translated from Spanish: The truths are uncomfortable and we prefer not to hear them

Lord Director: for example, pro-life people do not tolerate the abortion debate; the homophobic will not tolerate discussions about gay marriage; the male chauvinists don’t approve equal pay and rights for women and the animal would not be able to tolerate the zoos to save more lives than they. This triggers outbursts, offenses and, above all, poor reading comprehension. The debate on “zoos save more life than the animal rights” is an inconvenient truth for the latter. Already the response to my first missive letters demanding information (and that paradoxically printed sources these replies), will give some lights.
According to the Subdere (Undersecretary of Regional development, 2018) over 255 thousand dogs and 88 there are thousand cats without an apparent owner and that they roam to rural areas. These are not operated sectors, in herds, reaching, for example, a likelihood of attack and kill Pudú (Pudu puda) 85% and 50%, respectively (see Silva-rodriguez & Sieving 2012). In addition, the replacement of native forest encourages that behavior of native carnivores of Chile as the grey Fox, the culpeo and yaw are affected by the presence of dogs (Moreira-Arce et to the. 2015). Others, such as long-tailed mouse (Oligorizomys longicaudata), known to be vector of the Hanta virus, in some cases, increasing its prevalence in areas where there is less biodiversity (Suzan et al. 2008, 2009). Dogs not only attack pudúes it native carnivores. Every Carnivore is long-tailed voles controller.
Dr. Maria Inés Barría successfully developed a vaccine against Hanta (Garrido et al. 2018) virus, which has not been able to develop. The vaccine costs individually around the thousand dollars or 655.800 Chilean pesos (the American currency at today’s value). 2017 there were 81 cases (with an average of 30% of the patient’s death) of nationwide hanta virus, implying (theoretically) for each case, a total of 52.119.800 pesos disbursement. According to recent literature, foxes eat long-tailed voles (Zuñiga et al. 2018). But the dogs attack foxes. Those who survive are rescued by individuals or the SAG and are referred to the Zoo or rescue centers. How many equal service of pest control of Fox, which has a direct human impact to the Hanta virus vector control? how much lost Chile in the public health system for each person treated of hanta virus or who dies? How many foxes are attacked by dogs, which, thanks to the non-inclusion of them in the Act of hunting product of pressure from animal rights groups, cannot be controlled? Indirectly, the Zoo to retrieve an only individual of Fox and this is reinsert in their environment, would amount per day (assuming that you eat a mouse daily) to 655.800 pesos only by concept of Hanta virus. Dogs kill quiques, guinas, pumas… how much is worth the control of vectors of each species, each individual service? Each animal that is damaged by dogs, which are irresponsibly abandoned by their owners, cause economic losses to the country only by concept of health. The Zoo reduces that loss. Each reinserted animal has an intrinsic value not re-sizable at first instance. How many dogs does manage to be adopted in Chile daily or monthly? I don’t know, because I turned the internet looking for annual, monthly, or daily data of adoption. I think that it is time to update that information, because it does not exist with the keywords you use. There is no failure.
This brief example, without gross or systematic analysis, reveals that whenever an eaglet, an OWL, a Fox or a quique is recovering at the National Zoo, this not only rescues the life of the animal, but indirectly saved people. Each Fox or living Eagle is used by an artist to produce a painting or a photographer to reflect their beauty. This generates income for people. Each quique or OWL saved by Zoo promotes the control of introduced pests such as Hare or city rats, which generated economic losses in the use of poison or other deterrent methods. Each rufo lemur, each red panda, each Royal Bengal tiger that rehabilitates in their respective countries not fulfill functions that ignore the wildlife? How much is the equivalent of the each of these animals to human well-being? Maybe a zoo in a place that is not of animal origin can not reinsert an individual only by ignorance?
Finally, Mr racing blamed in part science of ethnocide of thousands of defenseless beings. The wildlife are also guilty in part. Whenever Mr racing or an animal pressed a forest (if you do) it crushes hundreds of springtails, important in the decomposition of leaf litter and the renewal of forests. Whenever an animal goes on auto to a natural (or even not so natural) area runs to hundreds of native bees, beetles, butterflies, all important engineers ecosystem every day give you eat to pollinate the fruit consumed Garibaldi et to the. 2013). whenever using a cell phone or a computer, is energy which comes from sacrifice zones or in thermal power stations where fish, snails, birds, crustaceans and thousands of other creatures that apparently are not within the competence of Mr racing, they disappear for without that we can meet them. Whenever the animalism is opposed to lethal control of feral dogs, are passive accomplices in the deaths of hundreds carnivores native and indirectly, of the persons concerned and which could benefit from such service, which is free and quality. Scientists not them are finding fault not be aware of biodiversity and because ignore it.
Do not confuse us, I admire who they fight for abandoned cats and dogs, but they are not trained to understand the current reality of the world.
In all Zoo dedicated to conservation work are rescue animals that lend a role to life in general, therefore, zoos save more lives than the wildlife. That is a fact that guarantees by numbers.
Rodrigo M. Barahona-Segovia
Dr. c in science veterinary and Silvoagropecuarian
University of Chile

Original source in Spanish