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The burdens of fame
Germany's celebrity polar bear Knut has triggered a new controversy by fishing out 10 live carp from his moat and killing them in front of visitors. Critics say Berlin Zoo should not have put live fish inside Knut's enclosure...The Frankfurter Allgemeine news website reports that Knut "senselessly murdered the carp", fishing them out, playing with them and then leaving the remains.
And it seems that the Green Party has complained. Um....HE'S A POLAR BEAR!
Addendum: The story is here. You can survey the German-language press here. The FAZ article is here. While I can imagine valid criticisms of zoos, this is not one of them. It also should be noted that Knut's normal diet does not consist of tofu.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on April 8, 2008 at 08:01 PM in Current Affairs | Permalink
Comments
From the snippet you quoted it doesn't sound like Knut is eating those carp.
So, to figure out what's really at issue, let's switch up the example a bit:
Knut fishes live calves out of his moat and kills them without eating them, leaving the remains behind.
In this example it seems intuitive that the problem is that the zoo is putting a non-dietary, victim animal in proximity to Knut and permitting him to kill them. That the animal in this case is a calf does not play a role in determining whether or not the actions of the zoo administrators is wrong (and I don't think anyone worth listening to would complain that Knut is somehow morally reprehinsible for killing the carp or calves). It's the bare fact that the zoo administrators are treating some animals as toys and others as draws that gives rise to the criticism.
Carp, calf, puppy, whatever. Don't send it through the polar bear enclosure if it's not SUPPOSED to be killed by the polar bear. If they are supposed to be killed, then we begin to question why they are supposed to be killed. If there is no dietary reason then we REALLY begin to question why they are supposed to be killed.
I think that this sounds like a very valid criticism of the zoo.
But that's because I don't think a zoo ought to be cavalier about which animals in their care live and die. Which it seems they are in the case of carp.
Who cares about carp? Well, no one, I'd imagine. But I care about stupid death in general and this seems to be stupid and pointless, so saving the carp falls under a more general "don't permit stupid and pointless death" principle that maybe zoos should follow.
Posted by: Backpacking Dad at Apr 8, 2008 9:29:57 PM
If the cost of the Carp is less than the net gain in admissions from people wanting to see Knut torture and kill the poor fish, then the zoo should keep restocking the carp. If not, as in the case where Knut's antics yield a net drop in revenue, the restocking should cease. Just let the market take care of it.
Posted by: dzot at Apr 8, 2008 9:39:45 PM
It says in the article that the zoo hoped the carp would clean the water (by murdering the algae, presumably).
Even if Knut didn't eat them, do you think the zoo would put them out in the trash?
The only sensible objection I can see to this is that people are squeamish, and wish to remain ignorant about anything but the cute fur. Presumably they should also keep the male and female animals separate during public viewing hours...
Posted by: improbable at Apr 8, 2008 9:44:37 PM
Hmmm...one of my favorite political philosophers once wrote:
"We should take nature policing seriously, and in the process eliminate the subsidies that we are currently offering to nature's carnivores."
Alex
Posted by: Alex Tabarrok at Apr 8, 2008 9:58:21 PM
They're only fish! And overall we are clearly taxing polar bears, not subsidizing them. I don't see why giving him the carp to kill for fun is any worse than...say...feeding him...
Posted by: Tyler Cowen at Apr 8, 2008 10:34:39 PM
Kinda reminded me of this story.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8HKETVO0&show_article=1
Posted by: shecky at Apr 8, 2008 10:43:25 PM
Obviously this is America's fault (and by extension capitalism's in general).
Coca Cola in their polar bear commercials portrays super-efficiently hunting carnivores as seal-hugging cuddly pets. No wonder Germans are confused about Knut's behaviour.
Coca Cola did the same to St. Nikolaus. A virtuous bishop from Asia minor ends up dressed up silly and overweight like a retiree from Florida. How are Germans ever to understand the spirit of Xmas?
Posted by: kai* at Apr 8, 2008 11:26:00 PM
Maybe they can just leave the rotting fish sitting where the bear leaves them so that worms, bugs & bacteria can eat them up. The circle of life will be completed, right there in the viewing pen, and we can all hug each other & go home.
Posted by: kebko at Apr 9, 2008 12:49:29 AM
*sigh* There has already been concern about Knut being too "human" after being hand-reared, and addicted to the crowds. Learning how to hunt (even if he doesn't finish the job yet) is part of growing up polar bear. He is still an adolescent and thus still learning.
Posted by: dug at Apr 9, 2008 1:55:50 AM
Not to mention Knut is a white bear. Whitey destroys everything he touches.
;)
Posted by: Gil at Apr 9, 2008 2:18:49 AM
Kai, here in Holland we still have the old bishop, who lives in Madrid, takes his traditional steam ship to the Netherlands every year for his birthday, and is accompanied by dozens of black helpers ( who, of course, used to be his merry slaves).
