Two points here:
One, the unnatural nature of putting bears behind bars.
Two, the idocy of defaulting to killing when any issue arises.
Article:
Animal Rights Association Questions Bear killings
http://www.norwaypost.no/cgi-bin/norwaypost/imaker?id=101976
The Animal Rights Association, NOAH, might report the zoo that has shot and killed three bears in three weeks to the police.The 11-year-old female bear and her two cubs escaped from the zoo in Grong last Monday. Today they were found – and killed.
The police officer in Grong, Herolv Nordaunet, said that the only right thing to do was to shoot the bears, and that they followed all safety guidelines and precautions.
Spokesperson Siri Martinsen from NOAH said that they are very upset that the bears could escape so easily. Not long ago, two young wolves also escaped and were shot and killed shortly after.
“These animal ethics are not acceptable,” Martinsen said.
Manager of the zoo, Randi Dille, said that she will look closer into what went on after the animals escaped.
Showing posts with label unnatural zoos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unnatural zoos. Show all posts
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
25 Penguins Die of Toxin at Sea World on the Gold Coast in Australia: Proof Again that Zoos and Captive Situations Unnatural and Deadly
The killing of Clara at the St. Louis Zoo that was just motioned in the prior article (see http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/03/
st-louis-zoo-kills-oldest-elephant.html)
just adds weight to the argument that captivity WILL lead to premature and painful death for captive animals. Essentially, this toxin was related only to captive situations. As stated, “The toxin, which has yet to be properly identified, attacks the brain, kidneys and liver of penguins.” In other words, an extremely painful death.
This also follow the incident this month of the killing of a Jaguar and zoo worker. You can read about that at
http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/03/
killing-of-zookeeper-and-subsequent.html
For more on the health issues caused by putting large animals like elephants in zoos see http://www.helpelephants.com/
Article:
Penguin deaths put zoos in spotlight
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/
Penguin-deaths-put-zoos-in-spotlight/2007/
03/16/1173722719363.html
March 16, 2007 - 2:00PM
The death of 25 penguins at Sea World on the Gold Coast has reignited debate over the treatment of animals in Australia's zoos and parks.
The popular Gold Coast theme park is planning to rebuild its population of fairy penguins after a mystery toxin killed 25 of them in the past week.
The toxin, which has yet to be properly identified, attacks the brain, kidneys and liver of penguins.
The birds became ill on Thursday last week and by last weekend, 25 of the 37 penguins at the park were dead.
Trevor Long, marine sciences director at Sea World, described the deaths of the fairy, or little, penguins at the popular theme park as a "sad day for all".
"This is a very unfortunate event and there's a lot of lessons to be learnt from many zoos and aquariums all around Australia.
"We think it's a freak occurrence but until we get more information and identify what the toxin is, we won't really know."
But the incident has raised questions about the safety and treatment of animals in captivity.
Wildlife Queensland policy and campaigns manager Des Boyland says the death of the penguins was a "very unfortunate accident".
Mr Boyland, who worked closely with Sea World when he worked for Queensland's Environmental Protection Agency, said the park had some of the best procedures for handling animals in the world.
But he said like players in any other industry, there were "good ones and bad ones".
"I would prefer to see animals in the wild, but there is a case for zoos and zoos can play a role, provided they are not driven by commercial gain and that they do positive things for the environment," Mr Boyland said.
He says parks such as Sea World and the late Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, on the Sunshine Coast, were world-class operations.
"Steve's major contribution would be his extremely generous contribution to wildlife protection in the wild," Mr Boyland said.
"Sea World has an international reputation for animal rescue."
But there are concerns government environmental agencies and the RSPCA do not have the resources to regularly monitor zoos and animal parks
"The EPA barely have enough resources to satisfy their statutory obligations," Mr Boyland said.
"The RSPCA are very good but they are under a lot of financial stress and strain."
Zoos hit the headlines last year when Sydney's Taronga faced a battle with animal rights activists over four Asian elephants brought in from Thailand.
