February 14th, 2012
Carlstead, Kathy. "A Comparative Approach to the Study of Keeper-Animal Relationships in the Zoo."
Zoo Biology. 28. (2009): 589-608. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.
I finally found some articles that really pertain to my study, hurray Google Scholar!!! This article looks at the relationship between zoo keepers and animals and really tries to qualify the different relationships. There have been some studies done that show zoo keepers do influence the welfare of the animals they care for. With some species, cats and monkies are mentioned, high quality interaction results in better reproductive success. High quality interaction was spending more time, soliciting contact, talking to the animals.
Relationships defined as history of interactions between animals and humans that allows each to make predictions about the behavior of others. Quantity and quality of interactions determines what kind of relationship exists. "True relationships" are where interactions have a reciprocral effect on both parties.
Things to look at to determine relationships: measures of how close an animal gets to a keeper or avoids that keeper; how animals respond to being handled; and subjective ratings of animal temperament around keepers - calm, fearful, docile etc
Five predictions from models of Human-Animal Relationships looked at with domesticated animals: species difference in fear of humans; KARs (Keeper-Animal Relationships) of different quality depending on the method of zoo keeping; differences in frequencies of negative/positive interactions; captive born and hand-reared animals will have more positive KARs then wild or parent-reared animals; KARs of high quality will affect humans and animals.
Methods - zoo keepers filled in questionnaires - asked about animal interaction, zoo keeping background and style...also later looked at reproductive success of some of the animals...
Some different things to look at - frequency of feeding, keeper visibility to animal, keeper experience/job satisfaction/enrichment, hours per day with animal
Affinity to Keeper, Fear of People (other than keeper), Sociable/Curious
Interesting...when there is a barrier separating animal from the keeper, the animal is probably fed more often...and they had greater affinity towards keeper - knew keeper brought food? Hard to separate keeper affinity from "yay I'm excited to eat now!"
When keepers make sudden noises it causes stress on animals; if keeper gives less attention to animals, also more stres?? If animals afraid of people, feeding becomes stressful instead of rewarding - detrimental...
Job satisfaction for zoo keepers - part of comes from when they see animals behaving naturally, or playing...if keeper is happy with job they are more likely to treat the animals better
What kind of training do zoo keepers take, if any, to work with animals?
February 10th, 2012
Carlstead, Kathy. "A Comparative Approach to the Study of Keeper-Animal Relationships in the Zoo."
Zoo Biology. 28. (2009): 589-608. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.
I finally found some articles that really pertain to my study, hurray Google Scholar!!! This article looks at the relationship between zoo keepers and animals and really tries to qualify the different relationships. There have been some studies done that show zoo keepers do influence the welfare of the animals they care for. With some species, cats and monkies are mentioned, high quality interaction results in better reproductive success. High quality interaction was spending more time, soliciting contact, talking to the animals.
Relationships defined as history of interactions between animals and humans that allows each to make predictions about the behavior of others. Quantity and quality of interactions determines what kind of relationship exists. "True relationships" are where interactions have a reciprocral effect on both parties.
Things to look at to determine relationships: measures of how close an animal gets to a keeper or avoids that keeper; how animals respond to being handled; and subjective ratings of animal temperament around keepers - calm, fearful, docile etc
Five predictions from models of Human-Animal Relationships looked at with domesticated animals: species difference in fear of humans; KARs (Keeper-Animal Relationships) of different quality depending on the method of zoo keeping; differences in frequencies of negative/positive interactions; captive born and hand-reared animals will have more positive KARs then wild or parent-reared animals; KARs of high quality will affect humans and animals.
Methods - zoo keepers filled in questionnaires - asked about animal interaction, zoo keeping background and style...also later looked at reproductive success of some of the animals...
Some different things to look at - frequency of feeding, keeper visibility to animal, keeper experience/job satisfaction/enrichment, hours per day with animal
Affinity to Keeper, Fear of People (other than keeper), Sociable/Curious
Interesting...when there is a barrier separating animal from the keeper, the animal is probably fed more often...and they had greater affinity towards keeper - knew keeper brought food? Hard to separate keeper affinity from "yay I'm excited to eat now!"
When keepers make sudden noises it causes stress on animals; if keeper gives less attention to animals, also more stres?? If animals afraid of people, feeding becomes stressful instead of rewarding - detrimental...
