I will say...
I am not against Jersey Zoo getting non-threatened species on occasion. I am not of the opinion that every species in a zoo should be of the highest levels of the IUCN - it is definitely good if that is the case, and so also if it is mostly the case. And so it is with Jersey Zoo.
But... if the zoo decides to add any species to its collection, it should be paramount that the animals get an enclosure that, as well as being well-suited to their biomechanics, also makes an effort to portray the habitat which animals live in to visitors.
I do not like to throw empty claims at something which I cannot attest to. I was unable to find many pictures of the aardvark enclosure, but I have found some of the sloth enclosure. And from what I have seen, the enclosure has largely been designed with aesthetic in mind, and on occasion the animals will come within touching distance of visitors. The sloths will sometimes come onto the metal railing simply because the system of ropes is hard to navigate. Hardly something, in my opinion, that immerses visitors into the environment which the sloth belongs.
It has been my concern also that Jersey's newer developments have been of lesser quality than what has been done in the past - and indeed, it seems quite a few of Jersey's newer developments have been more focused on publicity than they have in regards to conservation or similar factors - golden goats are an animal of zero conservation value - but of course popular with the public. And under Durrell's name no less, a man who strived to change the way that zoos perceived conservation. He was a man I recall was shocked by the zoos of his day, seeing that they had little regard for conservation, billing themselves mainly as venues of entertainment. It would be a real travesty if his own zoo were to go down as such.
I am not against Jersey Zoo getting non-threatened species on occasion. I am not of the opinion that every species in a zoo should be of the highest levels of the IUCN - it is definitely good if that is the case, and so also if it is mostly the case. And so it is with Jersey Zoo.
But... if the zoo decides to add any species to its collection, it should be paramount that the animals get an enclosure that, as well as being well-suited to their biomechanics, also makes an effort to portray the habitat which animals live in to visitors.
I do not like to throw empty claims at something which I cannot attest to. I was unable to find many pictures of the aardvark enclosure, but I have found some of the sloth enclosure. And from what I have seen, the enclosure has largely been designed with aesthetic in mind, and on occasion the animals will come within touching distance of visitors. The sloths will sometimes come onto the metal railing simply because the system of ropes is hard to navigate. Hardly something, in my opinion, that immerses visitors into the environment which the sloth belongs.
It has been my concern also that Jersey's newer developments have been of lesser quality than what has been done in the past - and indeed, it seems quite a few of Jersey's newer developments have been more focused on publicity than they have in regards to conservation or similar factors - golden goats are an animal of zero conservation value - but of course popular with the public. And under Durrell's name no less, a man who strived to change the way that zoos perceived conservation. He was a man I recall was shocked by the zoos of his day, seeing that they had little regard for conservation, billing themselves mainly as venues of entertainment. It would be a real travesty if his own zoo were to go down as such.
