The game’s up for mutilation of birds in zoos

Yesterday we launched a new campaign to see an end to the cruel practice of pinioning birds in zoos. Pinioning is the partial amputation of one wing of a baby bird; forever preventing flight. The initial response from our supporters and members of the public when it was discovered that this was happening to thousands of captive birds in UK zoos and wildlife parks was shock, horror and the repeated question: “How did we not know this was going on?”. This was followed by anger, disgust and even guilt that many of us have been unknowingly complicit in this awful practice when visiting wildlife reserves where it is far from obvious that animals are being held captive.

The captive state of animals in traditional zoos is plain to see; there are walls, bars, fences, mesh and moats which delimit the animals’ territory and prevent them from escaping. Those parks which hold captive birds that have been pinioned present a different landscape. Birds wander round ponds and lakes in apparent freedom – not a fence or a cage in sight. Little did we know that many of them have been mutilated in order to keep them there and, even those of us that suspected, those of us that did question why these birds didn’t fly away, weren’t able to get straight answers.

During our investigation, our researcher asked a member of staff at one zoo which admits to pinioning all of its wildfowl and flamingos about the procedure. He was told that the birds weren’t pinioned, they were wing-clipped (a temporary procedure which removes feathers, not bone). This was untrue. At another centre belonging to the same zoo chain, the same question was asked. This time, he was told that all the birds were pinioned because it was illegal not to. This was also untrue.

Internet searches offer no more clarity. Search ‘pinion’ on most zoo websites and nothing comes back. Search the term on the website of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria (BIAZA) and the same thing happens.

In the last 24 hours, our supporters have been contacting major zoos around the UK asking the question: “Do you pinion?” and have been met with varying responses including “No, it’s illegal in Britain” (not true), “All of our birds are kept in aviaries” (not true for this particular zoo) and simple refusal to answer the question. As more people ask, we are interested to see if we are able to get to the bottom of the issue, though it’s not looking likely right now.

It would be easy to point the finger and suggest that this misleading information is the result of a deliberate cover up on the part of the zoo industry but the honest truth is I don’t think this is the case in this instance. I believe that the members of the zoo industry that continue to use this procedure simply don’t see it as an issue – if they did they would ensure that their staff were well-briefed and understood the welfare and ethical implications of what was happening. Instead, it seems that staff are being kept in the dark, which means that visitors are too.

It’s difficult to understand how something so violent, so permanent and so serious for the birds in question as amputation of part of their limb ever became something that wasn’t at the forefront of the minds of those responsible. It is astounding that someone came up with the idea in the first place.

But now the game’s up. People know and the word is spreading. Questions are being asked and explanations are being demanded. Join us – please contact your local zoo and ask the question “Do you pinion?” Tell us what they say. Make sure your voice is heard in the Fight for Flight by signing the petition. We can stop this. Please, help us to help them today.