Job satisfaction for zoo keepers - part of comes from when they see animals behaving naturally, or playing...if keeper is happy with job they are more likely to treat the animals better
What kind of training do zoo keepers take, if any, to work with animals?
February 10th, 2012
Jamieson, Philip. "Animal Welfare Law: Foundations for Reform." Between the Species. (1992): 1-14. Web.
10 Feb. 2012. <http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1790>.
This article talks about the four considerations behind animal welfare law. The first one is the Biblical idea of man's 'dominion" over the creatures of the Earth. We have stewardship over this planet and its creations, an idea pounded into me in most of my wildlife management classes. Of course, that stewardship does not always mean we treat animals wonderfully. As the article mentions, human interest will always trump animal welfare. But hopefully our dominion is benevolent! And responsible. A second consideration is the Kantian thesis - Kant believed that human cruelty to animals resulted in an escalation of cruelty towards our fellow man. Interesting! So we need to be nice to animals so that we are not tempted to start hurting each other...this makes sense to me. I think we see this with video games, maybe??? General moral improvement includes not being cruel to animals. Something to look up - 'research suggest a human tendency to evaluate others in the light of their interactions with animals.' Really? Third consideration - animals have intrinsic value - does this grant them moral rights? Some legislation seeks to regulate animal environments; they should allow the animal to behave naturally. The fourth consideration is human sentiment. Humankind has affection for animals. Of course, we feel more sentiment for companion animals...those that we spend more time with - pets. These animals have received more attention in animal welfare laws. And there is the utilitarian view: animals are useful to humans, for labor, food, transportation etc. Except not as much as they used to be, so maybe sentimentalism has had to step up....
February 9th, 2012
"Frequently asked questions about zookeeping." Woodland Park Zoo. N.p., 2011. Web. 9 Feb 2012.
<http://www.zoo.org/Page.aspx?pid=960>.
So I am trying to find articles about zookeepers and their relationship with the animals they work with, but it is pretty slim pickings. This article did have some useful information about what it means to be a zookeeper. Here was the first mention I have been able to find so far of zoo keeper/animal relationships:
"For safety reasons, close contact between zoo keepers and animals is very limited and strictly managed. However, even with limited contact, the relationships that develop between zoo keepers and the animals they care for are often strong and can be the most rewarding aspect of the job."
Relationships exist!!! I just don't know if anyone has looked just at those relationships before....why does it matter/why would someone have looked at relationships? [Important for zookeeper satisfaction and job fulfillment and for animal health and happiness.] How can these relationships be defined? Can my project just be a study of what the East London zookeepers think - kind of like Holly's project, I guess. Social value vs scientific value. This project could just be an intense look at zookeeping as a job - look at every aspect of it.
What zookeepers do: Daily enrichment for animals - hiding toys/food, introducing new scents or things to the habitat; animal training - elephants to lift feet so they can be cleaned more easily; help educate the zoo goers; feed animals; clean cages; observe animals for abnormal behavior or injury; keep detailed reports of animal activity and diet; and keep themselves and zoo goers safe.
February 7th, 2012
Olsen, Glenn H. "The Animal Welfare Act and the Zoo: A Positive Approach." Journal of Zoo and
Wildlife Medicine. 20.2 (1989): 135-137. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <www.jstor.org>.
This article is about the Animal Welfare Act and the changes it brought. Something interesting to look into farther - an amendment to the act made in 1985 requires institutions to be looking after the psychological well-being of primates and dogs - how do zoos, or anyone, do this? How is it measured? Psychological well-being....also interesting, the U.S. Department of Agriculture excludes birds. reptiles, amphimbians, and fish from it's regulations - that ties into the question I had earlier about how we really love certain species but care less about others. Fortunately, it sounds like other animal welfare acts do have regulations covering all vertebrates. Question - how much do vets do in zoos? Do they have a big role there, or not so much? What will it be like at the smaller East London zoo? I should start looking at the laws that South Africa has regarding zoos. For example, does S.A. also require zoos to have an Animal Care and Use Committee? If so, what kinds of things does that committee do? How does this affect animal/zoo keeper relationships?
February 6th, 2012
Silberman, Morton S. "Animal Welfare, Animal Rights: The Past, the Present, and the 21st Century."
Journal of Zoo Animal Medicine. 19.4 (1988): 161-167. Web. 6 Feb. 2012
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/20094884>.
