Activities With Captive Wildlife

Last Thursday (3.3) was International Wildlife Day. I have previously written about the importance of these animals in the wild and how they contribute to our essential ecological balance. This time I wanted to write about activities with wildlife in captivity. I have not visited zoos for several years because I think every animal deserves to be free. But recently I have had questions and doubts about this.

I saw a series about a photographer who tries to capture as many pictures of different species of animals as possible to create a Photographic Noah’s Ark. There are species that have become extinct in the wild and the only memory left of them is in zoos. It’s sad and awful, but I’m not sure that we have much choice left. In the last decades we have lost more than 60% of the wildlife. Once a species becomes extinct we have no option to revive it, but preserving them in zoos can help us. I recently saw a study that explains how they managed to preserve two species of birds that were in danger of extinction, with the help of capturing their last members, breeding them and finally when their numbers had increased, returning them to the wild.

In addition there are zoos that run wildlife hospitals and without the funding of the zoo, the hospital would not be able to exist. Beyond that there are zoos that host animals that have been injured in the wild and cannot return to it or animals that were born in captivity and do not know how to survive by themselves. There are also zoos that have changed the concept of the animals living in cages to a place where the animals are free and visitors enter the area in protected cars. So maybe there is a place for some zoos. Of course there are also the nature reserves that are sacred. They protect the living space of the animals, carry out enforcement against the hunter, preserve nature in the reserve and take care of the animals that need help.

Beyond the zoos there is a wide range of activities with wildlife.

Animal circuses and photography attractions with drugged animals undoubtedly cause damage to and abuse the animals. Living conditions are poor, the way of animal training is beyond cruelty and a lot of violence is usually used against them. Awareness of these things is not high and the desire to share a moment with a dangerous wild animal blinds us. We want to have special experiences and ignore or do not know what this experience entails for the animal.

But even when the experience we want comes from a good place, like volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation shelter, it is not always as positive as we think. Animal shelters aimed at rescuing and treating injured animals usually do sacred work. But even in this area there are tricksters who open shelters for profit. These shelters say they help animals, but actually imprison them for no other reason than to turn the shelter into a tourist attraction and make a profit. When choosing a volunteer place one should carefully check the shelter, its goals and achievements.

In addition to these activities there are activities that nurture the passions of the animals and have existed for thousands of years, like dog sledding and hunting with birds of prey.

Here man is helped by the animal’s instincts and works with it together. Here it gets really confusing. Sled dogs are dogs that were created for this purpose hundreds of years ago. They enjoy the work, they have adapted to the living conditions and they are motivated to perform the craft they have learned. The need to serve man and work in his company is inherent in their psyche. Each breed has a certain instinct, a role that makes it happy and so too the dogs that pull the sleds.

The problem starts with the size of the organization. When the sole purpose of the organization is for profit, there are cases where the dogs live in poor living conditions. They work beyond the recommended hours, run long distances, are housed in unsuitable cages and experience a lack of personal attitude and pack life.

Compared to dogs created for such activities, birds of prey hunt regardless of man.

However the activity with birds of prey has been around for thousands of years (over 4000 years) and these activities can be seen in many and varied cultures around the world. Activities include hunting, but also flying for display and enjoyment purposes. In most countries this area is regulated and there are many laws. Birds must not be captured from the wild, including their eggs. Also in order for you to have a bird of prey, you are required to have a long internship and a license.

Caring for birds of prey is no easy task.

The internship teaches how to care for these birds and how to raise them properly. I got to experience these birds of prey up close when I visited a falconry center. I arrived at the compound with mixed emotions. When cleaning their cages, the birds stayed tied to poles. This made me doubt the activity, but I learned that in nature when the birds are not hunting they usually sit for a long time without doing anything. They are also only tied for short periods of time. Beyond that when they are active they are released, flying and returning to be rewarded with food. I did not see it with my own eyes, but on researching the subject I discovered that sometimes the birds’ eyes are covered with a hood in order to keep them calm. These birds think differently from us and when they do not see danger, for them it does not exist.

I was surprised to find that these birds live much longer in captivity than in the wild. Most birds of prey in the wild do not survive the first year. In the wild, they usually live to 7-10 years old and there are species that live far less years than that. In the compound I visited I saw an eagle celebrating 45 years of life and falcons that had reached the extreme age of 30. Some were rescued and treated and could not return to the wild, but most were born in captivity and unable to live on their own. However in some places birds that are well trained and can manage in nature alone are released back into the wild.

Here too as with sled dogs, when the birds are not taken care of or not treated according to the rules, damage can be caused to the birds, but usually this is not the case, especially since there is a lot of supervision in this field to prevent abuse. When we choose to take part in activities with animals it is important to check and examine the host farm. This is a very confusing topic, mainly because of the desire to have extraordinary experiences and because it is within reach. I think there are a lot of gray areas and that one should choose the places that work properly and are not just used as a facility for a tourist attraction.

If we have already chosen an activity that includes animals it is important to check before arrival that no harm has been done to these animals.

The participants who pay for these activities are the ones that allow the operators to continue. It is better to support places that work for the animals and help those in distress. It is important to remember that these animals are not meant to entertain us and they have a natural right to live a life of freedom.

Do you take part in activities with animals?