Animal Sanctuaries Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Regarding other species than our own in the modern world, there are only 3 possibilities: private ownership, zoological and similar institutions, and preserves. They all have certain advantages and disadvantages. Some are termed, " exotic " , and some, " domestic " , although the distinction is not always very clear. In layman's terms, exotic often means species taken from the wild whereas domesticated basically means species raised by people that no longer occur in the wild. In reality, exotics are first generation wild species either in captivity or relocated but living freely outside of their natural range. Domestics are species raised and bred in captivity by use of animal husbandry as opposed to maintaining them in the natural ecosystem from which they arose. Technically, then, " pets " raised in captivity, whether dogs or pythons, are both " domestic species ". Advantages of private ownership: Private ownership of exotic or domestic species allows the individual to focus on some species of personal interest. Doesn't have to be the flashiest or best known. Private ownership can also entail breeding the species. Captive bred animals are always healthier than their wild counterparts, and therefore better to acquire, which takes pressure off wild populations given enough captive bred individuals to supply the pet trade. Examples of successful dispersal of exotic species in captivity include bearded dragons, leopard geckos, corn snakes, and ball pythons. There are many others. Disadvantages of private ownership: Most exotic animals (e.g.taken from the wild) will die due to poor husbandry (the owners don't take proper care of them, either from ignorance, unwilling to make the investment in time or money, or they simply get tired of them). Private owners of exotic species are not organized, and frequently seem to be in competition for attention or sales, as opposed to working together to benefit the species. The most successful private owners are typically one-off. In other words, they invest tremendous time and money to achieve husbandry needs (learn how to keep them in captivity) and breed multiple generations, but their attainments are lost with their passing. They don't pass the torch. It was something they did just for their own satisfaction. Obviously this is in contrast to better known pets, like dogs, cats, horses, etc., that have breeding registries, specialty groups, sporting or show competitions, etc. Zoos and Sanctuaries: Zoos have many pro's and con's. Sanctuaries not so much necessarily. Zoos are typically actively engaged in conservation of their species. Sanctuaries are more commonly a place for refugees to live comfortably, but may not have any type of breeding or long-range plan in place and the species probably are kept in the natural habitat where they arose. Advantages of Zoos: Zoos are one of the few places where the average person can personally see exotic animals from distant places in vivo. Establishes a direct connection to exotic animals and people. Offer lots of information for visitors about their resident animals that most people will never see in their local paper or any other popular media source. Zoos often coordinate the breeding of target species with other zoos in order to maintain a more diverse, e.g. not inbred, strain of individuals. Many zoos are also now working with preserves in areas where they assist local communities in maintaining target species in situ through eco-tourism, direct donations, and with husbandry expertise. Disadvantages of Zoos: Zoos tend to target the larger, flashier, and sometimes, easier to display species of animals, as opposed to worrying about smaller, more difficult species that are just as endangered in the wild. Zoos don't have the money to ensure the preservation and perpetuation of any given species very far into the future as most are dependent upon donations and gate receipts in order to fund their operations. These sources, of course, vary with the economy. In spite of zoo breeding programs, they tend to breed animals simply to keep the genome of the species as diverse as possible, which is not the way it actually works in nature, where a dominant individual of a species, often male, makes the effective breedings for the whole group, sometimes for many years. Of