Exotic, non-domesticated animals are being caught, bred, and sold across Canada as part of the inhumane and risky wildlife trade.
These animals are then kept as pets, sold commercially, and used at events.
Captive environments cannot replicate exotic wild animals’ natural habitats, leading to welfare concerns.
The wildlife trade poses a risk to wild animal populations both at home and abroad due to poaching of animals for the pet trade and release of exotic animals into the local ecosystems.
Can you take action to speak up for wild exotic animals caught, bred, and sold in the wildlife trade?
It’s estimated that 1.4 million exotic animals (non-domesticated, non-native animals) are kept as pets across Canada. This includes species like ball pythons, bearded dragons, red ear slider turtles, savannah cats, and crested geckos. Across the Canadian provinces and territories, British Columbia comes in fourth for exotic pet ownership.
Exotic animals may be:
kept as pets in people’s homes;
bred and sold commercially; or
used for public display or entertainment at events.
Welfare concerns
Regardless of whether these animals are wild-caught or captive-bred, they retain their complex social, physiological, and behavioural needs that they would have in the wild.
This makes it impossible to fully meet their unique needs when kept captive as pets, which can lead to significant animal welfare issues and suffering.
Public health risks
The exotic pet trade also poses public health and safety risks.
Stressed animals are more susceptible to disease and to spreading disease to humans. In fact, 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic (transmitted from non-human animals to humans).
Impact on wild animal populations
The exotic pet trade is also a major threat to wild populations, as a result of the poaching of wild animals to be sold into the pet trade.
The accidental or intentional release of exotic animals into the wild can also have a negative impact on native species and local ecosystems.
Exotic pet events
Exotic pet events, where animals are on display for public entertainment or are being sold, highlight many of the animal welfare, public health, and safety issues associated with the exotic pet trade. These wild animals are:
kept in cramped and unnatural containers;
transported to and from events; and
handled by adults and children in a noisy environment.
Will you help stop the suffering by signing up to receive action alerts? You will be contacted with key actions to help protect exotic animals.
Emily Pickett from the Vancouver Humane Society discusses the tragic life and death of Jenga the giraffe, who died at the Greater Vancouver Zoo on October 23rd, as well as ongoing welfare concerns at the zoo. Originally aired on The Early Edition from CBC News; shared on The Informed Animal Ally podcast.
On October 23rd, Jenga the giraffe died in his enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
The Vancouver Humane Society’s Emily Pickett sat down with Stephen Quinn from The Early Edition on CBC Radio to share the heartbreaking story of Jenga, a giraffe who died at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Interview shared with permission.
Stephen: Another animal has died at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. This time, an eight year old giraffe called Jenga. Now the zoo called him an iconic member of the Greater Vancouver Zoo family. According to the zoo, Jenga was found dead in his barn stall on Wednesday afternoon.
Jenga is one of four young giraffes to die at the facility since 2006. And for more on this, we’re joined by Emily Pickett. She’s the Campaign Director for the Vancouver Humane Society. Good morning to you, Emily.
Emily: Good morning.
Stephen: We don’t know all of the details yet. The zoo says it is still awaiting the results of a necropsy.
But what has been your reaction to this news? This was an eight year old giraffe.
Emily: Well, we at the Vancouver Humane Society are deeply saddened to learn of the death of yet another animal at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. And certainly we were surprised. The giraffe Jenga was only eight years old when he died, which is really a fraction of the lifespan for giraffes in the wild where they can live for up to 25 years.
The lives of captive giraffes
Stephen: Right. And tell me more about Jenga’s life in the zoo, or I guess the lives of giraffes generally there, because this is one of four young giraffes to die at that facility since 2006.
Emily: Giraffes are very sensitive animals that we know do not fare well in captivity. In fact, they can have shorter lifespans than their wild counterparts.
The life of Jenga was very different than the life of a wild giraffe, and I think that really points out the concerns that we at the Humane Society have.
In the wild, giraffes live in large herds, they have a large home range. Their natural habitat is typically arid and dry. They’re browsing animals that are adapted to foraging and feeding predominantly on on leaves and stems of trees and shrubs.
But at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, Jenga lived a very different life. He lived with only a couple of other giraffes in a pretty small and barren enclosure, with little to no opportunity to engage in many of those natural behaviours, and certainly in a very different climate than what his wild counterparts would be in.
Stephen: And when you’re talking about that warm, arid climate, it’s exactly the opposite here, especially through the wintertime, I would imagine.
