Burden of Decisions

Photo Credit: Mike Sergieff

I saw this photo the other day and had to dig up the backstory on it.  It details a protest outside the Los Angeles Zoo from 1986 (35 years ago).  The protestors, including the gentleman in the wings, were opposed to the decision made to transfer the last wild condors in existence to the Los Angeles Zoo for an emergency captive breeding program.  As we know now (detailed in the excellent book Condor: To the Brink and Back, by John Nielsen), the program was a success and the species was saved (to the extent that any species can be considered saved these days).  If policymakers and zoos had bowed to the opinion of the small but loud minority of protestors, this species would certainly no longer be with us.  

If there is a lesson in this, it's that zoos and aquariums should listen to the public and all voices therein and be mindful of what they have to say, even when it disagrees with us.  But that at the end of the day, we have a responsibility to do what we believe is best for the animals, both in our collections and around in the wild, in our backyards and around the world (while keeping in following with all local, national, and international laws, which we can't override, even when they're stupid.  Especially when they're stupid).  We have the expertise and the experience to make the decisions  It's irresponsible to surrender that responsibility to the whims of the public, especially if it comes down to a question of who can be the loudest.