Zookeeping and its harmful effects to women

Emerging and endemic zoonotic diseases pose a threat not only to the
health of animals and humans but also to global health security. An
estimated 60% of known infectious diseases and up to 75% of new or
emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin (1,2). Globally,
infectious diseases account for 15.8% of all deaths and 43.7% of deaths
in low-resource countries (3,4). It is estimated that zoonoses are
responsible for 2.5 billion cases of human illness and 2.7 million human
deaths worldwide each year (5). Emerging zoonoses are responsible for
some of the most high profile and devastating epidemics (6–8); however,
endemic zoonoses (9,10) may actually pose a more insidious and chronic
threat to both human and animal health. As one comparison, the 2014
Ebola epidemic was responsible for 11,316 deaths and $2.2 billion in
economic losses (11), whereas each year rabies accounts for ≈59,000
human deaths and roughly $8.6 billion in economic losses worldwide
(12). The global impacts of emerging and endemic zoonoses on both
human and animal populations make fostering collaboration between
human and animal health sectors using a multisectoral, One Health
approach a critical step toward improving animal and human health.

Early detection of zoonotic pathogens through enhanced laboratory

capacity and surveillance at the animal–human interface is a crucial step
toward controlling and preventing zoonoses (13–20) and a core capacity
for implementation of the World Health Organization International
Health Regulations 2005 (IHR 2005) and the Global Health Security
Agenda (GHSA; https://www.ghsagenda.org/) (21). Rapidly detecting,
responding to, and controlling public health emergencies at their source,
including those caused by outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, is essential for
g
 64.8% of zoo keepers are women
and 35.2% of zoo keepers are men.

More women finding careers in zoos

Rachel Ellner for The Boston Globe

When Linda Rohr Bachers was growing up in Wisconsin she thought the only way she could be

around animals was to marry a farmer. She didn't know that careers working with elephants, rare

birds, and big cats existed for women. Today she keeps track of the daily lives of 1,000 animals at

Zoo New England.

Sandy Elliott loved animals but assumed zoo work was men's work. She applied for a zookeeper job

at Zoo New England on a $20 bet with a male friend who thought she was a perfect match for the job

description. "I've never lost awe of being around these animals," says Elliott. She has worked at Stone

Zoo for the past 21 years and is lead zookeeper.

By the time Hayley Murphy attended veterinarian school there was an increase in women training to

become veterinarians. Yet to specialize in zoo medicine there were only four or five residencies a

year nationwide. The risks were rewarded. "From hoof stock to birds to primates to carnivores, the

variation I deal with is tremendous," says the director of veterinary medicine at Zoo New England.
Women are attracted to these jobs for the same reasons men are: They are prestigious, intellectually

challenging, and combine technical and people skills. And, because so many persisted - demanding

to take qualifying tests and be hired at an equal rate with men - women working in zoos are not as

isolated as they were as recently as 15 years ago. According to a workplace survey conducted in

2000 by the