Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T21:26:26.972Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

11 - Tough Questions, Complex Answers

American Zookeeper Responses in a Nationwide Survey about Culling

from Part II - Captive Care and Management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2018

Allison B. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Meredith J. Bashaw
Affiliation:
Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania
Terry L. Maple
Affiliation:
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
Get access

Summary

Conservation involves ethical dilemmas. An example is culling – the humane euthanasia of animals for population management. As zoos strive to maintain populations of animals for the long-term to support conservation, provide recreation, and educate the public, a possible role for culling in zoo populations has been identified. We surveyed zookeeper attitudes regarding culling as an animal management practice. Analysis reveals that if keepers were exposed to culling of animals on a regular basis, they might experience moral stress, a stress that occurs when there is discord between what one does in one's occupation and one's reasons for entering that occupation. Responses were similar to those of animal shelter workers, who regularly conduct euthanasia of large numbers of animals, revealing some ethical dilemmas and difficult emotions that would require navigation if culling became widespread. In building a social contract for zoos that lays out a philosophy on maintaining animal collections, discussions of culling would likely benefit from greater education of zookeepers and animal managers on population management issues, as well as the management of diverse perspectives.
Type
Chapter
Information
Scientific Foundations of Zoos and Aquariums
Their Role in Conservation and Research
, pp. 304 - 324
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arluke, A. (1994). Managing emotions in an animal shelter. In Manning, A. & Serpell, J. (Eds.), Animals and Human Society (pp. 145165). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Arluke, A. (1999). Uneasiness among laboratory technicians. Occupational Medicine, 14(2), 305316.Google ScholarPubMed
Asa, C. & Agnew, M. (2014). Breed early and often: Improving reproductive management through lifetime reproductive planning. Connect, 12–17.Google Scholar
Asa, C.S., Bauman, K.L., Devery, S., Zordan, M., Camilo, G.R., Boutelle, S., & Moresco, A. (2014). Factors associated with uterine endometrial hyperplasia and pyometra in wild canids: implications for fertility. Zoo Biology, 33(1), 819.Google Scholar
Association of Zoos and Aquariums (2014). Species Survival Plan® (SSP) Program Handbook. Silver Spring, MD: Association of Zoos and Aquariums.Google Scholar
Boyle, P., Andrews, B., Dorsey, C., Fouraker, M., Pate, D., Reed, M., & Wiese, B. (2011). Building sustainable zoo populations. Connect, 11–13.Google Scholar
Carter, S. & Kagan, R. (2010). Management of “surplus” animals. In Kleiman, D. G., Thompson, K. V., & Baer, C. K. (Eds.), Wild Mammals in Captivity: Principles and Techniques for Zoo Management (pp. 263267). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Daigle, C. L., Brown, J. L., Carlstead, K., Pukazhenthi, B., Freeman, E. W., & Snider, R. J. (2015). Multi-institutional survey of social, management, husbandry and environmental factors for the SSP African lion Panthera leo population: Examining the effects of a breeding moratorium in relation to reproductive success. International Zoo Yearbook, 49(1), 198213.Google Scholar
Graham, S. (1996). Issues of surplus animals. In Kleiman, D. G., Thompson, K. V., & Baer, C. K. (Eds,). Wild Mammals in Captivity: Principles and Techniques for Zoo Management (pp. 290296). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Gray, J. (2017). Zoo Ethics: The Challenges of Compassionate Conservation. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Gussett, M. & Dick, G. (2011). The global reach of zoos and aquariums in visitor numbers and conservation expenditures. Zoo Biology, 30(5), 566569.Google Scholar