Emily: Yes, absolutely. And that’s a big problem for giraffes, too. They struggle as a species to regulate their body temperatures. And so the colder winter months can be a real problem for them in these environments.
Ongoing welfare concerns at the zoo
Stephen: Tell me about the Vancouver Humane Society and the reports that you have commissioned by Zoocheck. I guess the last one would have been in 2019. Is that right?
Emily: That’s correct. Yeah, the Vancouver Humane Society has had longstanding concerns around the welfare and conditions of animals at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
And we’ve commissioned reports by Zoocheck as experts in this area for a number of years now. I think our first report on the Vancouver Zoo was back in 1997, and the most recent one, as you mentioned, was in 2019.
The report found a number of key issues overall.
A lot of the issues zoo-wide were about a lack of environmental and behavioural enrichment for the animals, which we know is very important for wild animals. They need to engage in these natural behaviours.
Another concern was inappropriate housing for social animals and indoor enclosures that were really basic and barren.
There were water issues, issues with groundwater and waterlogging of their enclosures, specifically for the giraffes.
Our 2019 report found similar issues as well.
Zoo accreditation doesn’t reflect welfare
Stephen: The zoo is an accredited zoo. Is it not?
Emily: It is, yes, through CAZA. The concern is that it is really a private industry association of zoos and aquariums. They represent their members and the accreditation is really kind of the zoos and aquariums accrediting themselves.
So, that’s a bit problematic for us. It certainly sounds good on the surface, but it isn’t necessarily an indicator of best practices or high animal welfare standards. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the animals are doing well.
And as you mentioned, the number of deaths and incidents, including in recent years, we think really illustrates the issues.
Calling for change
Stephen: And Emily, is the Humane Society calling for any particular action right now as a result of this?
Emily: We’ve been asking the zoo for many years to take action on its own. We obviously have not seen the changes we would like to see, over the number of years and the number of reports that we’ve drafted and shared with them.
We are still calling on the zoo to do more, but also urging the B. C. government to do more. They are responsible for issuing the permits to the zoo to be able to keep these animals.
So, what we would like to see is the zoo stop keeping exotic animals entirely – as illustrated, they’re not appropriate for these conditions and these environments – and to shift to a sanctuary model where they can focus on rescue, rehab, and release of native species from B.C. and to provide sanctuary for those animals that can’t be released.
Stephen: Emily, thank you for the time this morning. We appreciate it.
Emily: Thank you so much.
Next episode
Please join us next month as we hear perspectives from people who operate farm sanctuaries.
The sudden death of a two-year-old gorilla at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo has prompted some conservation experts to push for change.
The sudden death of a two-year-old gorilla at the Calgary Zoo has prompted conservation experts to push for change.
According to CTV News Calgary, “The zoo said on Tuesday that Eyare, a female western lowland gorilla, had been injured while moving between back-of-house spaces.”
“The zoo declined to share any further details about the gorilla’s fatal injuries or what caused them, saying an investigation is underway and a necropsy will be completed.”
Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, called the lack of transparency about the incident “disturbing”.
The Calgary Zoo previously underwent a review from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for unusual and frequent animal deaths between 2005 and 2010, with fatal incidents continuing throughout the next decade.
Zoocheck founder Rob Laidlaw said, “If you’re trying to say you’re breeding animals or keeping animals for conservation and they’re dying from all these mishaps and other things … that’s counter to what you’re telling the public that you want to do.”
Multiple tragic animal deaths at zoos across North America and around the world have been brought to the public’s attention this year, including:
Jenga the giraffe, who was found dead in his enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo on October 23rd;
Sakura the red panda, who had recently given birth after being transferred from the Greater Vancouver Zoo to the Toronto Zoo, and one of her two cubs;
Roxie the red panda, who died due to noise stress from fireworks in Edinburgh;
Baffin the polar bear, who drowned in the Calgary Zoo’s new exhibit after he sustained a bite to the throat;
Twelve monkeys who died from a bacterial outbreak at a zoo in Hong Kong.
Tragic deaths at zoos are typically followed by a necropsy to determine the cause, such as illness or injury. Physical and psychological stressors can contribute to premature death in captive animals.
Wild and exotic animals’ needs are not being met in zoos and aquariums
In addition to deadly incidents, wild and exotic animals regularly suffer when kept in captivity in zoos and aquariums.
Wild and exotic animals are living out their entire lives thousands of kilometres away from their home climates, in enclosures that cannot replicate the size and complexity of their natural habitats. They are unable to engage in many natural behaviours that are crucial to their physical, social and psychological well-being.
