When zoo babies pass their sell-by date

We all love baby animals. Even the hardest of hearts will melt at the sight of a litter of puppies or kittens taking their first shaky, uncoordinated steps in the world. The gangly gait of calves and foals is a delight to see and the interaction between patient parents and boisterous youngsters reminds us that maternal and paternal bonds are not just the domain of humans. Perhaps at the pinnacle of baby animal appreciation are those baby animals born in zoos. Those that we know will grow up to be imposing ungulates or dangerous predators all start life as vulnerable babies. Our obsession with baby animals in zoos is perhaps exemplified by the worldwide (and extremely damaging) practice of using zoo babies as “photo props”, where people pay hundreds of pounds at a time to pose with a lion cub on their lap or a tiger cub nuzzling their ear.

Not all zoos allow visitors to handle their baby animals but, without known exception, the captive animal industry knows all-too-well how to cash in on the pitter patter of tiny paws. Zoo births are the holy grail of publicity with institutions sharing their delight with the press and zoo-going public about the birth. These stories to press generally share a combination of predictable components: 

1. Cute pictures of the babies
2. Adorable anecdotes about how the babies are exploring their home, loving the attention of being on show to the paying public or developing their own individual characters
3. Proud testimony as to how the mother is coping brilliantly with her young
4. The all-important statement about how the birth is not just great news for the zoo but is making an important contribution to the survival of the species.

Copenhagen Zoo welcomes a baby giraffe in 2012

Cue the pitter patter of visitors’ feet and the ringing of cash registers as people pay their entrance fee to come and see the new arrivals. It’s a tried and tested publicity stunt which the media is all too keen to endorse (a google search for “baby born at zoo” brings up tens of thousands of stories within seconds).

But what happens to these animals as they get older and they lose their newborn appeal? What happens when they just become another member of the pride, troop or herd?  

As the tragic death of Marius the giraffe has shown us, not all zoo babies get the chance to grow up.

When a baby giraffe, thought to be Marius but unconfirmed by the zoo (which never formally names its animals, according to the director), was born in 2012, Copenhagen Zoo was quick to promote the new arrival to their visitors. The zoo published an album of photographs on their social media page to “welcome” the little giraffe to the zoo. The photos had the desired effect, with members of the public posting below that they were looking forward to visiting.

Just over eighteen months later and Marius’ corpse was publicly dissected and fed to the lions.

In October 2009, Royal Zoological Society Scotland, which owns Edinburgh Zoo proudly announced the birth of two red river hog piglets, saying on its website: “We are pleased to announce that two red river hog piglets were born on the 14^th August. Red river hogs have been at Edinburgh Zoo since 2004 but this is the first year they have bred successfully. Young adults, 5 year old Belle and 3 year old Hamish are now very proud, first time parents to a boy named Sammi and a girl named Becca!”

Just over a year later and the zoo killed the piglets because, like Marius, they were deemed useless for breeding purposes.

Shockingly, the zoo kept breeding these animals, and three months before Sammi and Becca were killed, the zoo was celebrating the birth of three more piglets. With a spokesperson announcing:

“We are delighted that for a second year our adult pair has produced piglets. At almost a month old they are really playful and have been chasing each other around their enclosure. At this age they are particularly cute so it’s a really good to see them.”

The birth of white lions is a great photo opportunity

Predictably, just over six months after the zoo shared its delight at their birth, the three youngest little pigs were threatened with death as Edinburgh Zoo admitted that, they too, could be surplus to requirements. Following a public outcry, the zoo promised to try to rehome the hogs but their eventual fate remains unclear.

At West Midland Safari Park, the birth of white lion cubs always provides a perfect photo opportunity (despite the fact that there are very serious welfare concerns surrounding the keeping and breeding of white lion cubs in zoos). The zoo states on its website that: “The pride of White Lions at West Midland Safari Park has been deemed as one of the Park's greatest animal exhibits in its 37-year history”. 

However, like giraffes and red river hogs, it seems the “aah factor” of white lion cubs has a sell-by date as, in 2010, four cubs were sent by the zoo to a well-known circus trainer. The lions were trained up and sent on to a Japanese circus where all but one remain today. The other, said to be suffering from an illness which caused his mane to fall out, was moved to another zoo.

When the "aah factor" was gone, so were the lions

Of course, not all animals in zoos are killed, and not all animals in zoos are sent off to join the circus, but nor are animals in zoos (with very, very few exceptions) ever released to the wild. Is it better to live a short life and be prematurely put out of your misery, like Marius, or to endure decades of life in captivity? The fact that neither of these options sounds in the least bit appealing suggests that the problem is the zoo industry itself.

While there is demand to see animals, whether newborn or otherwise, in captivity, the zoo industry will supply those animals. If you do not want to be complicit in the ongoing suffering of animals in zoos, please do not give the zoo industry your custom.

Visit www.captiveanimals.org to find out more.