Free Contact - a dying art or an outdated practice? Your help needed please...

This post is primarily aimed at former colleagues and peers from the zoological community but I am sure may provoke a passionate response from most.

My dissitation focused on environmental enrichment of captive mammals. My final year was a blur of zoos, the unmistakeable smell of animal houses and a variety of extremely dodgy staff accommodation that I will be eternally grateful for. What does however remain vividly in my mind, is the privileged interaction I was able to have throughout (and for several years after) my time with the species I developed enrichment strategies for. Most of my study was carried out for carnivores, specifically Asiatic lions along with Sumatran and Siberian tigers. An extremely rewarding piece of research ranging from carcass feeds (first in the UK) and feeding strategy aimed to encourage natural feeding behaviours, to engineering devices that would stimulate desired manipulative behaviours in the test species. This meant many hours working closely with the big cats in order to develop the enrichment strategies that were used in the study.

I was also lucky enough to work with captive Asian elephants, elephants that were still managed using the principles  of free contact by dedicated experienced handlers. I can still remember my first day when I was introduced to the group. Nothing could have prepared me for the intense nature of working so closely with such intelligent and powerful animals, animals whose entire social structure depends on a complex hierarchy. The deep rumblings combined with the immense size and power of the animals always just inches away, extremely evident as I tried to listen to the basics of handling these animals.

I have nothing but admiration for the keepers that let me share in this process. Since my education concluded I have worked in many areas of the corporate world, but I have not yet met an environment where consistency and standards were so important. A bad day at the office in general may mean a proposal lost or a change of direction. In a hierarchical environment like this, where the rest of your group weigh several tons, a drop in standards could have far more serious consequences.

On the first day working with these animals I asked myself who was benefiting most from our interaction? I was mesmerised by the power and beauty of these creatures as we went through the different commands and techniques that meant we could inspect the elephants for any medical issues. As I learned how to bluff extensively that it was me who was in charge, it seemed like this was more than just a beneficial and convenient process to manage the collection. As we all know intelligent captive mammals have an increased chance of developing stereotypical behaviours, coping mechanisms to a sterile or unrewarding environment. Watching the way the elephants were reacting to their daily handling it became apparent to me that they benefitted greatly from their keeper interaction time.

I also studied in two circus environments with large carnivores, it seemed upon observations of behaviour and general fitness the same could potentially be said of some of the cats I was able to work with. This being said I have little empirical data that backed up my observations to a conclusive level leaving the debate extremely subjective. 

Animals in captivity is both a passionate and polarising debate. I am not aiming here to discuss the morality and ethics of captive animals, or toe the politically correct line. I would however like your help in progressing a documentary about free contact animal management in captive mammals. Whether you believe free contact benefits outweigh the inherent risks, or you believe protected contact is the way forward I would really appreciate hearing from you.

If you have in the past, or currently work with mammals of any species using free contact techniques, also if you or your park/zoo/facility has a viewpoint on this issue please email me if you could assist with the progression of this documentary [email protected]. 

Thank you

Paul