Trail of Disasters
An Entertainment Abuses Articles from All-Creatures.org
FROM
Mars Greenwood
Facebook posting,
September 29, 2021
We now have unlimited options for entertainment, not
to mention a greater understanding of animal sentience and needs. In today's
society, ogling at animals in zoos behind glass seems crudely outdated.
Baby Elephant being 'trained' at Ringling Bros Circus facility -
Whistleblower Validates Ringling Cruelty to Elephants
If we look back in history we see that keeping animals in captivity
has left a trail of disasters.
Costa Rica has recognized this and in 2013 declared that it would be
closing all its zoos and releasing the animals who are able to be
rehabilitated to the wild. (The others would be cared for in
sanctuaries or live out their lives in nature parks.) Which will be
the next country to make this compassionate decision?
FACT: There is nothing "normal" about animals in zoos. Wild animals
belong in the wild, not captive in cities.
- Some 20 wolves, eight lions, white tigers, tigers, jackals, jaguars
have either been shot dead by special forces or are missing. -
Mzia Sharashidze, Tbilisi Zoo spokeswoman
- 2018: The lions at London Zoo are so inbred that 2 out of 3 lion
cubs born are dying.
- 2018: A Eurasian lynx named Lilith escaped Borth Wild Animal Kingdom
in Wales and was shot dead by order of the local authority. A second
lynx, Nilly, died the week earlier when she was asphyxiated by the
catch pole during handling.
- 2017: A white rhino named Vince was shot dead and his horns hacked
off by intruders at Thoiry Zoo near Paris.
- 2017: Government inspectors found that nearly 500 animals had died
in less than 4 years at South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria, UK. The
inspectors cited "overcrowding, poor hygiene, poor nutrition, lack
of suitable animal husbandry and a lack of any sort of developed
veterinary care" as welfare concerns and recommended that the zoo's
license renewal be refused.
- 2016: A 17 year old gorilla named Harambe was shot dead at
Cincinnati Zoo when a four year old boy climbed into the enclosure.
Opinions are divided as to whether the boy was in any danger from
Harambe before he was killed by zookeepers.
- 2015: A female gorilla named Julia, who had lived at Melbourne Zoo
for 20 years, was attacked and killed by a younger male gorilla
named Otana who had been transferred to the zoo from the UK.
- 2015: Keepers at Duisburg Zoo in Germany shot dead a male orangutan
who tried to escape, saying that a sedative would have taken too
long to take effect.
- 2015: Dozens of animals — including lions, tigers, monkeys and
crocodiles — died from hunger or thirst at the Khan Younis Zoo in
the Gaza Strip when they were left without care during the
Palestinian and Israeli conflict.
- 2012: A polar bear in Buenos Aires Zoo overheated and died. (Another
heat-stressed and depressed polar bear named Arturo is currently
held at an Argentinian zoo and, despite public pressure, the zoo
Director has refused to have him relocated.)
- 2008: A leaked memo revealed that a zookeeper at Melbourne Zoo had
stabbed an elephant, Dokkoon, more than a dozen times with a sharp
metal spike. The same memo exposed that a male gorilla, Rigo, had
been kept in isolation for 16 years and four seals suffered partial
blindness from the chlorine in the tiny pool they were kept in for
up to three years while a $20 million dollar enclosure was built.
- 2007: A kangaroo was euthanized after being hit by a train that runs
through the Cleveland Zoo.
- 2004: A 13 year old male gorilla, Jabari, escaped from Dallas Zoo
and was shot and killed by police.
- 2002: Flooding enclosures in Prague Zoo led to an elephant and
hippopotamus being euthanized to 'save' them from drowning.
- 2000: An 18 year old sloth bear named Medusa died of dehydration
when Toledo Zoo officials locked her in a den to hibernate, not
knowing that her species does not hibernate.
We have been born into a society that accepts animals in zoos as
commonplace but the invention of the zoo dates back thousands of
years — to an era when people who looked different were also put on
display. We now have unlimited options for entertainment, not to
mention a greater understanding of animal sentience and needs. In
today's society, ogling at animals in zoos behind glass seems
crudely outdated. Certainly it's unnecessary and rarely (if ever) in
the animals' best interests.
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