@pachyderm pro created this thread a while ago, about an idea for zoos in the distant future. It gave me an idea about how farming, zoos, and conservation could blend together in the future. First, let me talk about a zoo not far from where I live. This zoo partly inspired this idea. Glacier Ridge Animal Farm is a zoo, as well as a farm. It has a small collection of exotic animals that you can visit, but the majority of the the zoo is domestic animals. Some of these domestic animals are still used for meat. Now I know some people don't like that, but I think it may be close to what the future may be like. What if all zoos had that? Humans would have a lot more food fast. Maybe by this time in the future, the food would be given for free to people who need it (but sadly, that future seems a long way off.) Don't think people need more food? What about this idea: farmers could participate in SSPs. They wouldn't use the meat of the endangered animals, of course. But maybe, if approved by the government, they could get some endangered animals to help have another location for the animals. So, what do you think? Would this work? Yes? No? Sorry if I put this in the wrong place. I didn't know where to put it. Moderators, feel free to move it.
There are already some establishments which do produce meats from endangered species, however they are more focused on endangered domestic breeds rather than wild breeds. At the core of your idea is the concept of taking a species which has little value to the public and giving it a value in direct terms to people (food) in order to generate interest in the species and its preservation. The idea being that if the species has value then people should be more concerned with its preservation. However there's a few things that can be a problem with this approach a) Mixed messages. It's hard to turn to people in a developed country and farm a meat; then turn to those in another country and tell them not to eat the wild individuals of that species. It creates a rather mixed message when its simplified down and can thus be rather a nightmare to market this concept to people. b) Killing conflict. A lot of people into conservation are totally opposed to the killing and consumption of meat, especially (though not limited too) wild species (some are more open to farmed meat on domestic breeds). Therefore there's a high risk that a zoo taking on this approach might well encounter increased pressure from certain groups and circles. Many conservation groups keep quite about how they will use lethal control means on species; even though things like predator control or invasive species control are standard fair and normal in the countryside and conservation; they are things which can get a huge push back from people (and can be very easily misrepresented by those with malicious intent). c) Wild stock isn't meat stock. Meat stock is typically bred to be domestic and provide meat. Even if you're not breeding for maximum meat production, any species which is farmed will generally edge toward more domestication. Those breeding will select those individuals which are easier to manage; which cope with captivity better; etc... So you could easily end up "farming" the wild species. This would reduce possible space to keep totally wild groups in zoos. Of course the offset argument would be that profits generated could pay for expansion and more capacity so its a bit of a moot argument without actual proper figures; however it is a risk worth raising. d) Poaching increase. Many people consider farmed meat lesser than wild caught. Therefore if you generate meat interest in populations which already have smaller wild numbers then you are also risking increasing a potential poaching aspect. Even if there isn't demand from the market for poached meat; there will be poachers who will want the profits from exclusive higher price meats. Therefore again you create a risk that wild populations could be put under pressure. Honestly I think any meat interest from zoos is going to have far more luck if they pair up with rare domestic breed protection groups. This also helps conservation as it increases potential populations of more hardy stock suited to providing a luxury marketed product whilst also surviving better on conservation sites for grazing purposes. Indeed if the zoo had capacity it would provide an ideal spot to store conversation stock for when its not required on-site. Sadly I suspect that most zoos wouldn't have the space for this and would rather focus on their core of wild wildlife. I've seen a few with some rare breeds, though they were often more aimed at things like heavy horses.
I own Bison and have owned Fallow in the past. The Bison are raised on pasture for the commercial industry. I'm a "local" provider for some Bison meat in both the Nashville and Atlanta Whole foods markets. I eventually want to own hobby levels of other Exotics. But most of them aren't going to be acceptable meat animals. People that do raise exotic ungulates are for the hunting ranch industry. One of my business contacts is having a population boom of Bongo here in the Southern Appalachians. My pipe dream (never going to happen) would be to raise Mountain Nyala here in the Southern Appalachians.
Will post more later when I get time however for those opposed to the idea consider this. Is there one species you can name that is worse off due to captive production either for meat or hunting? Texas has more antelope than most of their native areas due to the fenced hunting industry. Like it or not it will keep species from going extinct and I believe that is the main goal.
Ah, your from Glacier Ridge? It would be nice if you could contribute to the gallery and news thread from that zoo, please. I believe I may be the only ZooChatter (besides you, of course), to have visited that zoo, and I am sure that others would want to know more about it.
Will see if I still have any planning on taking a trip some time this summer again so one way or another. It's about 45mins from me
