{ title: 'The Spectrum (Buffalo, N.Y.) 1955-current, January 24, 1979, Page 12, Image 12', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/np00130006/1979-01-24/ed-1/seq-12/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00130006/1979-01-24/ed-1/seq-12.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00130006/1979-01-24/ed-1/seq-12/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00130006/1979-01-24/ed-1/seq-12/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: University at Buffalo
Humanitarian groups question JM\pv\ea exploitation of animals in zoos FREE SCREENING “Hometown U.S.A.” by Kathy McDonough Campus Editor naturalistic settings delineated by impassable moats or trenchs predominate in modern zoos. Often these settings are provided more for the sake of the visitors than the inhabitants, most animals only need room to exercise. Came Farm, the human visitors are enclosed in wire-meshed wlakways Came Farm, the human visitors are enclosed in wir-meshed walkways while the animals have free run of the landscape. more importantly, education of the public. But what benefit, if any, do animals derive from zoos? Despite charges by' those concerned with animal extinction that zoos upset the “balance of nature,” most zoos actually foster conservation. As the survival of dwindling spieces grows more tenuous in the wild, zoos provide a secure environment for breeding. Some animals, such as Pere David’s Deer, survive only in captivity. The need to breed threatened animals has \inspired discoveries regarding mating behavior. Only in the last twenty years have the cheetah and the lowland gorilla been successfully bred. Cheetahs refuse to mate unless they are initially separated. Zoo keepers have learned that when the female acts submissive, she will respond if introduced to a male. In October 1974 a young keeper at Brooklyn's Prospect Park Zoo locked himself in the monkey cage and shouted at passing spectators about bleak conditions inside. Starring MAX BAER (Jethro of the \Beverly Hillbillies”) TODAY Jan. 24th Chicago Sun-Times reporter Robert Vanderpool argues. “An honest examination can only conclude that zoo life does such 3 Big X Rated Hits CONFESSIONS OF A PEANUT BUTTER FREAK 7:30 pm violence to the captive animal's nature that the zoo simply cannot justify its exislance.\ In Buffalo, zoo keepers have charged management with neglect of animals. Petting zoos These changes have caused some problems, however. A desire to see the animals “close-up” is harder to accommodate as the animal's living space expands. The loss of visual intimatacy is partly compensated for by children’s — at 2 pm COUNTRY HOOKER 9 pm All Are Welcome! The criticism is nothing new Humanitarian groups have protested what they consider animal exploutalion since the inception of the traveling zoos and private menageries of the last century With the surge of interest in ecology in the late sixties, growing numbers of people have jumped on the anti-zoo TOY BOX 10:20 or petting and feeding - zoos. Earlier methods of cataloguing animals are not readily adaptable to the new environs. At one time, animals were grouped according to physical similarities, the feline house, the bird sanctuary and the ever popular reptile house. These Trade restrictions Similiar success has been achieved with other animals. Female polar bears would crush or bandwagon Criticisms range from stripping the dignity of animals by removing them from their natural domains to actual neglect or abuse on the part of zoo officials. The accusations were often justifiable in the past, and, in some cases, arc still justified today. In the 1800’s, as American and European cities became ever more crowded and industrialized. people became increasingly fascinated by animals. Wealthy aristocrats collected animals as a faddish pastime. The public was willing to pay for a glimpse of exotic creatures from far-a-way places. To supply the demand for these creatures, enterprising profiteers imported animals from Africa and remote areas in Asia. The animals traveled from city to city in small, portable cages while their captors charged eager customers a few pennies to see them. Infectious sicknesses But the animals seldom survived more than a few months. Changes in climate and feeding habits look their toll. A haltery of parasites and infectious sicknesses conspired to kill the vulnerable beasts. IN SEARCH OF A BEDPAN: The Buffalo Zoo management has coma under fire lately for alleged animal neglect and poor cage conditions. An independent survey firm is currently conducting an in-depth study of the situation. Maybe that s why Alonzo here looks so apeish. Disease was the culprit in a majority of captive animal deaths until the advent of antibiotics in the Id40’s. Prior to that time, the cages of city zoos were constructed to minimize the spread of disease. Animals were housed in concrete cells to separate them from one another and hopefully prevent contagion. Tlie walls of cages were periodically bathed in iodine to wash away bacteria. These measures achieved minimal phylogenetic groupings failed to reflect natural aggregations of animals. There are now three generally acceptable ways to cluster animals — ecologically, according to climate and habitat: behaviorally. such as nocturnal or burrowing animals: and geographically, where all animals from a certain island are exhibited together. canabalize their cubs until it was discovered that total isolation was needed until the cubs began to walk. The key to animal perservation is second and third generation matings. Zoo directors hope to establish lines of captive born animals. Laws such as the 1969 and 1973 Hndangered Spieces Acts prohibiting the transport of certain animals may thwart this goal, however. Zoo directors assert the need to freely import threatened animals for breeding purposes and seek a loosening of trade restrictions. I ~ > Chamda k > As these new open exhibits gradually replace the old .<nyle. some zoos are running out of space. Wheh animals were housed in tiny cages, many could be housed in a relatively small area. As zoos convert to large terrain exhibits, they find themselves pressed against the surrounding city’s traffic. To adjust to these boundaries, zoo directors have settled for less variety. ‘ ‘ Pos t age-stamp\ collecting’’,' or the one-up-manship in the competition for rare creatures, has faded in recent years. Now, the spacial and aesthetic advantages of fewer s pieces are widely recognized. Some zoos even create their own theme, such as the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum which displays only local desert fauna. WOODY ALLEN S ‘ Interiors success. With the discovery of antibiotics and , accelerating medical advances, the life expectancy of zoo animals has sharply risen. As the mere survival of zoo inhabitants was no longer an urgent concern, i( became apparent that existing facilities had to be improved. Animals began to live long enough to develop neuroses, alternating between listlessness and ceaseless pacing along rigidly self-imposed paths. After being caged in cramped, barren quarters, animals tend to distain normal social interactions. They either ignore or attack their fellows when placed together. The cure for animals’ psychological ills seems to be to change their environment. Many zoos have undergone radical changes from the standard model 40 years ago. Animals should no longer be confined behind iron bars. Large 7:30 & 9:30 Nightly ENDS THURSDAY Of course, all animal care and zoo improvements ultimately depend on funding. Prices of many animals tripled in the last ten years, while municipal funding shrank. Zoos once supported by cities have been forced to rely more on gate fees. Most employ a combination of gate fees and city dollars. Zoological societies and private contributions provide needed revenue to zoos. To sustain this valuable source of funds, many zoos, sponsor “adopt-an-animal” programs. The “parent’s” name is engraved on a plaque at the display of his animal; and he in trun pays a fixed annual fee towards its support. Fees ranging from about $30 for small reptiles to almost $2,000 for sea lions are used to feed the animals. Animal benefits? ' Recently, the very function of zoos has been questioned. One of the main goals of zoos has always been the entertainment, ‘ and. 3176 Main Street At Winspear -1 Block So. of U.B. -833-1331 MIDNIGHT SHOW FRIDAY AND SATURDAY a dlHrmai irt of All Seats $3.00 STARTS FRIDAY Glenda Jackson \The Class of Miss Macmichael”
