Tag: Born Free

Exclusive report ‘Born to Roam: The Suffering of Polar Bears in Zoos’

International Wildlife Charity Born Free’s powerful new report exposes ongoing captive suffering and calls on zoos and governments to end the keeping of these magnificent animals

  • 151 polar bears are currently held in European zoos, including 12 in the UK.
  • Bears frequently suffer heat stress when temperatures in zoos exceed those in their natural habitat.
  •  In comparison to their wild home range, enclosures are so small it can be likened to a human sprinting in a wardrobe, which often results in abnormal stereotypical behaviours.
  • Carbon costs of keeping polar bears in captivity is likely adding to the negative impact of global warming.
  • Born Free is calling for urgent measures to prioritise a humane end to the keeping of polar bears in zoos.

Today, International Polar Bear Day, sees the launch of a major new report by international wildlife charity Born Free, exposing the true extent of the suffering of polar bears in zoos across Europe.

In Europe alone, 151 of these magnificent, wide-ranging, apex predators are incarcerated in zoos, including 12 in two establishments in the UK – Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Highland Wildlife Park. Using powerful, individual case studies, the report, Born to Roam: The Suffering of Polar Bears in Zoos, outlines the history and continuing plight of these captive polar bears and underlines, through real-life examples, the ethical, welfare and public safety concerns associated with the keeping of polar bears in zoos. 

In the wild, these apex predators roam across vast natural ranges that are typically equivalent in size to the whole of Austria. In contrast, Born to Roam: The Suffering of Polar Bears in Zoos, highlights how polar bears in zoos are confined in enclosures that are often only the size of an Olympic swimming pool, and in countries where they are completely unsuited to the warm climate. It lays bare the shocking and, at times, fatal impact of captivity on the physical and psychological health and welfare of polar bears that cannot participate in the wide-ranging natural behaviours they have evolved to perform. 

Horrifyingly, the majority of polar bears in European and North American zoos develop and display deep-seated, abnormal stereotypic behaviours, such as compulsive pacing and neck-twisting, as a consequence of long-term psychological damage.

Their lifespan is often significantly reduced as a result of inappropriate diet, and several bears have died in zoos following ingestion of foreign objects.

The comprehensive report also emphasises the serious carbon costs associated with the building and maintenance of polar bear enclosures and the provisioning of food. Concrete production is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while steel production contributes a further 8%; both of these frequently feature in zoo-based polar bear enclosures. On top of the animal welfare issues, it calls into question whether, by keeping these animals, zoos are doing more harm to the planet than the good they claim.

The facts speak for themselves – polar bears do not belong in captivity.

This report comes 37 years after Born Free’s first commissioned report, which pulled back the curtain on the reality facing captive polar bears. It shines a light on the archaic, unethical, and damaging practice of keeping polar bears in zoos; and reveals that, sadly, 37 years on from that original report, very little has changed. Despite the growing volume of evidence highlighting the plight of polar bears in zoos, many zoos persist in keeping and breeding them, and show no sign of changing their policy going forward.

Full report available here: https://tinyurl.com/yuy7t9zz

Independent research released by Born Free just a matter of weeks ago also demonstrates a tide of public support for an end to the keeping of large animals, such as polar bears, in captivity.

Polling conducted by Opinion Matters, commissioned by Born Free, found 76% of those surveyed* believe it is very or quite important that the next UK government introduce measures to phase-out the keeping of large, wide-ranging animals in zoos, wildlife parks and other captive facilities. 

Therefore, Born Free is, once again, reiterating its call for the capture of polar bears for captive use, and attempts to breed them in captivity, to be brought to an immediate end.

Every effort must be made to ensure those polar bears that remain in captivity are provided with the best possible conditions to try and meet their welfare requirements and ensure their well-being for the rest of their lives, including moving animals, where feasible, to the best available facilities in the most appropriate climate.

The charity is urging the public to read and share this report with the relevant government body that legislates zoos in their country, urging them to take action to bring this travesty to a permanent end.

Will Travers OBE, Born Free’s Co-Founder and Executive President stated, “The tragedy of keeping polar bears in captivity is not only that so little has been done to address the problems they endure, but that zoos actively perpetuate them. Zoos continue to breed polar bears.

“They continue to house them in devastatingly inadequate settings. They continue to disseminate the myth that the lifetime incarceration of polar bears in zoos is somehow addressing the conservation threats the species faces in the wild. On the contrary, as this report indicates, zoos may be making matters worse for wild polar bears rather than better.

“The message is simple. No more breeding, no more imports, phase-out the suffering – and have the honesty and integrity to recognise what has been staring us in the face for decades: that polar bears cannot endure a life in zoos.”

