Stay Away from Ontario's Roadside Zoos this Summer

​www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/ontario-zoos-1.6475479

Toronto Based advocacy group World Animal Protection has urged Ontario residents to steer clear of Ontario's roadside zoos this summer. The group is pleading with Ontario residents to make ethical choices when considering family events throughout the summer and to avoid unaccredited establishments or those that are blatantly exploiting exotic animals. As we know, these roadside establishments often slip under the radar, are poorly monitored, and exploit wild / exotic animals for profits at the expense of their well-being.

Ontario has few regulations of its own when it comes to operating these sorts of establishments, leaving it to the municipalities to determine their own rules / regulations which creates a messy patchwork of differing rules on location. This allows roadside establishments to operate under the radar with very little monitoring of their operations. This lack of framework allows wild / exotic animals to be obtained in unethical ways and kept in conditions that are inherently cruel to them.

Animals in these establishments are taken advantage of as babies and once their usefulness runs dry as they get older and harder to manage, they're shipped off to other exploitative organizations like canned hunting, exotic pet owners, or other unaccredited zoos. Their entire existence is to be exploited by humans.

One could argue that accredited zoos are equally to blame for their exploitation of exotic animals like giraffes or elephants. While one could ask the question about whether exotic animals in captivity is unethical all the way around, there are many differences between accredited, regulated zoos, and those that operate under the radar. 

• Accredited zoos have trained veterinary and zookeeper staff to attend to animals within enclosures. This training is imperative in properly looking after wild animals.
• Their diets are tailored as closely as possible to that of what they would eat in the wild.
• Their enclosures are often built to replicate wild habitats and provide significantly more space for animals unlike individual cages that can be expected at roadside zoos.
• You won't see zoos having elephants perform tricks or bears riding unicycles, typically indicative of an unaccredited establishment.
• Accredited zoos often work with conservation organizations around the globe to help rehabilitate & repopulate endangered species.

While there will always be arguments against keeping any animal in captivity, there is much to be said about the conditions animals in accredited establishments endure versus those at roadside zoos. With all of this being said, there are a plethora of entertainment opportunities across Ontario and in nearby provinces / US. states that don't utilize animals whatsoever. Theme parks, destination stays, hiking, bird watching, shopping, and water parks.

Learning about animals is important if the next generation is going to be responsible for continuing conservation efforts, but learning about them through cruel, roadside establishments is not the way. Think about what we're teaching children by engaging with exotic animals in such a trivial manner. We're teaching them that these animals are nothing more than props used for our entertainment; that their existence on our planet is merely to provide for us. This narrative is what is pushing our planet's most endangered species towards extinction. 

So please, when choosing your summer family plans, look towards ethical and educational activities that won't perpetuate the suffering of wild animals.

HAPPY VEG