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CRUELTY IN OUR BACKYARD
ROADSIDE ZOOS THREATEN PUBLIC HEALTH AND ANIMAL WELFARE
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by
View
November 2 - 8, 2006 |
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Located just 20 minutes form Hamilton is Caledonia’s Killman
Zoo. Billed as a destination for school outings and weekend trips,
this “roadside zoo” houses a variety of animals such as baboons,
jaguars, and a black bear named Gina who, if you ask, will rise up
on her hind legs for a peanut.
If all this sounds amusing, think again. For the past 15
years, the World Society for the Protection of Animals has been
investigating living conditions at the Killman Zoo and they don’t
like what they see.
Melissa Tkachyk of the WSPA says animal accommodations
at Killman Zoo are inadequate at best and, in most cases,
abhorrent. “It’s a pretty run down zoo,” she says, noting that
things haven’t changed much since the WSPA began investigating
there in 1995. “Even basic welfare requirements were not being
satisfied at the zoo. Some of the animals didn’t even have access
to fresh, potable drinking water. Many of their water bowls were
found empty or dirty. It was quite a filthy zoo.”
It’s estimated there are at least 45 ‘roadside zoos’ in
Ontario. Of those, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
concludes that over 80 per cent of them fail to provide adequate
animal care and housing. However, all of this is perfectly legal.
Other than basic record keeping and a veterinarian on call, no
knowledge of animal care is required in Ontario to run a roadside
zoo. It’s a dire situation for animals who wind up on display in
Ontario’s backyards.
“Some zoos might think as long as an animal has a shelter
and food and water, they’re ok, but animals have many more
complex requirements than that and running a zoo would require
knowledge of those species specific behaviours and
requirements,” says Tkachyk. “There are no other requirements in
terms of background knowledge or even evidence of some level
of funding to ensure that these animals are cared for well into the
future.”
What roadside zoos lack when contrasted with larger
institutions, such as the Toronto Zoo, is an understanding of
species specific needs. Social animals require group interaction.
Active ones require room to exercise. They’ve discovered that
Killman Zoo provides little for the animals in terms of mental and
physical stimulation.
“Pretty much every exhibit looked the same regardless of the
species that was housed in the cage. It showed that the zoo
wasn’t really designing the enclosures for the individual needs of
each animal,” says Tkachyk. This lack of attention to housing
needs suppresses the animals’ instinctual behaviours and leads to
psychological disturbance (as shown through repetitive
behaviours), obesity and, in some cases, physical harm when
animals resort to self–mutilation such as excessive grooming, leg
chewing or biting cage bars. Tkachyk says these sorts of reactions
are very concerning. “If it’s not corrected soon enough with
environmental enrichment or some sort of stimulation the animal
could be like that for the rest of its captive life and that’s quite
sad.”
So who’s responsible for monitoring roadside zoos? Well,
nobody really. While Ontario lags behind most provinces on this
matter, they’ve been content to hand off blame instead of taking
action. The Ministry of Natural Resources, who issues the zoo
licenses, says it’s not in the business of regulating exotic animals,
that they’re only responsible for domestic animals such as
coyotes and fish. They suggest that, if cruelty exists, it be
handled under the Ontario SPCA.
The Ontario Environmental Commissioner sees it differently,
citing past MNR statements promising to develop zoo licence
standards. Tkachyk also feels that the MNR isn’t excused from
regulating roadside zoos simply because some species may not
be native to Canada. “It makes no sense for a Ministry of Natural
Resources Conservation Officer to go in and inspect the cage of a
wolf and ignore the conditions a tiger is kept in right next to it.”
Because of the ambiguity surrounding regulation of zoos in
Ontario, last week Liberal MPP David Zimmer, introduced a bill
proposing to reign in such attractions. The Regulation of Zoos Act
will address public safety concerns as well as those of
professional standards and animal welfare.
“Existing regulations are vague, unenforceable and only
apply to native wildlife. There are no regulations for keeping
tigers, lions, or monkeys in your backyard,” Zimmer said,
echoing concerns of the WSPA. “How useful is a zoo licensing
system that only applies to one third of the animals? This bill I’m
putting forward will fill that gap.”
Zimmer’s bill is applauded by animal rights groups as well
as the OSPCA, who hope The Regulation of Zoos Act will address
the serious deficiencies in Ontario’s existing animal legislation.
Tkachyk says something needs to be done as the current
situation is unacceptable to the WSPA. “We need to show (the
government) that people do care about animals in captivity,” she
says. “By the looks of a lot of these exhibits, it doesn’t seem like
many of the owners know very much about animal behaviour or
animal care.” V
[SARAH VEALE]
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