London Zoo has recently restarted their adult-only, late night parties. This has been concerning to many people as it means drunk guests “interfering with the animals” and “attempting to enter their enclosures”. Not only is there alcohol being served, but there is loud and blaring music that is played at these parties. The nights are to be held on Friday evenings from June to July, and the zoo claims it will allow adults to “embrace their youthful sense of awe and wonder”. The reason why this has sparked so much controversy is because of similar events that the zoo hosted back in 2015. These events resulted in distasteful events such as when, according to The Guardian, a man poured beer over a tiger before being thrown out by staff. Additionally, a man was seen stripping and attempting to enter the penguin pool before being stopped by staff.
These parties can have a multitude of negative effects towards the zoo animals, both emotionally and physically. To begin, the number of visitors and the loud music causes the animals stress. For example, regular house cats have extremely sensitive hearing of 45–64,000Hz—more than one octave higher than what humans can hear. Loud noises such as fireworks, thunder, and loud music can cause hearing damage and stress. The damage is aimed at the feline cochlea—the inner ear where sound is processed—and is quickly damaged by exposure to sound ranging from 1.0 to 16.0 kHz, which is where certain music lies. The stress is due to the fact that it is unexpected and throws them off, creating fear and shock.
Another significant issue is the alcohol that is being served at these parties. As witnesses have stated in the past, people under the influence of alcohol have tried to interfere with the zoo animals by climbing in their enclosures or coming into direct contact with them. London Zoo knows this, yet chooses to ignore it, keeping visitors and money at the front of their decisions. Already, tens of thousands of people have signed the petition to get rid of the parties, however, it may not be necessary to completely discard the idea. If London Zoo could decide to lower their music and refuse the selling of alcohol, the stress levels of the animals would be reduced, allowing both the visitors and animals to be satisfied.