"Recently, a large zoo and botanical garden have opened, and they hope we can invite world-class experts to join with the opening ceremony. I think this matter is very troublesome, so I simply looked at the information about the zoo. This strengthened my mind against the new zoo and botanical garden."
This view offended many people, but why did Dr. Zhou Jinfeng come up with such an idea?
The first one is the poaching case of spotted seal cubs, which was discovered in Dalian in February 2019. At that time, the world was shocked - 100 spotted seal cubs were stolen in the natural breeding area in the north of Liaodong Bay, then hidden in a breeding farm in Laohutun Town, Wafangdian, and reported by the masses. At the scene of the rescue, 29 of the 100 or so spotted seal cubs were found dead on the spot. In the process of rescue, a large number of cubs lost their lives.
This is a sad example. The cubs were supposed to be suckling beside the mother, but how cruel it was to separate their flesh from their bones! When you see a living spotted a seal in the aquarium, what you don't know behind it is probably more of its wild relatives who died in the poaching chain.
Similar to this is the case of spotted seal cubs in the seal house of Geziwo Park, Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province. In the spring of 2019, volunteers from CBCGDF found that there was a video of a spotted seal on the internet and said the sales price was 10 million RMB. After a follow-up investigation, it was found that the video was taken from the seal house in Geziwo Park, Qinhuangdao. Under questioning, the person in charge said, “the seal house of Geziwo Park in Qinhuangdao holds the aquatic wildlife license and has reported 10 adults spotted seals and breeding for 6 spotted seal cubs". However, the spotted seal itself has a low fertility rate, and the park claims to have an illogical "excessive" number of spotted seal pups. After an in-depth investigation by the relevant departments, it was found that four of the six new spotted seals cubs were obtained illegally from a certain place in Dalian, and the head of the spotted seal hall had also confessed his guilt, and the case was transferred to the Public Security Bureau by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs according to relevant policies.
Why is poaching so frequent? In order to find out the reason, Dr. Zhou led the team to Dalian and other places to carry out the actual investigation work and held the spotted seal protection seminar. The survey found that fishermen used to make money by cutting off the genitals of adult male spotted seals (commonly known as “sea dog whips”). However, in recent years, people’s consumption of sea dog whips has declined, while the construction of ocean pavilions and zoos seems to have become a “trend”. Because of the continuous development of the economy, the establishment of the aquarium often requires the introduction of a large number of wildlife resources. This is the best business for the fishermen in Liaodong Bay. If they can catch more than 100 in a few days, they can earn more than 10,000 RMB. This is the blood and horror of wildlife trading. We all know that the spotted seal is an endangered species and a national protected animal, and these greedy capital transactions are irresistible by law. Therefore, it causes frequent tragedies.
The second is the harm caused by human and animal contact. In the daily operation of these zoos and aquariums, there is inevitably human and animal contact, but this often causes great harm (Zoonoses).
According to news reports, tigers at the New York zoo are infected with COVID-19. And many zoos often take "close contact with the animal" as their selling point in advertising. In fact, it is unscientific and unsafe. In addition, there are practices against nature and living habits of animals. In the era of ecological civilization, we need to respect nature and wildlife. However, some of our practices are contrary. For example, some animals need to live in the wild and need to migrate. Some world record-breaking birds fly tens of thousands of kilometers a year, and we keep them in cages. This is a serious violation of the nature of birds, causes birds to feel extremely uncomfortable, and then maybe infected with germs and diseases. Therefore, we need to consider bioethics, wildlife safety, public health issues.
Therefore, on the whole, Dr. Zhou is clearly opposed to the establishment of a new zoo and botanical garden.
The existing zoo and botanical gardens hope to continue to operate stably and safely, and play a role in science popularization and education, rather than introducing new wild animals. Don’t build anymore!
Besides operation, there are also economic problems. According to news reports, Hong Kong Ocean Park, as a world-famous zoo, will face loss and bankruptcy within one month if it does not provide economic assistance. It's not just because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the zoo has already been losing money for many years in a row. We are sorry for the loss of such a world-class zoo. At the same time, the operating expenses of the zoo are even hundreds of millions of Hong Kong per month! This includes large-scale expansion projects, the introduction of new and endangered species, and so on, while the park is on the verge of bankruptcy, and the amount of relief applied to the government by the park is up to several billion! Even if Hong Kong is such a tourist attraction, its operation and management ability is world-class, but it still cannot get rid of the fate of bankruptcy. If bankrupt, where will more than 7,000 animals go? Coincidentally, Disneyland in Hong Kong has lost money for five consecutive years since 2015, and its operation is also in jeopardy.
Hong Kong Ocean Park, which is on the verge of bankruptcy (opened for more than 40 years), is a typical example. It is not easy to survive to the highest level in the world. Its existence has affected thousands of employees. And these are world-famous tourist destinations, even these “leaders” are losing money year after year, so how can the whole industry achieve high profits?
Another example is that 18 years ago, 100 Bengal tigers were airlifted to Hainan. They were introduced to Sanya as “foreign species of national key protected wild animals”. They set up a home near the famous scenic spot “Tianya Haijiao”. Because they are rare animals, they are naturally called “love animal world” by businesses. It is also known as Sanya key project and the fourth largest scenic spot. After the poor management, the company was burdened with huge debts, bank loans and projects expired, and the company was unable to bear the forced closure of the park.
Furthermore, will the number of tourists increase? It may increase in the short term due to the opening of scenic spots, but it will not improve in the long term.
According to the above statements, we have a new view on the small indoor zoos in small and medium-sized cities that achieve short-term profits. Their benefits seem to be good, but in fact, there are many hidden problems, such as "traffic reasons, conceptual reasons, and lack of comprehensive costs". These include animal welfare and safety issues. If these costs are added, it is impossible for zoos to achieve high profits.
Constant investment in capital, so that the zoo and botanical garden industry has also been involved in vicious competition. Local governments continue to set up new projects, open gardens and introduce investment; constantly pursue the introduction of more new and endangered rare species, and make every effort to pursue various animal performances, patterns and so-called “close contact” to attract attention, regardless of the possible impact on animal disasters and human health (especially for children).
Original Chinese article:
http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4854/12476.html
By / Xue Tongtong Modified / Maggie