Posted by: greatzamfir at Apr 9, 2008 4:04:37 AM
What I want to know is who is paying the carps' medical bills. Are these covered under the national health care system? Do the fish have a deductible to pay when receiving surgical services from said polar bear? Are these fish vegetarian?
Posted by: Alan Brown at Apr 9, 2008 4:12:14 AM
Yes! Let us mock the silly Germans!
Posted by: Steve at Apr 9, 2008 4:31:07 AM
Tyler, I think you might have missed that the tone of the FAZ article, and the other articles, is tounge-in-cheek. This is a puff piece, like the recent articles in the U.S. about the mom who complained that silly straws she bought at Wal-Mart looked like penises.
Only a few strange people are really upset about this. It's not the green party that complained, it's one green politician, and she actually does have a minor point: Germany has a law against feeding animals live prey, and even if you regard the law as dumb, an institution such as a zoo should have plenty of experience complying with it.
What I found funniest in the FAZ article was not the "Knut hat sie sinnlos ermordet" phrase. It was the remark that the carp "für Ordnung sorgen sollte." Those fish were in that moat to maintain order, dammit, and Ordnung muss sein!
Posted by: David Wright at Apr 9, 2008 5:10:26 AM
Steve,
given that I'm one myself, I suppose I'm allowed to mock those silly Germans.
As made fun of in the FAZ piece, the real issue here is not that the zoo authorities may have done something wrong (I tend to think that there are bigger animal rights issues in this country), it is that Knut is supposed to be cute, not cruel. When Knut first hit the headlines, Germans' average IQ went down by about ten points instantaneously. It seems we haven't recovered yet.
Posted by: LemmusLemmus at Apr 9, 2008 6:13:15 AM
Blaming capitalism for this is absurd.
It's like blaming baseball if a street thug bashes someone over the head with a baseball bat.
Posted by: Bill Stepp at Apr 9, 2008 6:50:47 AM
Y’all are clearly missing the point here…it’s George Bush’s fault! If Democrats inhabited the White House Polar Bears and Carp would live in harmony just like the Shia and Sunni would in Iran and Iraq.
A Carp is a Rat is a Dog is a Boy.
Posted by: Dave Richardson at Apr 9, 2008 8:23:51 AM
dzot, I can't tell if you are serious or not. Why not have monkey's fight tigers? Surely increase in gate receipts will be more than enough to buy another monkey.
Posted by: Steve R at Apr 9, 2008 8:30:09 AM
The left should make lemonade here, if you ask me.
"See, children? This is life without a safety net."
Posted by: JasonL at Apr 9, 2008 9:29:04 AM
Steve R., having monkeys fight tigers would be dangerous. Can you imagine the accelerated rate of evolution the monkeys would have to achieve to adapt and survive? And us without Charleton Heston to protect us anymore. Scary.
Posted by: dzot at Apr 9, 2008 9:52:41 AM
Sounds like Knut was bored.
Posted by: JTW at Apr 9, 2008 10:17:52 AM
It would seem that the difference between hunting for sport vs hunting for sustenance is a near impossible concept to grasp for certain kinds of people.
Posted by: meter at Apr 9, 2008 11:42:55 AM
Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like something's been lost in translation. I think David Wright's point should be considered.
Posted by: shecky at Apr 9, 2008 12:12:27 PM
Polar bears are intelligent carnivores that regularly go insane in captivity because of the lack of stimulation. Typically, bears in captivity will exhibit repetitive behavior, repeating the exact same patter of motions 100-200 times in row. Putting fish or prey in their enclosure provides them with stimulation that engages them and keeps their minds healthy. Without this simulation Knut WILL go insane!
Posted by: mharb at Apr 9, 2008 7:55:40 PM
does no one own a cat? predators kill for pleasure all the time. it's perfectly natural to play with your food when you're not hungry
Posted by: wthr at Apr 10, 2008 2:23:58 AM
Why on earth are so many people upset about nature taking it's course? Sure, it's disturbing to see live animals get killed, particularly for people who don't connect the steak they eat with the cow they see, but just because you don't like it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. No one would care if the carp were there for him to eat during non-visiting hours, it's the fact that they had to exposed to the harsh realities of life that they object too.
Silly humans.
Posted by: Kate at Apr 13, 2008 3:20:47 PM
The next time you play with your dog or cat, watch how it bats, bites or claws its toy. Just as a police officer spends time at the shooting range to maintain skills with a firearm, a predator practices catching, killing and tearing apart live prey. Your pet at play is honing its hunting skills. Cruelty is a human concept that should not be applied to other species.
Posted by: Sharon at Apr 13, 2008 4:13:15 PM
