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ZOOCHOSIS: Psychosis of Animals in Zoos

Updated: Jul 6, 2022

By Anupam Verma

"After more than a century since his death, there is still a lack of consciousness regarding the abysmal mental health conditions of animals who are kept in captivity. A zoo is supposed to be an epitome of wildlife that gives a sneak peek into the lives of animals in nature, but, in reality, it’s just a sham."
 

The article focuses on the mental health aspect of animal rights. The discussions are centred around ZOOCHOSIS, a mental health issue that is mostly developed in animals that are kept in captivity, like in zoos.


 

ZOOCHOSIS: PSYCHOSIS OF ANIMALS IN ZOOS

Most people have heard of "Jumbo", the elephant, probably the most famous circus animal in the whole world till now. He was so famous that even personalities like Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill rode on his back. But not many people know about his mental suffering. Her mother was shot before her eyes in an attempt to capture him from the wild. When he grew older, he showed signs of anxiety and used to harm himself in a rage. His death, like his life, was tragic too. He died after being crushed by a train at the age of 25, which is quite early for an elephant whose life span ranges from 50-70 years. After more than a century since his death, there is still a lack of consciousness regarding the abysmal mental health conditions of animals who are kept in captivity. A zoo is supposed to be an epitome of wildlife that gives a sneak peek into the lives of animals in nature, but, in reality, it’s just a sham. Animals destined to live their lives in vast swathes of wilderness are robbed of their rights and forcefully kept in cells the size of which is, most of the time, not enough even for humans to live in the name of Conservation, Education and Research At present, when the cruelty against animals because of advertent or inadvertent anthropogenic activities is at an all-time high, it becomes pertinent to talk about animal rights of zoo animals from the vantage point of mental health.

 

WHAT IS ZOOCHOSIS?

Zoochosis is the term which is used to explain the abnormal behaviour of animals in zoos resulting from mental trauma. It was coined by Bill Travers, co-founder of the Born Free Foundation, an international animal rights organisation, in order to explain the behavioural disorder in captive animals. It is an amalgamation of two words, "zoo" and "psychosis". Psychosis is a kind of mental disorder in humans in which they lose a sense of touch with reality and may experience hallucinations, unusual behaviour, agitation, etc. Similarly, zoochosis is about certain abnormal behaviours or actions of an animal that it performs repetitively for a certain time period, and such actions are termed "Stereotypic Behaviour", certain examples of which are self-harm, running furiously, banging walls, and biting bars.[1]

To understand this phenomenon better, one needs to look at the study regarding abnormal behaviour of captive, zoo-living chimpanzees published in PLOS ONE journal. In 2011, a group of scientists studied the behavioural patterns of 40 zoo-bound chimpanzees from six different zoos in the USA and UK. Captive chimps exhibited certain atypical behaviours like self-harm, excessive rocking (to move back and forth or side-to-side), eating faeces, etc., which were not documented in chimps who live in the wild.[2]

Now, having discussed what exactly zoochosis is, one may ask, what causes zoochosis in captive animals? The main reason for zoochosis is captivity. In the wilderness, animals mostly roam around in packs with which they have strong emotional connections, but in a zoo, more often than not, animals are kept in isolation. Furthermore, the cells in which they are kept are way smaller than their natural habitat. For example, a polar bear’s enclosure in a typical zoo is just one-millionth the size of its natural home in the Arctic, which can range up to 31,000 miles.[3] The restricted area of enclosures and lack of natural interaction with their own kind make them lonely and thus triggers repetitive stereotypic behaviour.

It is not always the case that animals suffer from zoochosis only because of captivity; past traumatic experiences, cruelty by zookeepers or visitors, and lack of proper diet coupled with captivity may enhance the chances of the development of zoochosis in an animal. In 1979, Misha, a polar bear, was brought to Bristol Zoo in the US after ten years of enslavement at a circus. She used to continuously abrase her paws until she bled and pace four steps back and four steps forth despite having a large enclosure because she was used to living in an old, congested circus wagon.[4] The local people protested regarding her captivity when they witnessed her heart-wrenching stereotypic behaviour, which prompted the authorities to improve her living conditions. But she never fully recovered from her trauma.

