News Post #19

Captivity Killing Marine Animals?

Obtained by the BBC, reported figures show that in the space of a year from 2015 to 2016, 4,500 creatures of different species in total died at eight different Sea Life centres in England; one third of marine animals died in centre alone. Due to the "particularly disturbing" death rates, the Marine Conservation Society are said to be reviewing it's sponsorship with Sea Life, with Merlin Entertainments, the Sea Life owner, commenting that they did everything in their power to avoid these mortalities. The mortalities included endangered sharks and sting rays.

The eight Sea Life centres with alarming death rates were based in Birmingham, Blackpool, Great Yarmouth, Hunstanton, London, Manchester, Scarborough, and Weymouth, with no data be provided for the centre in Brighton. In the Great Yarmouth centre, Sea Life centres have partly blamed a water quality problem for the high death rate at that particular centre.

Not only are marine animals dying, but other animals are also dying for unknown reasons. For example, The Alantic reports that captive gorillas are prone to suffer from a heart disease known as fibrosing cardiomyopathy, and it's the leading killer of captive male gorillas around the world; with approximately 70% of the captive male gorilla population in North America having the heart disease. It is unknown why the disease is so prevalent among captive animals compared to wild animals.

The mortality rates in the Sea Life centres raise concerns with captivity. It questions whether capturing animals and keeping them confined doesn't only have moral concerns, but also hpw much the health of the animals are affected and whether it is worth it. Is it right to lock up animals for our own amusement, or is it just selfish? However, in the wild, marine animal's mortality rates are affected by humans with the use of plastic which ends up in the oceans and kills the wildlife. So captivity may not be killing marine animals at ah higher rate than in the wild. Personally, the ideas of zoos and aquariums seem wrong and unethical, as we don't lock up humans for our own amusement, if we did there would be consequences. So why aren't there any consequences for taking animals out of their natural environment and holding them captive? Do they not have rights? Although I say this, I enjoy seeing these animals that I would not be able to see if it wasn't for zoos or aquariums. Despite the fact that I have a conflicting opinion, I believe animals in captivity have the right to be adequately cared for and shouldn't experience any problems with their facilities or have to deal with any health problems caused by captivity.




Reference:
Sturdy, Julian and Scotter, Kate. (2018). Sea Life centre sees a third of animals die in a year. Available: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43242081. Last accessed 11th Mar.