Take action
Here in B.C., the Vancouver Humane Society has been engaging with provincial decision-makers to call for changes to captivity regulations, including prohibiting the breeding and import of exotic animals for permanent captivity.
Can you sign the petition to help protect animals from suffering in captivity?
VANCOUVER, October 24, 2024 – The tragic life and death of Jenga the giraffe is the latest in a series of animal welfare issues at the Great Vancouver Zoo. Jenga, aged 8, died suddenly and unexpectedly at the zoo this week. Jenga was born in captivity in Ontario and then shipped to British Columbia. Jenga lived their entire life in a small, cold, enclosure, nothing like the natural habitat of their wild counterparts. Giraffes live up to 25 years in the wild.
“We’re saddened to learn of the death of another animal at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Jenga the giraffe was only 8 years old, which is a fraction of the lifespan for giraffes in the wild,” said Campaign Director, Emily Pickett. “The Vancouver Humane Society has been calling on the zoo for many years to address long-standing animal welfare issues and to move away from keeping animals in permanent captivity.”
High-profile incidents resulting in heightened public scrutiny of the zoo
The Greater Vancouver Zoo has been aware of many animal welfare issues in their facility for years. The most recent report on conditions at the zoo, commissioned by the Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) and prepared by Zoocheck, raised alarms about a number of concerns. Unfortunately, the same issues raised in the report persist year after year, causing continued suffering to the many animals who are kept in captivity at the zoo.
In 2022, animal lovers in B.C. mourned the loss of Chia, a wolf who escaped from her enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Chia was tragically found dead on the side of the road.
In 2022, the VHS filed a cruelty complaint with the BC SPCA after obtaining video footage of animals engaging in repetitive behaviours and in small, barren enclosures.
In 2021, a zoo employee was bitten when a jaguar climbed up a feeding chute. Rather than addressing the behavioural needs of this natural hunter and climber, the zoo welded bars to the bottom of the chute.
In 2020, the public raised concerns about an emaciated moose named Oakleaf, prompting an investigation by the BC SPCA. Oakleaf was then euthanized.
In 2019, a 2-year-old child was bitten by a black bear after being able to enter an “unauthorized area.” The toddler had to be airlifted to hospital.
Ongoing welfare issues
This week’s tragic death is the latest in a pattern of concerning incidents at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. But the series of high-profile cases that make it into the news are just the tip of the iceberg when compared with the monotonous, day-to-day suffering of the wild species confined to enclosures thousands of times smaller than their natural habitats.
If the Greater Vancouver Zoo refuses to make significant changes for the well-being of the animals they keep, a change must be made for them. That’s why the VHS is imploring provincial decision-makers to immediately address the outdated regulations around keeping, breeding, and transport of wild and exotic animals. Concerned citizens can sign the petition in support of these recommendations.
The Calgary Zoo has had polar bears since 1938. Each generation has been confident that the bear’s enclosures were more humane than the past…
This is not the first time that concerns have been raised about the Calgary Zoo’s keeping of polar bears.
Earlier this year, Alberta Views published an article by George Colpitts, an environmental historian at the University of Calgary, outlining the fraught history of the zoo’s polar bear enclosures. The piece explores the pattern of poor welfare and incidents that have plagued the zoo’s polar bear enclosures since they opened in 1938.
Dr. Colpitts expressed skepticism that the new exhibit, opened in December 2023, could fully meet the bears’ needs.
Polar bears and other animals show signs of boredom and stress in zoos
The VHS sent a letter to the editor outlining inherent issues with keeping animals such as polar bears, who have complex social, behavioural, and physiological needs, in captivity for the entertainment of the public.
Read the full response on page 3 of the Alberta Views opinions section, and take action to protect animals from suffering in captivity.
In a bid to draw attention to the ongoing and dangerous problem of keeping exotic wildlife in captivity, either in zoos or as house pets, World Animal Protection Canada is building a new database and interactive online map to document all the events it can find.
“In a bid to draw attention to the ongoing and dangerous problem of keeping exotic wildlife in captivity, either in zoos or as house pets, World Animal Protection Canada is building a new database and interactive online map to document all the events it can find.”
Michèle Hamers, wildlife campaign manager for World Animal Protection Canada, hopes that the database will “compel people to ask for more comprehensive laws to protect animals and people.”
Typically, bylaws and provincial laws around wild and exotic animals include a prohibited animals list. These lists can leave gaps that allow many wild and exotic species who do not thrive in captivity to be kept as pets, while even more can be kept in facilities such as zoos and aquariums.
