must prevent this misuse of our political system.

 "Breed, Baby, Breed" is another disastrous mantra similar to "Drill, Baby, Drill."

Pat Derby
PAWS President and Co-Founder