Campaigners launched a series of protests and legal challenges in a bid to stop the endangered elephants - part of an Australian-first breeding program - coming into the country, arguing it was cruel to keep them in zoos.
At the time, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), RSPCA Australia and Humane Society International (HSI) called on the public to monitor the zoo.
Australian Democrats deputy leader Andrew Bartlett, a long-time animal rights campaigner, says the federal government should stop issuing permits for the export and import of animals that are not suited to the zoos they are bound for.
"This includes Australian native animals like kangaroos and koalas being exported to unsuitable zoos in Asia, or the import of Asian elephants into Australia," Senator Bartlett says.
"Governments can also implement comprehensive legislation that covers the welfare of the animal in zoo and park settings and they can make sure that the law is enforced."
Senator Bartlett says it is unfortunate that zoos had "historically poor standards".
"I believe that we need to work on reinventing zoos - ensuring that they all operate at a high standard that replicates natural habitats and circumstances as closely as possible," he says.
In response to public concerns, the quality of zoos and parks is about to get a boost with the peak body for operators set to launch a new accreditation system.
Australasian Zoos and Aquariums Association executive director Jonathan Wilcken said the new standards, to be launched in New Zealand next week, would include periodic audits of the organisation's 74 members.
"It's helpful to have a process which specifically aims at setting up best practice targets, and moving towards making them minimum," Mr Wilcken said.
In any case, zoo operators argue Australia has some of the toughest regulation in the world, with both state and federal governments setting standards.
"We are regarded in the international zoo community as one of the most regulated in the world," Mr Wilcken said.
As Sea World examines its specific problem, Senator Bartlett says questions should be raised about why penguins are allowed in a park in a subtropical environment like southern Queensland.
"It's hard to see how the way they are kept and displayed encourages a greater appreciation of these animals or their natural habitats," Senator Bartlett says.
"There is no environmental need for these animals to be kept in captivity.
"The purpose for doing so is little more than entertainment.
"We could and should be doing better than this in the 21st century."
st-louis-zoo-kills-oldest-elephant.html)
just adds weight to the argument that captivity WILL lead to premature and painful death for captive animals. Essentially, this toxin was related only to captive situations. As stated, “The toxin, which has yet to be properly identified, attacks the brain, kidneys and liver of penguins.” In other words, an extremely painful death.
This also follow the incident this month of the killing of a Jaguar and zoo worker. You can read about that at
http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/03/
killing-of-zookeeper-and-subsequent.html
For more on the health issues caused by putting large animals like elephants in zoos see http://www.helpelephants.com/
Article:
Penguin deaths put zoos in spotlight
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/
Penguin-deaths-put-zoos-in-spotlight/2007/
03/16/1173722719363.html
March 16, 2007 - 2:00PM
The death of 25 penguins at Sea World on the Gold Coast has reignited debate over the treatment of animals in Australia's zoos and parks.
The popular Gold Coast theme park is planning to rebuild its population of fairy penguins after a mystery toxin killed 25 of them in the past week.
The toxin, which has yet to be properly identified, attacks the brain, kidneys and liver of penguins.
The birds became ill on Thursday last week and by last weekend, 25 of the 37 penguins at the park were dead.
Trevor Long, marine sciences director at Sea World, described the deaths of the fairy, or little, penguins at the popular theme park as a "sad day for all".
"This is a very unfortunate event and there's a lot of lessons to be learnt from many zoos and aquariums all around Australia.
"We think it's a freak occurrence but until we get more information and identify what the toxin is, we won't really know."
But the incident has raised questions about the safety and treatment of animals in captivity.
Wildlife Queensland policy and campaigns manager Des Boyland says the death of the penguins was a "very unfortunate accident".
Mr Boyland, who worked closely with Sea World when he worked for Queensland's Environmental Protection Agency, said the park had some of the best procedures for handling animals in the world.
But he said like players in any other industry, there were "good ones and bad ones".
"I would prefer to see animals in the wild, but there is a case for zoos and zoos can play a role, provided they are not driven by commercial gain and that they do positive things for the environment," Mr Boyland said.
