EAZA, The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, states that it ensures that zoos maintain the highest standards of care for all its animals. But recently, there have been a lot of zoo 'horror' stories that were revealed through the media.
SO WHY DO THESE HORRORS HAPPEN WITH EAZA'S BLESSING?
- There's the tragic fate of Marius: A healthy, 18 month old giraffe who lived in Jyllands Park Zoo, Denmark. He was shot in the head by a vet rather than being killed by lethal injection so that he could be fed to the zoo's carnivores. Was this ethical- or even necessary? There were offers from several zoos to rehouse this young giraffe. This same zoo has also killed four lions, two of them were only cubs.
- And there's the sad story of 39 year old elephant Tania who lives in solitary confinement in Tirgu Mures Zoo, Romania. EAZA clearly states that 'elephants are not to be kept alone' so how could this happen?
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Rhetorical question: 'Would you define any of these stories as the highest standards of care'?
The reality is that zoos view animals as mere commodities to sell tickets. Killing 'surplus' or 'redundant' animals is standard practice and EAZA is known to turn a blind eye. EAZA only feels compelled to make some evasive public statement when there's negative media attention. Without the media, would we have known about Tania, or Marius or these four lions? Isn't this just the tip of the iceberg? AND WHY DOES IT HAPPEN WITH EAZA'S BLESSING?
