A lot of the zoos I go to regularly have petting areas. One of them, Roger Williams has kept rare breed livestock, eg. Dexter cows in the past (back when the barnyard was an unofficial petting area, I do not know what kind of cows they have now, if any, I have not been in a couple of years). My question is (alas, it is a multi part question) would it be a good idea for zoos with petting areas to keep rare and breed rare breed livestock. I don't expect every part to be answered by everyone. A. Does it benefit the zoos educational mission to keep farm animals that are rare or should they focus on breeds that are more common? Does having them add anything to the zoo? Maybe it would be better to show breeds that are more likely to be seen as to educate the public about current farming practices? Would a mix of the two be more appropriate? B. If the zoo breeds farm animals should they try and keep rare breed animals? In the same vein as Species Survival Plans, that is. C. And I have picked the worst possible time to do this but when they inevitably end up having to cull some of the animals to keep the breed in good condition would it be acceptable to slaughter them and sell the meat, either at the zoo or otherwise, might make a good fundraiser)? Should excess billy goats just be neutered? How many roosters do we need? Would there be any educational benefit from allowing the public to have the meat? D. Should keeping rare breeds alive even be in the realm of zoos? Should it be left up to historical parks and farmers?
Colchester zoo used to have the rare Essex pig, but they didn't have them on show the last time I visited. I think if zoos need domestic live stock, -and from what I see on zoochat it seams more common to the US zoo scene than the UK one-, they should in my personal opinion have rare breeds rather than the mundane, farm breeds. The meat could be use in the restaurants or fed to the carnivores, though as you say WD it is an emotive issue on here at the moment, possibly always will be. By the way, my sister in law has a rare breeds farm in Buckinghamshire which does school visits and open days they are usually well attended, which shows there is an interest in livestock other than exotics.
Beardsley Zoo's farmyard has a small New England farm theme, and so they keep rare breeds of livestock. Basing off what I have seen there: A. A few people have the interest to even look at the sign stating what breed of domestic animal it is, and learn that it is a rare, or "heritage" breed. Even fewer retain that knowledge. For most zoo visitors, they just look and say "It's a pig/goat, etc.". There is no distinction between rare or common breeds. However, it does interest some people that the breed Beardsley keeps (Guinea Hogs) are black, and not pink like traditional pig breeds. B. Regular SSP or EEP plans should come first, but if they feel like breeding them, then go ahead. Goat kids, piglets, and calves are all cute and can help draw in guests and increase revenue. C. Beardsley hasn't had to come to the option of culling them, but most American zoos don't believe in culling. However, I understand the situation is different across the pond. I think neutering/spaying is a good option. There are also smaller institutions (a discovery museum or small farm for example) that zoos can send excess domestic animals to, instead of larger zoos that may be having the same issues of overabundance of livestock. D. It's up to the zoo there. If they want to have a focus on maintaining rare breeds, then I say go for it. If they'd rather stick to traditional breeds, then they can do that too.
I think if a zoo is going to have domestic animals they may as well be rare breeds. Ideally I would like to see an "exotic" farmyard set up, such as an African village with various domestic African (or possibly Asian) species (cattle goats, sheep, poultry, etc.) displayed in a way that teaches people about life in Africa, and the conflicts between people and wildlife there. I've seen few examples of this, but done right it can be very effective. Culling is rarely necessary with rare breeds, they are usually easy to rehome if required. Breeding them to sell for meat is unlikely to go down well (and likely requires much paperwork, etc.), and while I don't have a problem with zoos breeding domestics to eventually feed to their own carnivores, this is not going to be popular with the general public in most places. Usually its better to just have non-breeding groups of most breeds I think.
The thing is that with a lot of rare breeds there are only a few left, sometimes in the low hundreds or worse (though this is slowly changing in a lot of cases). Inbreeding can become a problem very fast, hence my idea for a controlled studbook (where breed organizations can say something to the tune of "this bull has to meet this cow" or something similar) of some sort. Of course there is also the option of out breeding with another breed, but this brings in matters such as keeping the breed pure and the like. Of course this could easily be done on in a living history museum, or on a farm, or by a university ag department. What really might be neat in a zoo is an exhibit on domestication, maybe organized in a trail fashion, where we could see wild animals and then their domestic counterparts (or if none exists the closest thing we can find, eg Heck Cattle instead of aurochs). There could be plants too. And some feral animals like Mustangs even (they could be at the end of the trail). My thought on using excess livestock for human consumption is that given the rise of the local foods movement they might just get away with it if they framed it right.
In the UK, the Rare Breed Survival Trust has been working for 40 years to preserve rare breeds of native livestock https://www.rbst.org.uk/. There are many farm parks around the country that display some of these breeds and many individual farmers who keep small herds/flocks of particular favourites. I believe that quite a few of the original specimens in the Trust's studbooks came from a domestic animal section at Whipsnade which was dispersed some time before the Trust was founded (can anyone correct or confirm this?). I think there is a good educational and conservation case for a zoo exhibiting a rare breed in association with the an organisation such as RBST, if the breed is local to the area (https://www.rbst.org.uk/sitemanager/uploads/attachments/9_1.jpg) and there are no farm parks nearby which could display the animals. Otherwise I feel that the space in zoos and the skills of their keepers should be used to keep, exhibit and conserve endangered wild species. Alan
That's a complicated issue and a lot could be done. I think a mix of common and rare livestock could be interesting. A zoo could even arrange a farm area geographically, for example keeping Ankole cattle, Boer goats, and domesticated varieties of guinea fowl in an Africa themed area. However, I do think zoos should focus on wild species and farm areas shouldn't have a huge focus.
