2023-05-07 20:00:14
An endangered mantled baboon looks through a wire fence. Reporter Park Jong-shik [email protected]
In May, the month of family, many people visit the zoo. For many people, the zoo is remembered as a place of warm memories from childhood. However, we come across news of zebras escaping from zoos and animals trapped in experiential zoos in harsh environments. For humans, the zoo is a place of memories, but for animals, the zoo is bound to be a ‘prison’. Cases of erratic behavior in caged animals are common. Repetitive behaviors such as hovering in one place, self-abuse such as pulling out one’s own hair, and lethargic behaviors such as lying down and sleeping all day cannot be found in wild animals. It is a ‘typical behavior’ (repetitive abnormal behavior without a purpose) that was born in the space of a zoo.
A jaguar hovers in a small cage. Reporter Park Jong-shik
hippopotamus is feeding Reporter Park Jong-shik
According to research by zoologists, several species of animals such as monkeys, dolphins, and wolves feel not only primary emotions such as fear, but also secondary emotions such as mourning and shame. For animals with ‘hearts’, zoos are inevitably like prisons where they are observed 24 hours a day. However, it is not possible to claim only the abolition of zoos. It cannot be denied that zoos serve as refuges for endangered wildlife. Recently, an increasing number of animals have been born and raised in zoos and have become their home. As of December last year, there were a total of 114 zoos in Korea, and 48,911 animals were ‘owned’ by zoos.
A giraffe is making eye contact with the cry of the children who came to watch the group. Reporter Park Jong-shik
Zebras stand in pairs. Reporter Park Jong-shik
From December of this year, the amended Zoo and Aquarium Act will come into effect. It changes zoos from a registration system to a licensing system and prohibits the display of wild animals in facilities other than zoos and aquariums. Can zoos in the future become a space for coexistence between animals and humans rather than a place that provides eye candy?
A lowland gorilla sticks out its lower lip at the gaze of spectators. Reporter Park Jong-shik
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