by Lindsay Grahaem

Created on: June 15, 2010

First, before I launch into this, I would like to say that I work for a South East Asian based wildlife rescue centre and primate rehabilitation project. I am mainly responsible for web and graphic design, but ours being a small organisation, I am hands on with other things too, photographing rescues when I'm in Asia and hand-raising those animals left orphaned due to mistreatment and abuse under human hands.

At the rescue centre, we attempt to clear up the mess left by people who interfere with nature. Many animals we rescue come from individuals, who think it's fine to take an exotic animal from the wild, often killing it's family in the process as is the case with many primates, and keep it as a pet in their backyard. They generally realise fairly quickly that this is a bad decision, once the animal reaches puberty, claws and fangs make an appearance and the aggression begins. Once fed up of their wild animal, the emotional wreck of an animal is then handed over to us in an attempt to rehabilitate and provide sanctuary.

However, many of the animals we rescue also come from zoos. The standard of zoos in South East Asia is obviously much poorer than in the US (in most, but not every case anyway), but the principal behind them remains the same - the animals are there to make people money, and the animal's welfare is secondary to the tourists or visitors pleasure.

In an ideal world, there would be no need to have animals in captivity. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world. I definitely believe that some animals actually need to be in captivity, for example, those so abused and traumatised thanks to their human contact that they can no longer function in the wild, and have no hope of reintroduction to their natural habitat.

However, I simply do not believe, after working in the wildlife conservation industry and seeing the effects of captivity on animals - those effects which most tourists are blind to by the way - that there is any need for an institution to hold animals, bring and breed animals into that environment and charge the public admission to see them. There is no need.

I've been to many zoos in my time and whilst working for the wildlife organisation, and I remember my joy in seeing giraffes, tigers and other exotic wild animals up close and personal (well, through bars or from the back of a car!).

I am not denying that the pleasure of seeing such magnificent animals exists, because it does, and I fully recognise that feeling. I still

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