Zoo Animals and Modern War

This chapter explores what might be described as the cultural logistics of the wartime zoo: the organization of the zoo's symbolic and material resources to prepare for, participate in, and survive the ravages of modern warfare. Specifically, it analyzes three broad and overlapping roles thrust upon zoo animals since the emergence of modern war in the early nineteenth century. First, and perhaps most prominently, zoo animals have experienced war as captive casualties victims not only of war's widespread violence and privation but also of organized campaigns to eliminate dangerous or unproductive elements in wartime society. Second, zoo animals have been routinely held up as paragons of civic virtue patriotic citizens eager to do their bit to help the war effort. Finally, some species of zoo animals have been mustered into the ranks of the armed forces themselves, taking up positions typically occupied by domesticated animals and human military personnel. Keywords:captive casualties; modern war; patriotic citizens; soldiers; violence; zoo animals

Biology · Criminology · Domestication · Environmental ethics · Political science · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Law · Ecology

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