By John Di Leonardo
Ten years after Costa Rica banned keeping wildlife in captivity, Costa Rica’s state-run zoos have closed and hundreds of animals are being evaluated for release to the wild or retirement to wildlife sanctuaries where they can live more natural lives. While the move to enforce this ban is ten years overdue—and does not apply to 18 private zoos in Costa Rica—it is precedent setting and charts a course for the rest of the world to move away from harboring wild animals for entertainment as well.
On Long Island, a newly released United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection report reveals the toll keeping wildlife in captivity has on sensitive, wild animals. According to the USDA, the Long Island Game Farm—which bills itself as “the largest combined children’s zoo and wildlife park on Long Island”—critically violated the federal Animal Welfare Act by failing to provide a giraffe named Bobo with adequate heat and violated the Act by failing to provide the 3-year-old with proper nutrition in the months leading up to his premature death from heart failure. Contrary to statements from the Long Island Game Farm labeling Bobo's death "sudden" and "unexpected", the USDA's February inspection report revealed that Bobo had been suffering with a heavy parasite load and poor body condition for at least 2 months prior to his death. Bobo's necropsy showed "serous atrophy of fat," also known as "starvation marrow," associated with "malnutrition" and lack of adequate heat.
In the wild, Bobo the giraffe would have roamed up to 100 square miles of African grasslands and open woodlands, shared a complex social life with a herd of his own species for as long as 25 years, and spent many hours of the day and night browsing for leaves, shoots and fruits from tall trees; But at the Long Island Game Farm, Bobo essentially starved and froze until his premature death at only 3 years old. Abducted from his family and leased for public interactions, Bobo died alone, confined to a cramped enclosure without any other giraffes or even a tree. It is too late for Bobo, but it's not too late for other animals suffering just like him.
For this week’s Anuvrat, I invite you to take action for wild animals like Bobo by contacting New York State Representatives and urging them to follow Costa Rica’s lead by passing A.6836A and A.4005.
A.6836A would close a major loophole in New York State law that allows exotic animals, such as sloths and kangaroos, to be kept as pets. This loophole was made evident by Humane Long Island’s campaign against Sloth Encounters, a ramshackle petting zoo that not only exploits animals for traveling performances but also sells them to the public as pets. Its companion bill — S.06211-C — has already passed the Senate, but the Assembly bill is stuck in the Environmental Committee.
A.4005-A/S.4363-A would prohibit the use of wild cats, bears, and nonhuman primates in traveling shows. It would also prohibit hauling kangaroos to birthday parties, fairs, and houses, like Sloth Encounters was fined for doing in New York City less than one month ago. While these bills are a far cry from precedent-setting like the news coming out of Costa Rica, they are common-sense, incremental laws to better protect wild animals who have no place being exploited for our entertainment.
John Di Leonardo is the founding director of Humane Long Island. He was previously the Senior Manager of Grassroots Campaigns and Animals in Entertainment Campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). He has a Master's degree in Anthrozoology from Canisius College. He also earned a graduate certificate in Jain Studies from the International School of Jain Studies (ISJS) in India. John can be reached at [email protected]. (Photo provided by John Di Leonardo)
