Comment: Would anyone care if Durrell was to close?

Gill Kay thinks that Durrell should close

And now there’s much hand-wringing and wailing because the zoo’s future is threatened because of falling visitor numbers.

But if the zoo was to close I wonder how many people would really care?

Or would they prefer an end to the sight of the lowland gorillas languishing in their utterly unnatural environment, until a move to another zoo, or death, breaks the monotony.

Captive ones cannot form their own family group, mate with who they want, or roam wherever they want, as they would in the wild. Their mates are chosen for them and offspring are packed off to other zoos, when practical.

Many such animals have passed through the zoo’s portals, like poor old Ya Kwanza, who ended up in France after 20 years at the zoo.

The poor devil failed in his mating duties and had to make way make way for the more virile Badongo.

But when it suits to humanise them, for maximum cute-sie effect, we have the birthday presents, the Christmas presents and for one lucky ape, Namoki, even a leaving party when she was sent off to Belfast zoo – a party for gawd’s sake.

But it’s conservation, you say, they’re endangered and we’re saving these animals for… what?

Let’s say that the numbers in the wild did recover, and the habitat grew back, and man no longer hunted apes for bushmeat – what use would our big old softie concrete-pit-reared primates be? Who would bring them presents, the iced treats or diluted low-fat powdered milk laced with blackcurrant juice? Why are we really breeding these animals?

What natural behaviour is left? Apart from throwing their poop at you – and what does that tell you, I wonder.

In one way the zoo is another form of keeping pets, but with a touch of self-righteousness thrown in, although I’m sure people who work in the field believe they’re doing good.

And who chooses which ones to save?

Have you ever wondered why Mauritius is such a popular place for our zoo folk to do their good deeds, where, after many, many years, they at last saved the pink pigeon. Wow.

It’s the habitat that needs saving and sustaining, then the animals can look after themselves.

If you subscribe to the Darwinian theory of evolution, then realistically we need to let these creatures go and stop pretending.

If the habitat is destroyed, it’s never going to come back the same and what we’re left with is a zoo freak show – keeping animals in captivity but at what cost to the animals?

How do they stop flamingoes from flying away? What are the chances of zoo-grown gorillas going back into the wild? And just how endangered are meerkats?

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