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Seoul Grand Park 1984-2015: A Historical Analysis of the Changing Conservation and Animal Welfare Priorities in South Korea

abstract: This project analyzes the efforts of Seoul Grand Park Zoo (the largest and most important zoo on the Korean peninsula) to develop and achieve the highest standards in conservation, education, animal welfare, and research over the last three decades. Founded primarily as an entertainment venue in 1984, the zoo has struggled to become a scientific center that adequately provides for the animals under its care and promotes the advancement and dissemination of knowledge. Drawing on interviews from zoo officials, academics, conservationists, and animal-rights activists, I explore the animal welfare management and conservation priorities of a prominent Asian institution. Although the zoo has made significant improvements in animal welfare, it remains constrained by limited resources and government indifference. These constraints have also restricted the zoo’s ambition to become a major center for conservation; it currently concentrates on a handful of projects with broad popular appeal. Based on my interviews, greater collaboration, better communication with other researchers, and more systematic sharing of data would be especially beneficial for expanding the zoo’s conservation agenda. As research and conservation become a more prominent part of the zoo’s portfolio, potential conflicts may arise with zoo’s current emphasis on the welfare of the individual animals under its care. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biology 2015

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:asu.edu/item:36488
Date January 2015
ContributorsClay, Anne Safiya (Author), Minteer, Ben (Advisor), Collins, James (Committee member), Broglio, Ronald (Committee member), Arizona State University (Publisher)
Source SetsArizona State University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeMasters Thesis
Format120 pages
Rightshttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/, All Rights Reserved

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