Chris Lewis, Born Free’s Captivity Research Officer concluded, “When society looks back in years to come, people will rightly be shocked that zoos ever thought that they could keep such wide-ranging animals, that are fine-tuned to survive in such extreme conditions, in a captive environment.

“The zoo industry must remove their blinkers and accept that the welfare needs of polar bears cannot be met in captivity and humanely bring this practice to its long-awaited end.”  

Full report available here: https://tinyurl.com/yuy7t9zz

PICTURES: Born Free,

Born Free calls on the Scottish Government to instigate inquiry into animal deaths at Safari Park

International wildlife charity, Born Free, is calling for an immediate, independent investigation into the shocking revelations of a series of animal deaths at Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling in Scotland.

The circumstances around these deaths have come to light thanks to whistleblowers within the zoo itself. 

Fatalities include:

  • two lionesses in 2016 who had to be euthanised as a result of injuries inflicted by a male lion due to alleged improper social grouping,
  • a hand-reared nilgai antelope who staff reportedly stated “shouldn’t have been [housed] with other males” and was left with internal organs protruding from an injury inflicted during an altercation with another male,
  • a lemur which was killed after escaping into the tiger enclosure in 2018
  • and a Barbary macaque who was mauled by lions in front of visitors in 2020 after escaping its enclosure.

Veterinarian Dr Mark Jones, Head of Policy at Born Free said, “Details of these shocking incidents, coming as they do just days after the killing of two brown bears at Whipsnade zoo who escaped their enclosure and injured a boar, once again call into serious question the ability of zoos in the UK to keep their animals safe.

“It seems the tragedies at Blair Drummond are indicative of systemic problems that have been ongoing for some years, but which the zoo inspection system has uncovered and failed to address.

“The fact the facility is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) doesn’t instil much confidence in BIAZA’s ability to ensure its own members are acting responsibly and transparently.

“We urge the Scottish Government to launch a fully independent, transparent and public investigation, and to share these findings with Westminster, and to develop requirements and inspection processes for zoos that will ensure these kinds of tragedies can never be repeated.”

Born Free says the events at Blair Drummond seem to be indicative of endemic problems at the Park dating back several years.

In their most recent local authority inspection in 2018, Blair Drummond scored ‘Yes’ for ‘Are there satisfactory measures in place to prevent the escape of animals?’ and ‘Are animals of social species normally maintained in compatible social groups?’

This highlights serious flaws in the current inspection process and raises the question of whether these issues would have ever come to light if it wasn’t for staff making their concerns known.

Born Free acknowledges the bravery and courage of the whistleblowers in bringing these serious animal welfare issues to light and encourages BIAZA to further develop its current whistleblowing policy so that staff in the zoo industry feel confident in reporting such issues in future without fear of victimization, discrimination or disadvantage.

BIAZA has launched an inquiry into the incidents.  However, Born Free believes that the organisation is seriously conflicted and is calling for such an inquiry to be carried out by an independent body.

Born Free believe that the Scottish Government’s Animal Welfare team should initiate an immediate independent, transparent and public inquiry into the events at Blair Drummond.

They believe these events also raise fundamental concerns about the wider zoo industry and Born Free calls on the UK government to undertake a thorough review of zoo standards as a matter of urgency. 

An open letter to Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, has been sent – see below:

Letter-to-Secretary-for-Rural-Affairs-and-Islands-re.-Blair-Drummond-Safari-ParkDownload

Exotic pets on the rise in Scotland

Are you living next door to some of the world’s deadliest creatures?

A new survey conducted by Born Free has revealed that nearly 4,000 dangerous wild animals are being privately kept in Great Britain – 255 of which are living in Scotland.

The international wildlife charity is calling on the UK Government to immediately review the law and put a stop to some of the world’s most remarkable, but often deadly, creatures being kept as ‘pets’ in unsuitable captive conditions.

Born Free’s research reviewed the number of Dangerous Wild Animal (DWA) Act licences granted by local authorities in 2020 across England, Scotland and Wales, and the variety of species being privately kept.

