Zoos ‘unnecessary and undesirable’ – ADPD says private menageries must be phased out

Zoos in Malta are nothing more than “vanity projects” with no benefits for conservation, the Green Party said.

ADPD came out against zoos in Malta saying the assumption that animals could be used for any purpose that “supposedly benefits humankind” was unacceptable.

The government has already backtracked on a legislative package that would have banned petting of wild animals in zoos, a source of income for certain establishments.

ADPD said that despite claims made by the government the proposed regulations do not strengthen the role of zoos in regards to conservation, they also do not protect the health and wellbeing of wild animals. “The proposed regulations for wild animals are unacceptable, particularly animals such as large cats among others, whose natural environment cannot be replicated in Malta,” ADPD spokesperson Mark Zerafa said.

READ ALSO: New zoo regulations are out for public consultation at last

“It is clear to those who take the time to understand the so-called ‘zoo’ phenomenon in Malta, that these private collections of wild animals are vanity projects and the new status symbols for some people. As such the aim of government should be the phasing out of private collections of wild animals and not their encouragement through regulations which give a veneer of acceptability to such private projects,” Zerafa said.

Earlier this week, draft zoo regulations that would have banned the petting of cubs were changed just 24 hours later to allow the lucrative practice to continue.

The public consultation on the draft Legal Notice was open until 7 December and yet the government website gives no explanation as to why the change was done. The proposed regulations plan to overhaul the 2003 rules that apply for zoos.

Zerafa said that no breeding of wild animals should be allowed for private collections. Additionally, he said these collections are just excuses to take up land, to turn into commercial and retail spaces with the added “attraction of wild animals in cages.”

Zerafa said that any permits for zoos should be based on whether these benefit the animal concerned. “Licenses should only be granted to bona fide research-led establishments involved in either captive breeding of endangered species for eventual return to the wild or else to those offering genuine sanctuary to animals unable, through injury and other cause, to be returned to the wild and where their living conditions are as close as possible to the animal's natural habitat, In Malta, this would mean the breeding or sanctuary to fauna which occur naturally here, or the reintroduction of species which have become rare, certainly not lions, tigers and giraffes,” he said.

Zerafa said it was inherently cruel to confine a wild animal, naturally adapted to roam the savannah in an artificial enclosure.

“Animals in the wild may exhibit complex social interactions and hunting and foraging instincts which they are unable to express in a confined setting. Such animals have been known to exhibit symptoms of stress and frustration that have been collectively termed ‘zoochosis’. Allowing visitors to pet these animals and to pose for pictures with them further compounds and exacerbates the animals’ suffering,” he said.

Zerafa said that ADPD reiterated its belief that zoos are unnecessary and undesirable. “While the proposed regulations may set minimum standards for animal welfare, although the government has already given in and will allow wild animal petting, the fact remains that private collections of animals just for the sake of it should be phased out,” Zerafa said.