CONFLICTS of interest

For those who currently work for and volunteer at Manila Zoo, however, shutting down Manila Zoo is not an option. Zoo Crew Philippines Vice President Jerry Young views the zoo as a “refuge for unwanted animals,” according to a 2018 online news article by Christia Marie Ramos published by Philippine Daily Inquirer, and fears that the zoo’s closure will submit the zoo’s current inhabitants to homelessness. Young has been a volunteer at the zoo for the past five years, working with 43 other members of the zoo’s official volunteer organization to improve and maintain Manila Zoo. In an interview with Animal Scene, Young said, “It is my hope that the Filipino people will see Manila Zoo as a place for conservation and preservation of species and center for education and not merely an amusement park.” In a statement to Animal Scene, however, former Zoo Crew Philippines volunteer Pat Sevilla questioned several aspects of the zoo, such as the use of tiger cubs as props for pictures, the presence of cages at the zoo for the staff’s own animals, and the purpose of the zoo’s tiger breeding program.

What Young’s and Sevilla’s statements had in common was a shared hope that the Manila Zoo remain a center for conservation. “I do wish Zoo Crew can continue their efforts in rehabilitating Manila Zoo by sticking to being a center for rescued and confiscated wildlife, and a home for native plants,” Sevilla said.