Zoological Society London’s (ZSL) London Zoo currently maintains a breeding programme for the critically endangered Sumatran tiger. There are thought to be less than 300 Sumatran tigers left in the wild making them the rarest subspecies of tiger in the world (ZSL, n.d.a). They are threatened by illegal poaching, human conflict and habitat loss in their natural environment in the rainforests of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Two Sumatran tigers were introduced to ZSL London Zoo in 2012. Melati, the adult female, was shipped from Perth zoo, Australia and the male, Jae Jae was travelled from Akron Zoo, Ohio, USA. In 2016 Melati gave birth to three cubs (About Zoos, 2012). The tigers are housed in Tiger Territory, a £3.6million enclosure, covering an area of 27,00sqft and includes a pool, tall trees for climbing and feeding poles to encourage natural behaviours (ZSL, n.d.b). The zoo provides a safe environment for the tigers to live and reproduce as well as educating the public on conservation issues.
Although there are some positive aspects to keeping Sumatran tigers in captivity there are negatives associated with this form of conservation. There is some information on the tiger enclosure featured on the website but there are few details of enrichment and no details of how it is ensured that the animals’ welfare is observed making it difficult to determine ZSL’s welfare policies. Their enclosure is an improvement to the previous design which was five times smaller than the current housing yet in the wild Sumatran tigers cover vast distances, up to 18 miles each night, making Tiger Territory tiny in comparison to their natural habitat (Rainforest Alliance, 2012).
An Oxford University study observed animals in captivity and in the wild over forty years and found that animals such as polar bears, lions, tigers and cheetahs demonstrate a high level of stress and/or psychological dysfunction in captivity (Clubb and Mason, 2003). In the same study, 80% of carnivores in captivity displayed abnormal repetitive behaviour. The process of being shipped thousands of miles to the zoo, the unnatural living environment, the visitors to the zoo every day and sometimes at night during events such as Zoo Lates and Sunset Safari all add stress to the animals’ lives.
Additionally, reintroduction into the wild is highly unlikely. There is currently no plan to release any of the tigers into the wild (ZSL, n.d.a), furthermore, captive-born predators only have a 33 percent chance of survival in the wild due to lack of hunting and survival skills making reintroduction very risky.
The real purpose of breeding programmes and the importance of animal welfare in zoos is questionable. 90% of species in European zoos are not endangered and over 90% of zoo animals are born in captivity. 3000-5000 of zoo animals in Europe are killed each year due to a ‘surplus’ as gender is unpredictable and genes can be over-represented (Davidson, 2017).
The confinement of Sumatran tigers at ZSL London Zoo cannot be justified as the breeding programme is not significantly contributing to the conservation of the tigers. Keeping the animals in captivity puts a large risk on their welfare and a vast amount of money is spent on keeping a few animals alive which will most likely spend their entire lives in captivity.
References
About Zoos. (2012). New Sumatran Tigers Arrive at ZSL London Zoo. [online] Available at: https://aboutzoos.info/news/news-zoos/417-new-sumatran-tigers-arrive-at-zsl-london-zoo [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].
Clubb, R. and Mason, G. (2003). Captivity effects on wide-ranging carnivores. Nature, [online] 425(6957), pp.473-474. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/9069205_Animal_Welfare_Captivity_effects_on_wide-ranging_carnivores [Accessed 1 Feb. 2018].
Davidson, A. (2017). Zoos: the great education and conservation myth. [online] The Vegan Society. Available at: https://www.vegansociety.com/whats-new/blog/zoos-great-education-and-conservation-myth [Accessed 1 Feb. 2018].
Rainforest Alliance. (2012). Species Profile: Sumatran Tiger. [online] Available at: https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/sumatran-tiger [Accessed 1 Feb. 2018].
ZSL. (n.d.a). Sumatran Tiger Breeding Programmes. [online] Available at: https://www.zsl.org/conservation-initiatives/conservation-breeding/sumatran-tiger-breeding-programmes [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].
ZSL. (n.d.b). Tiger Territory. [online] Available at: https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/exhibits/tiger-territory [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018].
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