The VHS is calling on the B.C. government to introduce better protections for wild and exotic animals in captivity, including adopting a positive list approach, which allows only those species that meet certain evidence-based suitability criteria to be kept, bred and transported.
The snake, one of the largest in the world, is illegal to possess in British Columbia
“Conservation officers have seized a nearly three-metre-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.”
While this particular species of snake is illegal to keep in B.C., MANY other wild and exotic species are, in fact, legal to keep as pets. But wild and exotic animals, whether wild-caught or captive-bred, retain their complex social, physiological and behavioural needs that they would have in the wild. As a result, they can experience significant suffering when kept as pets.
The VHS has been calling on the B.C. government for better protections for wild and exotic animals. Add your name in support!
The Greater Vancouver Zoo is trying to breed more red pandas, however the Vancouver Humane Society said the program keeps mammals in captivity, while not immediately benefiting animals in the wild.
The Vancouver Humane Society has weighed in on the planned breeding of red pandas at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in a new article from the CBC.
The breeding is part of a “Species Survival Plan”, a program by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) which maintains captive animal populations at AZA facilities. Zoo officials comment that captive bred red pandas could be reintroduced back into the wild “if needed”.
However, the program does not immediately benefit animals in the wild.
Chantelle Archambault, Communications Director for the Vancouver Humane Society, said the organization is disappointed to see the zoo bringing in another red panda for breeding.
“We know the program brings a lot of financial benefit to the zoo, but the cost of that is there’s more animals who will spend their entire lives in captivity in a foreign and unfamiliar environment that can’t meet all their needs,” said Archambault.
“Breeding exotic animals halfway around the world to be kept in a zoo their whole life is not about conservation,” she said.
The two red pandas born at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in June 2022, Maple and Mei Mei, have since been moved to other zoos in Canada.
A new red panda has arrived at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Named “Paprika,” the new critter is being brought in as a partner for another red panda, Arun.
The Greater Vancouver Zoo is once again planning to breed red pandas a continent away from their native habitat. Without a reintroduction plan in place, they will spend their entire lives in captivity.
“‘This important introduction is a part of our species survival plan for Red Pandas and will hopefully lead to future little Red Panda cubs! (we hope ??),’ the zoo said on Facebook.”
The two red pandas born at the zoo in 2022, Maple and Mei Mei, were moved to Assiniboine Park Zoo in Manitoba and Zoo de Granby in Quebec.
Captivity and conservation are not the same thing. Here are a few questions to ask to find out if a conservation program helps wildlife.
Does it make a tangible difference for animals in the wild?
Does it protect natural habitats and/or address the threats species face in the wild?
Does it support the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of native wildlife in their natural habitats?
If captive breeding occurs, is there a plan in place to reintroduce animals into their native habitats when they are old enough to survive in the wild?
The Vancouver Humane Society is calling for meaningful changes to prevent the suffering of animals in captivity.
Over the past few years, the VHS has called for changes to B.C.’s regulations on wild animals in captivity. All B.C. residents can help by raising this issue with their MLA in a call or meeting.
You don’t need to be an expert to make an impact. Instead, what’s important is that they hear why this issue matters to you. You can ask them to raise the issue, along with the VHS’s recommendations, with the B.C. Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.
Provincial decision-makers have previously noted that the regulations for animals in captivity are due for review, without a timeline for action. The VHS has provided clear recommendations for how the regulations need to be updated to better protect animal welfare, but action continues to be delayed and animals continue to suffer as a result.
The VHS will continue to advocate for wild and exotic animals in captivity.
Can you help by engaging with your MLA on to help protect animals? To find your MLA’s contact information, head to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia website and enter your postal code.
Short on time? Use the quick email tool to send a message to your MLA today!
Wild and exotic animals in captivity
B.C.’s outdated wild and exotic animal captivity regulations allow for many species to be kept as pets or in captive facilities, despite the difficulty in meeting their complex physical and psychological needs. Numerous incidents in recent years at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, including the escape of wolves from the zoo in the summer of 2022 which tragically resulted in the death of one wolf, reiterate the urgent need for updating the province’s regulations.
“Think about the worst thing you think could happen to an animal in Canada … I guarantee that what’s out there is a thousand times worse.”
The VHS was recently joined by Zoocheck founder Rob Laidlaw to share his decades of experience advocating for the well-being of animals. Read or listen to the discussion on the VHS’s exclusive podcast, The Informed Animal Ally.
