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  3. Talking of campaigns by our charity to phase out the keeping of animals in captivity, Dartmoor Zoo owner Ben Mee says, "Actually

Talking of campaigns by our charity to phase out the keeping of animals in captivity, Dartmoor Zoo owner Ben Mee says, "Actually

admin2012-05-28  96
问题     Talking of campaigns by our charity to phase out the keeping of animals in captivity, Dartmoor Zoo owner Ben Mee says, "Actually, I can see their point; I don’t particularly like looking at animals behind wire either." He then adds the usual caveat (说明): "But, as a zoo director, I understand that it is absolutely essential that we keep them there."
    Are zoos really essential? Ben talks about them "protecting as many endangered species as possible". Yet of the 51 mammal and bird species at his zoo only seven are classed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
    Zoos claim to be safer places for animals than their natural habitats. Mee questions whether it is "fair" to reintroduce a jaguar (美洲豹) to Central America, because of not only the dwindling (逐渐减少的) rainforest but also the impact "on the people who live and farm there". This view is highly dangerous for conservation, and many field scientists consider captive breeding to give a false impression that species are safe and that natural habitats don’t need protecting.
    Despite its claims, Dartmoor Zoo itself has been responsible for killing animals — deer, as a result of "overpopulation", and a wolf who was excluded by the pack, for example. More dangerous is the line pushed by international zoo bodies that hybrid animals should be killed — such as three tiger cubs at a German zoo recently — because they use resources that could be spent on purebred animals. The Mee family bought the zoo without any prior experience, so not surprisingly Ben found it "harder than I thought" — so hard that its operating company is closed despite a TV deal and a planned Hollywood film. Let’s hope they haven’t started a trend for wealthy people with no experience to buy zoos in trouble — Anna Ryder Richardson followed in their footsteps by getting a TV series based on her buying a zoo in Wales.
    Mee talks about the alleged good work of members of the zoo-trade body, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria (Biaza). Twice in the past year, we have exposed the practices of member zoos. One had a tiger-breeding programme with the owner of the country’s most controversial animal circus. The other was locking lions inside for up to 18 hours a day. Biaza revoked membership of the zoo connected to a circus but not the one keeping lions confined in a building that, according to government inspectors, had "no visible environmental enrichment" and "clear signs of substantial fighting". So how can Mee say we have "some of the highest standards of farming anywhere in the world"?
    We need to urgently recognise that conservation means the protection and restoration of natural habitats, not keeping animals in cages. If we phase out zoos, and end captive breeding, resources can be used to protect habitats for the benefit of all fauna and flora (动植物).
What’s the opinion of international zoo bodies on captive animals?
选项 A、Zoos should not keep animals which are unpopular among visitors.
B、Cross-bred animals should be killed for the sake of pure-bred ones.
C、It is unreasonable to kill animals even if there are too many of them.
D、Wealthy people’s buying and running zoos help animals survive better.
答案B
解析 根据题干中的international zoo bodies将本题出处定位到第四段第二句。该句提到，更为险恶的被国际动物园机构推行的看法是杂交动物应该被杀死……因为它们占用了本来可以使用在纯种动物身上的资源。由此可知，国际动物园机构认为为了给纯种动物留出资源，杂交动物应该被杀死，故答案为[B]。[A]和[C]都是针对第四段首句提到的达特穆尔动物园的做法——“因为‘群体过剩’杀死鹿，杀死一只被自己的狼群所排斥的狼”设的干扰项，不是国际动物园机构的普遍做法，故排除。[D]是针对wealthy people…to buy zoos in trouble设的干扰项，而不是国际动物园机构的观点。
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