I believe - and hope - that pinioning of birds will eventually be made illegal in the UK as has the docking of dogs' tails. It's odd that this antiquated practice has been allowed to persist unchallenged for so long. Both procedures, pinioning and tail-docking, involve amputation, which is very difficult to defend. On moral grounds alone one must come to the conclusion that pinioning (essentially the removal of the forearm) under most circumstances is unjustifiable, and that zoos should in future aim to have waterfowl, storks, cranes, flamingos, etc. in big (perhaps walk-through as at Bristol) aviaries.
To pinion or not.
- Thread starter elefante
- Start date
I´ve also asked myself the question how does pinioning/clipping influence captive flamingoes. And because I like flamingos I keep a simple Excell file about flamingoes living in Czech and Slovak zoos, based on published yearbooks.
Last year, based on a similar discussion, I made a short overview about natality/mortality of flamingoes based whether they are kept in an aviary (and most of them are able to fly) or in an open pen (vast majority of them are pinioned/clipped). Even trough it is based on a very small sample (there are not many zoos in CZ), the results are still interesting I think.
Natality: Basics - I included all flamingo flocks with at least 23 birds (smaller flocks haven´t bred here), only Greater, Chilean and Carribeans, and only those within Czech republic.
Natality....................................................Aviary................Open pen
No of zoos...... ................................................3 ...................... 5
No of birds kept at 31.12.2010..........................209 ....................415
=Average no. of birds per zoo............................70.......................83
Surviving chicks 2007-2010 (alive as of 31.12.ey)..96......................103
=natality per 100 flamingoes per year................12,8....................7,8
Mortality: Basics - all flocks in Czech republic included, only Greater, Carribean and Chileans. Only mortality of grown-up birds (were in stock at 1.1. of the respective year, so basically at least 4-6 months old).
Birds died in aviaries 2007-2010......................10
No. of birds as of 31.12.2010.........................209
Mortality rate in an aviary per 100 birds/y......1,2
Birds died in open pens 2007-2010...................35
No. of birds as of 31.12.2010.........................464
Mortality rate in open pens per 100 birds/y....1,9
My results show that keeping flamingos in aviaries in local zoos has a positive correlation with an increased number of reared chicks - almost double the result of zoos with open pens. And aviaries also could significantly decrease the mortality of grown birds, or simply said, it could increase the theoretical average lifespan of grown flamingos by 50% compared with open pens.
Last year, based on a similar discussion, I made a short overview about natality/mortality of flamingoes based whether they are kept in an aviary (and most of them are able to fly) or in an open pen (vast majority of them are pinioned/clipped). Even trough it is based on a very small sample (there are not many zoos in CZ), the results are still interesting I think.
Natality: Basics - I included all flamingo flocks with at least 23 birds (smaller flocks haven´t bred here), only Greater, Chilean and Carribeans, and only those within Czech republic.
Natality....................................................Aviary................Open pen
No of zoos...... ................................................3 ...................... 5
No of birds kept at 31.12.2010..........................209 ....................415
=Average no. of birds per zoo............................70.......................83
Surviving chicks 2007-2010 (alive as of 31.12.ey)..96......................103
=natality per 100 flamingoes per year................12,8....................7,8
Mortality: Basics - all flocks in Czech republic included, only Greater, Carribean and Chileans. Only mortality of grown-up birds (were in stock at 1.1. of the respective year, so basically at least 4-6 months old).
Birds died in aviaries 2007-2010......................10
No. of birds as of 31.12.2010.........................209
Mortality rate in an aviary per 100 birds/y......1,2
Birds died in open pens 2007-2010...................35
No. of birds as of 31.12.2010.........................464
Mortality rate in open pens per 100 birds/y....1,9
My results show that keeping flamingos in aviaries in local zoos has a positive correlation with an increased number of reared chicks - almost double the result of zoos with open pens. And aviaries also could significantly decrease the mortality of grown birds, or simply said, it could increase the theoretical average lifespan of grown flamingos by 50% compared with open pens.
Certainly, some bird species will never do well if pinioned (storks, flamingos, cranes ... et cetera) as it interferes with an integral part of courtship.
I do feel that in zoo aviculture the issue is often overlooked and pinioning and/or wingclipping is used as a simple management decision without due consideration of bird health and/or potential breeding success (or improving breeding prospects thereof).
In a day and age where bird imports will eventually significantly decrease due to trade restrictions, I would assume more and more zoos may re-consider and change over to aviary exhibits and non-pinioning of birds.
From an aesthetic aspect: it certainly looks better ..., even on a non-informed public to see fully flighted birds.
Incidentally, there has been a good feature in the last EAZA News on bird aviaries ....
I do feel that in zoo aviculture the issue is often overlooked and pinioning and/or wingclipping is used as a simple management decision without due consideration of bird health and/or potential breeding success (or improving breeding prospects thereof).
In a day and age where bird imports will eventually significantly decrease due to trade restrictions, I would assume more and more zoos may re-consider and change over to aviary exhibits and non-pinioning of birds.
From an aesthetic aspect: it certainly looks better ..., even on a non-informed public to see fully flighted birds.
Incidentally, there has been a good feature in the last EAZA News on bird aviaries ....
This thread explains why these guys were having so much trouble:
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/6168535027/"]IMG_2506 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]
I watched this guy for about ten minutes and he never did succeed while I was there:
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/6167598628/"]IMG_2514 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]
Flickr: grafxmangrafxman's Photostream
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/6168535027/"]IMG_2506 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]
I watched this guy for about ten minutes and he never did succeed while I was there:
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/6167598628/"]IMG_2514 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]
Flickr: grafxmangrafxman's Photostream
Flamingo populations in the wild can survive even long periods without favorable conditions for breeding. But in captivity, if favorable conditions are provided, colonies tend to breed steadily each year, 20 consecutive years or more without problems. Some zoos prefer to separate chicks from parents at the beginning of the winter, so that the breeding birds can fully recover till next season, but even if chicks remain in the group, their parents will most probably breed the next year. If a reliable breeding colony stops to breed, it always signalises some problem, like disturbing from construction activities nearby, wrong change in their diet or housing, decrease of colony size under the "critical limit" or so.