| 1 | | | James Kirkwood is senior vet" at London Zoo's unique hospital for animals. The |
| | | 23 members of staff, including eight vets, care for thousands of animals from London Zoo |
| | | as well as patients brought in by other zoos or private owners. With 600 different animals |
| | | at London Zoo alone, the variety of work is enormous - and the hospital is proof that |
| 5 | | responsible zoos are no longer there just to put animals on show. |
| 2 | | | London Zoo's first full-time vet was appointed in 1950. 'Since then attitudes to |
| | | animals, especially those in zoos, have changed enormously,' says James. 'People didn't |
| | | think about it then that you can't just replace animals that died with more animals from |
| | | the wild. But nowadays almost all our animals are born in the zoo. And some kinds of |
| 10 | | animals have disappeared in the wild, so those here cannot be replaced.' |
| 3 | | | The zoo's vets see about 300 animals a week, ranging from enormous four-ton |
| | | elephants to tiny birds. The larger animals aren't necessarily the most difficult to handle, |
| | | as James explains: 'We examine the elephants every week and make them lie down for full |
| | | foot inspections, so they're used to us and more co-operative when they're really ill.' |
| 4 | 15 | | 'But in different ways almost all the animals can be very dangerous. You can be tom |
| | | to pieces by a tiger or killed by a scratch from a mouse. There are very few accidents, |
| | | though. The important thing is that we never take any animal on trust,' says James. |
| 5 | | | Staff must also be especially careful when handling powerful drugs, like the |
| | | 'fantastic stuff for knocking out elephants'. They must be on guard in case the darts used |
| 20 | | to put some animals to sleep bounce back when they shoot them - or in case great apes |
| | | simply pull them out and throw them back. |
| 6 | | | Though it would be heart-warming to believe, James is doubtful whether sick |
| | | animals know when you're trying to help them. 'Well, maybe the monkeys do. They form |
| | | very close, trusting relationships with their keepers,' he says. |
| 7 | 25 | | The animals in London Zoo are lucky enough to be looked after. But what happens |
| | | to wounded animals in the wild? James explains that, even if their injuries are not deadly, |
| | | they may die because it is difficult for them to find food and protect themselves from their |
| | | natural enemies. This, coupled with an increasing number of deaths through hunting and |
| | | loss of natural places to live, means that zoo animals are now likely to live longer than wild |
| 30 | | ones. |
| 8 | | | Even so, does James really think zoos are suitable places for larger animals? He |
| | | agrees that some animals which are used to a large territory are difficult to keep - that's |
| | | why London Zoo hasn't had any bears since 1985. But he points out that walking up and |
| | | down their cages all the time is quite common among animals of prey and not, as zoo |
| 35 | | critics claim, proof that animals are stressed. |
| 9 | | | Besides treating animals, the staff also carry out important research. They're |
| | | involved in teaching programmes and handle daily questions about wildlife from the |
| | | public and from vets in general practice. They may weIl be the only people who can help if |
| | | you really don't know what to do about some stranded seals or sick swans. |
| 10 | 40 | | It's the kind of work that shows just how the closure which is now threatening |
| | | London Zoo and its hospital would not only harm the animals in the zoo itself, but would |
| | | also have a far-reaching effect on animal welfare worldwide. |
| | | |
| | | from 'Woman', July 1,1991 |