Councils in Scotland revealed that the licences granted cover 255 dangerous wild animals residing in the area, of which there are at least:

●        8 venomous lizards including Beaded lizards and Gila monsters (above)

●        8 venomous snakes including a Taipan, a Mamba, and a King cobra

●        100 Scorpions

●        54 cats including an Asian leopard cat, Savannah cats, and Caracals

●        18 Ostrich

●        19 Bison

●        8 crocodilians including American alligators, Spectacled caimans, and Broad-snouted caimans

●        19 Wild boar

●        5 Przewalski’s wild horse

●        16 primates including Black and white ruffed lemurs and Ring-tailed lemurs

Shockingly, the entire combined data across all UK authorities highlighted that a total of 210 DWA licences were granted for the keeping of 3,951 individual wild animals including:

●        320 wild cats (including 61 big cats – 11 lions, 8 tigers, 11 leopards, 18 pumas, 10 cheetahs, 2 ligers and 1 jaguar)

●        274 primates (including over 150 lemurs)

●        158 crocodilians

●        508 venomous snakes (including 57 diamondback rattlesnakes)

●        332 scorpions

●        106 venomous lizards

●        2 elephants

Other species on the DWA list that are being kept as pets or in private collections in the UK include zebras, camels, fossa (a kind of civet), hyaena, sun bears, wolves, and otters.

Dr Mark Jones, Veterinarian and Born Free’s Head of Policy, states: “Born Free has been collating and analysing DWA data for over 20 years.

“Since the millennium the wild animal welfare and conservation charity has seen a dramatic increase in the number of exotic pets in private ownership, including a 94% increase in the number of venomous snakes, 57% increase in wild cats, 198% increase in crocodilians and over a 2000% increase in scorpions.

“However, these figures are likely to represent only the tip of the iceberg. They only record those animals being kept and registered with a DWA licence. Born Free believes that many additional dangerous wild animals are being kept without a licence.”

Currently, under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, anyone in Britain can keep a dangerous wild animal as long as they obtain a licence from their Local Authority.

The licencing process requires the applicant to demonstrate that their animals are properly contained so as to prevent escape and protect the public, but this does little to ensure the welfare of the animals or the protection of the owner or anyone else visiting the property.

While changes have been made to the schedule, Born Free is highlighting the fact that the Act itself has not been reviewed substantially for more than 40 years.

This means, for example, that species such as Komodo dragons, other large monitors, and large constrictor snakes are not included on the schedule, despite the fact that they could pose a serious risk to their owners, and to members of the public, should they escape.

Furthermore, there is long-standing concern about widespread non-compliance with the Act, especially with respect to venomous reptiles and invertebrates.

Dr Mark Jones commented: “It is unbelievable that, in this day and age, so many dangerous animals, including big cats, large primates, crocodiles and venomous snakes, are in private ownership in the UK.

“Increasing demand for all kinds of wild animals as exotic pets puts owners and the wider public at risk of injury or disease. It also results in serious animal suffering, and the demand increases the pressure on many wild populations which are often already under threat.”

Just last year a hybrid Savannah cat escaped in Hampstead, London, while a seven-foot-long Boa constrictor appeared in someone’s back garden and then turned on its rescuer biting his hand and wrapping itself around his wrist on the Isle of Sheppey.

There have been other horror stories where a woman was bitten in the eye by a python at Mayfair club and almost blinded, while a man in Hampshire was killed by his 8ft African rock python.

These are just a handful of cases that have been reported. In fact, records held by the RSPCA report that their specially-trained exotics officers rescued over 4,000 exotic animals in 2018 alone. Due to the nature of the animals, most owners fail to report escapes or attacks for fear of the animal being removed or their licence revoked. 

Mark continued: “The UK likes to claim to be at the forefront of efforts to protect nature and improve the welfare of animals, yet our legislation governing the keeping of and trade in exotic pets is woefully outdated.

“While the Government’s recent proposal to ban the keeping of and trade in primates as pets is a welcome first step, there are many other species that need to be protected from this form of exploitation.

“The Dangerous Wild Animals Act should be overhauled as a matter of urgency, in order to phase-out the private keeping of and trade in those species that clearly don’t belong in people’s homes.”

To find out what dangerous animals are living in other counties across the UK you can use Born Free’s interactive map on their website – www.bornfree.org.uk/dwamap.

An evening in conversation about compassionate conservation

Will Travers OBE, President and co-founder of the internationally-renowned wildlife charity Born Free, is coming toEdinburgh on Monday (17th June) to host a unique ‘evening with’ event in celebration of the charity’s 35th anniversary. Continue reading An evening in conversation about compassionate conservation

Some of the world’s most dangerous wild animals are living at private addresses in Scotland

From deadly snakes and crocodiles, to lions, leopards, bears and even an elephant: Born Free reveals that nearly 5,000 dangerous wild animals are being privately kept right here in Britain

A survey conducted by the Born Free Foundation has revealed that 4,798 dangerous wild animals are being privately kept in Great Britain – 496 of which are living in Scotland. Now the international wildlife charity is petitioning the UK Government to immediately review the law, and put a stop to some of the world’s most remarkable but often deadly creatures being in kept in unsuitable environments. Continue reading Some of the world’s most dangerous wild animals are living at private addresses in Scotland