Using Our Light Saber
15/09/20 20:46 Filed in: AZA Conference Post | Zoo Design theory
By Gail Lash, PhD.
I just finished listening to Dr. Mark Plokin’s Community Conversation with Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) conference attendees. In response to a question on whether zoos and aquariums should use their collective voices for political change, he said, “You have a Light Saber. Use it. Specifically, on issues that are relevant to you.”
I just finished listening to Dr. Mark Plokin’s Community Conversation with Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) conference attendees. In response to a question on whether zoos and aquariums should use their collective voices for political change, he said, “You have a Light Saber. Use it. Specifically, on issues that are relevant to you.”
The Light Saber is the collective audience of more than 200-million annual visitors to AZA’s 240 accredited member zoos and aquariums, and AZA’s potential influence on local and global community education and government policies.
For too many years, in my estimation, AZA institutions have concentrated primarily on animal issues: running excellent animal-care institutions, campaigns to save species from extinction, SSPs/captive breeding programs, biological education, animal behavioral research, addressing wildlife trafficking, animal health and wellness, field conservation, animal story-telling, and more. All of these are arguably very important. This list could easily take all the time and resources of any zoo or aquarium, so I understand the hesitation at diving deeper into our human condition and its problematic, societal issues.
However, we are discovering that human issues and animal issues are connected and synergistic. No conservation work can be sustainable without the approval and support of residential communities. Markets selling wild animals as human food are responsible for many deadly diseases, including our current pandemic. As Dr. Horowitz shared in her talk, bullying, stress, PTSD occurs in both humans and animals; teenagers and adolescents of most species take more risks than adults; parenting is a learned skill across many taxa; soothing music helps stimulate lactation in both humans and non-human mothers. Dr. Plotkin urged protecting Amazonian forests as a key to human global health. Climate change is well-documented, endangering human society. Nature’s plants and interlocking systems hold answers for human health.
Addressing Black Lives Matter, the AZA recently issued a Statement on Social and Racial Justice, Inclusion and Equity. Even though this may seem to some people to be outside the purview of animals, both diversity and inclusion have been an AZA focus for about 20 years. This is an excellent start. Now we need a Statement on Climate Change. On Clean Water, Clean Air. On Wildlife Trafficking in relationship to War and Disease. On Bullying. On Stress-relief. On Sustainable Development. On Public Parks. On Fisheries. On Palm Oil. On GMOs. On Renewable Energy. The list goes on.
We AZA institutions should use our Light Saber – our public influence – to create a world of peace between humans, and well-being for all animals, human and non-human alike. Think of what kind of world that could be. One, perhaps, where saving animals (and humans) from extinction was no longer needed.
For too many years, in my estimation, AZA institutions have concentrated primarily on animal issues: running excellent animal-care institutions, campaigns to save species from extinction, SSPs/captive breeding programs, biological education, animal behavioral research, addressing wildlife trafficking, animal health and wellness, field conservation, animal story-telling, and more. All of these are arguably very important. This list could easily take all the time and resources of any zoo or aquarium, so I understand the hesitation at diving deeper into our human condition and its problematic, societal issues.
However, we are discovering that human issues and animal issues are connected and synergistic. No conservation work can be sustainable without the approval and support of residential communities. Markets selling wild animals as human food are responsible for many deadly diseases, including our current pandemic. As Dr. Horowitz shared in her talk, bullying, stress, PTSD occurs in both humans and animals; teenagers and adolescents of most species take more risks than adults; parenting is a learned skill across many taxa; soothing music helps stimulate lactation in both humans and non-human mothers. Dr. Plotkin urged protecting Amazonian forests as a key to human global health. Climate change is well-documented, endangering human society. Nature’s plants and interlocking systems hold answers for human health.
Addressing Black Lives Matter, the AZA recently issued a Statement on Social and Racial Justice, Inclusion and Equity. Even though this may seem to some people to be outside the purview of animals, both diversity and inclusion have been an AZA focus for about 20 years. This is an excellent start. Now we need a Statement on Climate Change. On Clean Water, Clean Air. On Wildlife Trafficking in relationship to War and Disease. On Bullying. On Stress-relief. On Sustainable Development. On Public Parks. On Fisheries. On Palm Oil. On GMOs. On Renewable Energy. The list goes on.
We AZA institutions should use our Light Saber – our public influence – to create a world of peace between humans, and well-being for all animals, human and non-human alike. Think of what kind of world that could be. One, perhaps, where saving animals (and humans) from extinction was no longer needed.