Pacific research and zoo dilemmas: Marsden success

Two projects have won $1,230,000 for the University’s Faculty of Arts in the latest Marsden round.

One proposes to chart the rise, use and future of Pacific research methodologies, and the other is a study of how decisions are made about zoo animals deemed unnecessary for breeding or exhibition.

‘Weaving connections: mapping histories and futures of Pacific Research Methodologies’, led by Pacific historians Dr Marcia Leenen-Young and Associate Professor Lisa Uperesa (now at UCLA), has been awarded a standard grant of $870,000.

‘The surplus animal problem: Understanding the issues for zoos in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally’, led by Dr Ally Palmer, who will be a senior research fellow in the School of Social Sciences, has won a fast-start grant of $360,000.

Over recent decades, Pacific scholars have developed a way of approaching academic research that challenges traditional Western methods, called Pacific Research Methodologies (PRM), which are culturally appropriate and grounded in Pacific knowledge systems, says Dr Leenen-Young.

“As these methodologies are increasingly applied to international and overseas projects, we feel a better understanding of their history and evolution is needed.”

Associate Professor Uperesa says the Marsden project will analyse how these methods have grown, how they are used today, and what their future potential is.

“When we talk about Pacific-led research, we’re talking about using the tools developed at universities and in academia to do work that helps our communities. That’s the gap that many of our colleagues are working into; taking what they’ve learned to work more effectively within, and to empower, our communities.”

Dr Leenen-Young says knowing what has shaped these ways of doing things will offer greater insights into research innovations and interventions by Pacific peoples, and how they are connected to other research approaches, including those by Māori and other international Indigenous communities.

The research team is excited by the possibilities this grant gives them to both contribute to, and map, a growing area of Pacific scholarship, she says.

“It will allow us to build on the important legacy of Pacific research methodologies, understand current use and imagine future possibilities. As a team, we’re all excited by the potential this project has and are eager to begin the work.”

Associate Professor Dr Marama Muru-Lanning and Dr Sereana Naepi from the University of Auckland, and Assistant Professor Lana Lopesi at the University of Oregon are associate investigators on the study, and Associate Professor Krushil Watene at the University of Auckland is an adviser.

The problem of what to do with ‘surplus’ zoo animals,  deemed unnecessary for breeding or exhibition, and which zoos lack space to house, has no easy solution, says Dr Ally Palmer, a future senior research fellow in Social Sciences.

“Culling can be controversial, contraception prevents the welfare-enhancing experience of caring for offspring, and moving animals to off-exhibit enclosures or to another institution risks poor housing and diminished welfare. But one approach, praised even by zoos’ critics, is release into the wild.”

She says that while rare globally, this is common among New Zealand zoos for managing native animal surplus.

“However, release brings its own challenges, such as welfare risks if animals are under-prepared, a lack of release sites, and disruption to resident wildlife populations. Even measures to prevent surplus, such as contraception, deprive animals of the welfare-enhancing experience of caring for offspring.”

Dr Palmer’s study represents a first-ever attempt to understand in detail how difficult decisions about zoo surplus are made, why approaches vary, and how decisions have changed over time, and, while mostly focusing on New Zealand, will also include zoos in Europe and North America.

“The goal will be revealing challenges, even with the ‘best’ approach of release, making this New Zealand-based study of global interest,” she says.

Dr Palmer’s methods will involve international interviews and historical research which will put New Zealand practices into context and highlight cross-cultural variation.

She’s hoping the study will make a novel contribution to environmental social science and humanities, and to zoo policy and practice more specifically.

“I’m extremely excited that I’ll have the chance to continue my research career here in New Zealand. I’ve been dreaming of doing this project since around 2016, and it’s amazing to finally get it off the ground; it’s an important topic, not just for zoos, but also for our understanding of human-animal relationships in general.”