By Isidora Duran
CW: animal abuse, neglect, sexual assault
Easter saw a ratcheting up of advertising by Dublin Zoo, including the launch of the ‘Zoorassic Trail’, an immersive exhibition showcasing a host of animatronic dinosaurs — a particular attraction for the thousands of children off school for what is the zoo’s busiest time of the year. What wasn’t mentioned in their marketing campaign was the litany of animal welfare, sexual harassment and workers’ rights issues that an increasing number of former and current workers have raised. The details of which would prompt any person of conscience to boycott Dublin Zoo and raise questions about the zoo industry as a whole.
Unnatural surroundings
Dina, an Asian elephant in Dublin Zoo, is described on the zoo’s website as a ‘matriarch’, but in truth the revolving door logic of the zoo industry that is preventing Dina and other captive elephants from following their tight-knit multi-generational matriarchal family structure, by splitting up relatives and sending them to places like Cincinnati Zoo – one of the worst-rated for animal welfare in North America. Asian elephants typically travel up to 200 km per day in the wild, but Dublin Zoo only provides one hectare! As for the ‘Kaziranga Trail’ where they are kept, it is on average 15 degrees cooler than the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India.
An elephant calf born into a European zoo will, on average, live half as long as one born in its native habitat. Troubling videos of Dina displaying stereotypical stress-induced behaviours, such as head swaying, have been shared on the internet. There are also serious welfare concerns for the chimpanzees, Austin and Bossou, who have been kept out of public sight for three years and are known to have had teeth removed, toys confiscated and been given anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medications.
Toxic culture
Worryingly, while workers have raised the plight of individual animals in the zoo, they have maintained that it is the zoo itself that is not suitable, where a previous dog fighter is hired as an animal consultant, a HR company is shared with Ashtown Pound and no legitimate veterinarian exists on site. In addition to the incompatibility of animal welfare with captivity, the excessive workloads and understaffing have prevented workers from providing proper care for the animals. Many have left the job for this reason. These issues exist as part of a broader culture of abuse, including physical and image-based sexual assault, harassment and stalking – with whistleblowers stating that the zoo is not a safe place for women workers.
Dublin Zoo is an institution with deep roots in the capitalist establishment. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has continually failed to register workers’ concerns and notify the zoo in advance before performing inspections, which workers have described as a ‘cosy chat’. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020/2021, Dublin Zoo appealed for public funds, claiming that the animals were in danger of starving, and was supported by then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. It has since been confirmed that €20,000 of those funds was used for the luxury extension of the director’s home, including the installation of a hot tub and sauna. Over 30 staff were temporarily laid off during this time.
Zoos should not exist
Workers and campaigners are calling for an independent investigation into Dublin Zoo. The last government investigation, the ‘Doyle Report’ was conducted 30 years ago, and its findings were never published. Whistleblowers speaking out about the Zoo are doing so out of deep care for the wellbeing of the animals there, presumably the same care that motivated them to seek work in the first place, and what the use and abuse of animals in zoos, factory farms, circuses, bloodsports and racing is fundamentally antithetical to.
To put it simply: zoos should not exist. Animals deserve dignity and autonomy – this must go hand in hand with a working class-led radical transformation of society that ends the rule of industries that commodify animals, humans and the environment for profit.