Hemsworth, P. H. & Coleman, G. J. (2011). Human–Livestock Interactions (2nd edn.). London: Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International.Google Scholar
Hibbard, C., Hogg, C. J., Ford, C., & Embury, A. (2011). Maintaining the status of species management in a changing operating environment: Outcomes over outputs. WAZA Magazine, 12, 610.Google Scholar
Lees, C. M. & Wilcken, J. (2009). Sustaining the ark: The challenges faced by zoos in maintaining viable populations. International Zoo Yearbook, 43, 618.Google Scholar
Leus, K., Bingaman-Lackey, L., van Lint, W., de Man, D., Riewald, S., Veldkam, A., & Wijmans, J. (2011). Sustainability of European Association of Zoos & Aquaria bird and mammal populations. WAZA Magazine, 12, 1114.Google Scholar
Lindburg, D. & Lindburg, L. (1995). Success breeds a quandary: To cull or not to cull. In Norton, B. G., Hutchins, M., Stevens, E. F., & Maple, T. L. (Eds.), Ethics on the Ark: Zoos, Animal Welfare, and Wildlife Conservation (pp. 195208). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.Google Scholar
Lockyear, K. M., Waddell, W. T., Goodrowe, K. L., & MacDonald, S. E. (2009). Retrospective investigation of captive red wolf reproductive success in relation to age and inbreeding. Zoo Biology, 28(3), 214229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Long, S., Dorsey, C., & Boyle, P. (2011). Status of Association of Zoos and Aquariums cooperatively managed populations. WAZA Magazine, 12, 1518.Google Scholar
Martin, R. A. & Melfi, V. (2016). A comparison of zoo animal behavior in the presence of familiar and unfamiliar people. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 19(3), 234244.Google Scholar
Munson, L., Moresco, A., & Calle, P. P. (2005). Adverse effects of contraceptives. In Asa, C. S. & Porton, I. J. (Eds.), Wildlife Contraception: Issues, Methods, and Applications (pp. 6682). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Patrick, P., Matthews, C., Ayers, D., & Tunnicliffe, S. (2007). Conservation and education: Prominent themes in zoo mission statements. The Journal of Environmental Education 38(3), 5360.Google Scholar
Penfold, L., Powell, D., Traylor-Holzer, K., & Asa, C. (2014). “Use it or lose it”: Characterization, implications, and mitigation of female infertility in captive wildlife. Zoo Biology, 33(1), 2028.Google Scholar
Powell, D. M. & Ardaiolo, M. (2016). Survey of U.S. zoo and aquarium animal care staff attitudes regarding humane euthanasia for population management. Zoo Biology, 35(3), 187200.Google Scholar
Powell, D. (2015). Humane euthanasia of animals for population management: Perspectives from a sample of European zoo keepers. Animal Keeper’s Forum, 42(3), 7678.Google Scholar
Powell, D. & Ardaiolo, M. (2015). Nationwide survey of keeper attitudes and knowledge regarding population management euthanasia: Initial results. Animal Keeper’s Forum, 42(3), 7475.Google Scholar
Rollin, B. E. (1987). Euthanasia and moral stress. Loss, Grief, and Care, 1(1), 115126.Google Scholar
Rollin, B. E. (2011). Euthanasia, moral stress, and chronic illness in veterinary medicine. Veterinary Clinics: Small Animal Practice, 41(3), 651659.Google Scholar
Rollin, B. E. (2016). A New Basis for Animal Ethics: Telos and Common Sense. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press.Google Scholar
Rohlf, V. & Bennett, P. (2005). Perpetration-induced traumatic stress in persons who euthanize nonhuman animals in surgeries, animal shelters, and laboratories. Society & Animals, 13(3), 201219.Google Scholar
Saunders, S. P., Harris, T., Traylor-Holzer, K., & Beck, K. G. (2014). Factors influencing breeding success, ovarian cyclicity, and cub survival in zoo-managed tigers (Panthera tigris). Animal Reproduction Science, 144(1–2), 3847.Google Scholar
Suddendorf, T. (2013). The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us from Other Animals. New York: Perseus Books Group.Google Scholar
World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (2015). Global Species Management Plan Handbook. Gland: World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.Google Scholar
WWF (2016). Living Planet Report 2016. Risk and Resilience in a New Era. Gland: WWF International.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×