Launching Ethical Arks
Zoo and aquarium directors must be relentlessly vigilant to protect the core ethical values of the organization. We believe that providing optimal welfare for zoo and aquarium animals adds value to the enterprise. Customers demand quality and they will no
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Launching Ethical Arks
If living creatures cannot be left in their original habitat, the least that can be done is to place them in natural and responsive surroundings—natural so that their character is not warped, and responsive so that their individuality and creativity are firmly respected. Robert Sommer
Zoo and aquarium directors must be relentlessly vigilant to protect the core ethical values of the organization, but they must also stay focused on the task of keeping the ark afloat. For animal welfare to become our highest priority, a strong balance sheet will be necessary to support the investment. Make no mistake; welfare is an investment, and it will pay dividends if it “roots and shoots”, as Jane Goodall might say. If there is continuing conflict between the ethical side of the house and the business side, there will be serious trouble down the line, so the business strategy has to become a welfare strategy. We believe that providing optimal welfare for zoo and aquarium animals adds value to the enterprise. Customers demand quality and they will not long patronize any organization that enables suffering or neglect. The priority of operating excellence starts with the health and welfare of every animal in the zoo. Active, fit, and healthy animals will also be a bigger draw and a source of satisfaction for the visiting public. Zoos and aquariums have sent strong messages about the primacy of wildlife conservation, and now we must elevate the priority of animal welfare by speaking clearly about our institutional commitment to superior animal care standards and practices. A survey of zoo visitors in the United Kingdom by Reade and Waran (1996) revealed that 90 % of those surveyed expected animal welfare and environmental enrichment to be a zoo priority, and they expected to see evidence that these priorities were being implemented. The UK survey and decades of operating history support the position that zoo visitors, members, sponsors, donors, and staff actually want the animals to be the first priority of the zoo. If our customers are committed to the priority of wildlife, we should be eager to proclaim our commitment to zoo animal welfare. We believe that by advancing zoo animal welfare, we also strengthen our T.L. Maple and B.M. Perdue, Zoo Animal Welfare, Animal Welfare, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35955-2_9, # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
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9 Launching Ethical Arks
Fig. 9.1 Efforts to protect mountain gorillas may produce optimal welfare in the wild
commitment to wildlife conservation. By putting animals first, we acknowledge that the protection of wildlife is a continuum extending from the wild to the zoo (Fig. 9.1). Conservation and welfare are synergistic. Because so many zoogoer’s report they visit zoos primarily for pleasure and family recreation (Fielder and Wheeler 1985), we must build our conservation and welfare platform in entertaining ways. An exciting raptor flight show demonstrates the close connection between the noble objectives of education, conservation, and welfare, and
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