We have been concerned for animal welfare ever since the first captive animals. Humane treatment usually synonymous with the well-being of the animals. There are roughly two groups - those who want animals to be treated well, to have good health, etc and those who want animals to have many of the same rights as humans and mankind to all turn to vegetarianism. Movement began in 1869 - didn't realize it was that long ago! First organization was the American Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals. The American Humane Society started in 1877. There are much fewer groups that support biomedical research using animals, although they also desire humane treatment of animals. There are hundreds of laws throughout the countries of the world that ban inhumane treatments of all kinds of animals...The issue now is do we need more laws passed, or do we need to enforce the laws we already have better. Where followed, these laws have greatly increased animal welfare, which in the biomedical research field usually leads to better results. The article closes by talking a little about animals rights and how that movement is progressing. My question is - people are definitely drawn to certain species over others - elephants or lions vs mice or frogs....so how does that affect the animal right question/treatment - do those species get rights/good welfare?
February 2nd, 2012
Heeger, Robert. "Reasonable Partiality to Domestic Animals." Ethical Theory and Moral Practice.
8.1/2 (2005): 123-139. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/27504341>.
January 31st, 2012
Nash, Jeffery E. and Anne Sutherland. "The Moral Elevation of Animals: The Case of "Gorillas in the
Mist" ." International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society. 5.1 (1991): 111-126. Web. 31
Jan. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/20007031>.
This article is also fascinating. It looks at the different ways that humans view animals. It used to be that there was not much diversity in how different cultures viewed animals and their relationship to animals, but today there is a great diversity of views, ranging from treating animals as part of the family to "animals are for eating". Are animals just for human use? Or do they have more value? Animal rights, environmental and conservation groups have all been on the rise, and they would argue that animals do have intrinsic value, and that that value is more than just their usefulness to humans. Animal right believers go so far as to say that just because something is biologically different does not mean it is morally less. This paper looks specifically at a film, "Gorillas in the Mist" that documents the relationship between a biologist and wild gorillas. It seeks to identify the complex belief system that idealizes animals.
This article gave me some great ideas for my project - which is going to be looking at the relationship between zoo animals and their keepers. Do the keepers idealize animals, or not, since they are around wildlife all the time and know what it is actually like? How do zoo goers view the animals - simply as entertainment, or as morally pure, majestic creatures? How have all these diverse views of animals developed?
January 28th, 2012
Glickman, Stephen E. and Richard G. Sroges. "Curiosity in Zoo Animals." Behavior. 26.1/2
(151): 188. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4533136>.
This article was fascinating. It was a large study done on over 100 different species from two zoos. It looked at the different reaction levels animals had when foreign objects were placed in their cages/enclosures - in other words curiosity. It was interesting to me, because it talked about how certain species, like carnivores, had high reaction levels to the blocks, tubes, chains and other things placed in their cages. Anyway, carnivores in the wild would have to have high reactivity in order to survive because they would have to react quickly in hunting situations. So this made me wonder how much zookeepers do to help animals maintain curiosity - do they feed them in such a way as to make them work a little? Do the animals need exercise? How would they get exercise when they live in a little enclosure? Is curiosity important for health?
January 26th, 2012
Kohn, Barbara and Steven L. Monfort. "Research at Zoos and Aquariums:Regulations and
Reality." Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 28.3 (1997): 241-250. Web. 27 Jan.
2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/20095654>.
January 24th, 2012
Perry , John. "Research at the National Zoo." BioScience. 16.9 (1966): 591-592. Web. 24 Jan.
2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1293778.>
This article talks about many of the things that a zoo must be prepared to deal with: feeding wild animals a diet that they will eat and that will be healthful, housing animals in a way that is semi-natural to them, keeping animals from getting sick from each other and humans etc. Zoos are also important when it comes to research, although research can be difficult to conduct when the majority of zoo workers are concerned only with maintaing health of their animals. This article introduces the new facility to be built at the National Zoo specifically to aid in zoo research. It will allow trained scientists to come in and work with animals away from crowds of people and in a controlled environment. This was written 50 years ago, so I assume the research center is complete now...I wonder how productive it has been and what research has been conducted there.
Useful questions for my project - how do zoos keep animals alive - diet, habitat, disease? What things must be done to ensure the proper habitat/setting for mating? How does one conduct research in a zoo with zoo animals, when one doesn't want to harm that animal? Does the East London Zoo have any endangered species? What do people feel about the idea of keeping animals in zoos for the sake of having a gene pool - is it worth it?