 

SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS OF ANIMALS HELD IN ZOOS

The solution to all this mental and physical agony that animals suffer in zoos is to simply do away with the concept of zoos. Who are we to capture them from the wild, sometimes by killing off their parents? Who are we to rob them of their rights to life, liberty, and movement? Who are we to place them in an enclosure for life just for our amusement? The best way for ordinary people to learn about wild animals is by visiting the wild itself and observing them in their natural habitat without being invasive, i.e., a Jungle Safari. There is just no need for zoos to exist, not even for the conservation of animals. The tiger population in India has increased by more than 100 per cent, from 1,411 in 2006 to 2,967 in 2018.[5] Have zoos played any role in that? Absolutely not. This rapid growth in the tiger population was because of the implementation of conservation efforts in the wild itself, like tracking their movement through M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers-Intensive Protection and Ecological Status), strengthening STPF (Special Tiger Protection Force) to counter poachers, etc., and not by just throwing all the remaining tigers in cells.

But reality needs to be accepted. The battle for their eradication will be long, and there need to be consistent and persistent efforts toward achieving that. Until that happens, there needs to be a complete overhaul in the way zoos work so that, for the time being, they are in existence, they actually strive towards contributing to the betterment of wild animals rather than just being a money-making establishment. Rudimentary steps that need to be undertaken immediately are as follows:

  • Zoo regulating authorities across the world should be strengthened so that they can take quick action against zoos not complying with their guidelines. For example, CZA (Central Zoo Authority), the body responsible for overseeing zoos in India, mandates, inter alia, adequate living space for animals, regular health checkups, clean and hygienic enclosures, and properly trained staff etc.[6] Despite that, an investigation conducted by PETA India in 30 Indian zoos, revealed that there was not even a single zoo among the 30 zoos that had proper housing and sanitation facilities. Moreover, some animals were chained and eating rotten foods and junk.[7] Still, no proper action was taken by the authorities against these zoos.

  • Social animals should be kept in groups or at the very least in pairs. Not having a partner or group kicks in loneliness, which affects mental health and may lead to zoochosis. In 2020, labelled as the world’s loneliest elephant after the death of her partner, Kaavan was transferred from a Pakistani zoo to a Cambodian zoo that housed other elephants to give him company.[8] More animals like Kaavan should be identified and requisite steps should be taken for them.

 

CONCLUSION

In an era where the mental health of humans is attracting much-needed though delayed attention and discourse, the mental health of animals should not be neglected. They don’t have any access to psychiatrists as we do. All they have is us to enforce their animal rights. In order to enforce that right, the first and foremost priority is to do away with “animal jails,” called zoos, that incarcerate without conviction. Keeping wild, non-domesticable animals in captivity drastically affects their physical and mental well-being because their lives are diametrically opposite to those of their counterparts who live in wildlife. But for the time being, oversight should be increased at zoos all over the world. It should always be remembered what Louis J. Camuti, the first veterinarian in the United States to give his entire life for the welfare of cats, said. "Never believe that animals suffer less than humans. Pain is the same for them that it is for us. Even worse, because they cannot help themselves".

 

[1] BORN FREE, https://www.bornfree.org.uk/zoochosis (last visited May 15, 2022). [2] Lucy P. Birkett, Nicholas E., How Abnormal Is the Behaviour of Captive, Zoo-Living Chimpanzees?, PLOS ONE JOURNAL (June 16, 2011), https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0020101. [3] Mark Derr, Zoos Are Too Small for Some Species, Biologists Report, The New York Times (Oct 1, 2003), https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/01/science/zoos-are-too-small-for-some-species-biologists-report.html. [4] Andrew Flack, 'In Sight, Insane': Animal Agency, Captivity and the Frozen Wilderness in the Late-Twentieth Century, 22 Environment and History, 629-652 (2016), https://www.jstor.org/stable/26401687. [5] Vivek Deshpande, Explained: Why the tiger population in India is increasing, The Indian Express (July 30, 2019, 7.02 PM), https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-tiger-numbers-are-increasing-in-india/. [6] Central Zoo Authority, Guidelines for Establishment & Scientific Management of Zoos in India (2008), https://cza.nic.in/uploads/documents/guidelines/english/G-1.pdf. [7] Peta India, India’s Zoos: A Grim Report, https://www.petaindia.com/issues/animals-in-entertainment/indias-zoos/ (last visited May 19, 2022, 10.32 AM). [8] Sopheng Cheang, ‘World’s Loneliest Elephant’ Arrives Safely in Cambodia, The Diplomat (Dec. 1, 2020), https://thediplomat.com/2020/12/worlds-loneliest-elephant-arrives-safely-in-cambodia/.

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