SPOTLIGHT
Exotic Animal Conservation:
How Accredited Zoos Protect Wildlife in Washington Story by Kyle Wilkinson | Design & Illustration by Krista Kok You may have seen episodes of Tiger King, a recently-released, limited series on Netflix. In this flamboyant cast of characters, a murder-forhire plot and general destruction of limb and property, the namesake for the show is quite overlooked. The importance and safety of the tigers and other large animals held in captivity fall out of the storyline as you follow the seven episodes from the edge of your couch cushions. There are less than 4,000 wild tigers worldwide, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Compare that to the more than 5,000 tigers held in captivity in the United States alone. Less than six percent of those tigers reside in accredited zoological institutions. Without an accreditation through national and international organizations, some of these institutions may be operating without the conservation of tigers — among other exotic animals — in mind.
Captivity Without Accreditation At some zoological institutions, tiger cub petting and breeding is common practice, according to Lisa Wathne, a senior strategist for captive wildlife with the United States Humane Society. The issue with this is that tigers are being bred simply for generating more cubs to be used for social interaction with visitors. Wathne points out that there is often a lack of oversight to maintain healthy genetic diversity when this happens. Once these tiger cubs grow too large for petting, they may be traded or sold to other institutions to continue the breeding process. This is not beneficial to the conservation of big cats, according to Wathne. “A lot of people go to facilities and take part in the cub petting, believing that they are helping conservation and it just simply isn’t the case,” she says. “That’s really a ruse that these exhibitors put out there to people 42
SPRING 2020 | ISSUE ONE
because they want to play on their sympathies.” This type of interaction can be dangerous for animals and people, adds Wathne. Exotic animals require special care that some institutions may not be able to provide. Security measures also pose a concern for human safety in these types of situations. Facilities that offer this type of interaction may only have a Class C Exhibitors license through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection. Any institution can apply for this type of license and is subject to the standards for animal care through the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Facilities that only acquire this type of license may be called ‘roadside zoos’ for their lack of partnership with other institutions and organizations. These are the types of institutions that you may see on shows like Tiger King. Although