He says parks such as Sea World and the late Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, on the Sunshine Coast, were world-class operations.
"Steve's major contribution would be his extremely generous contribution to wildlife protection in the wild," Mr Boyland said.
"Sea World has an international reputation for animal rescue."
But there are concerns government environmental agencies and the RSPCA do not have the resources to regularly monitor zoos and animal parks
"The EPA barely have enough resources to satisfy their statutory obligations," Mr Boyland said.
"The RSPCA are very good but they are under a lot of financial stress and strain."
Zoos hit the headlines last year when Sydney's Taronga faced a battle with animal rights activists over four Asian elephants brought in from Thailand.
Campaigners launched a series of protests and legal challenges in a bid to stop the endangered elephants - part of an Australian-first breeding program - coming into the country, arguing it was cruel to keep them in zoos.
At the time, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), RSPCA Australia and Humane Society International (HSI) called on the public to monitor the zoo.
Australian Democrats deputy leader Andrew Bartlett, a long-time animal rights campaigner, says the federal government should stop issuing permits for the export and import of animals that are not suited to the zoos they are bound for.
"This includes Australian native animals like kangaroos and koalas being exported to unsuitable zoos in Asia, or the import of Asian elephants into Australia," Senator Bartlett says.
"Governments can also implement comprehensive legislation that covers the welfare of the animal in zoo and park settings and they can make sure that the law is enforced."
Senator Bartlett says it is unfortunate that zoos had "historically poor standards".
"I believe that we need to work on reinventing zoos - ensuring that they all operate at a high standard that replicates natural habitats and circumstances as closely as possible," he says.
In response to public concerns, the quality of zoos and parks is about to get a boost with the peak body for operators set to launch a new accreditation system.
Australasian Zoos and Aquariums Association executive director Jonathan Wilcken said the new standards, to be launched in New Zealand next week, would include periodic audits of the organisation's 74 members.
"It's helpful to have a process which specifically aims at setting up best practice targets, and moving towards making them minimum," Mr Wilcken said.
In any case, zoo operators argue Australia has some of the toughest regulation in the world, with both state and federal governments setting standards.
"We are regarded in the international zoo community as one of the most regulated in the world," Mr Wilcken said.
As Sea World examines its specific problem, Senator Bartlett says questions should be raised about why penguins are allowed in a park in a subtropical environment like southern Queensland.
"It's hard to see how the way they are kept and displayed encourages a greater appreciation of these animals or their natural habitats," Senator Bartlett says.
"There is no environmental need for these animals to be kept in captivity.
"The purpose for doing so is little more than entertainment.
"We could and should be doing better than this in the 21st century."
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Killing of Zookeeper and Subsequent Killing of Jaguar Shows Stupidity of Keeping Animals Captive (Zoos)
What a tragedy all around. A woman dies and then they kill the Jaguar who simply was acting out of instinct. I’ll let the following quotes sum it up, but really this proves once again just how unnatural zoos and keeping animals captive is. Just plain stupidity that is completely obvious to the thinking person.
Here are a couple quotes that sum this issue up:
"That is how a jaguar kills its prey, and that animal has been programmed to do that for thousands of years," she said.
"Regardless of the handling, the hand-rearing, the years of captivity, that animal is still a jaguar," she said. "Any predator is a predator and it will always have that instinct. They are looking for opportunities to be themselves."
"These animals should not be in zoos because of the possibility of these things happening, and for the welfare of the animals," Bekoff said. "What's to be gained by having an animal like that in the zoo?"
Article:
Jaguar Attack Renews Predator Debate
Some question whether big predators should be captive
http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/pages/News/
Detail?contentId=2517996&version=2&locale=EN-
US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
DENVER --
A jaguar's lethal attack on a keeper at the Denver Zoo has renewed the debate over whether big predators should be kept in captivity in the first place.
Ashlee Pfaff, 28, died Saturday after she was mauled by a 140-pound jaguar named Jorge. The jaguar was shot and killed when it approached workers trying to save Pfaff.
Marc Bekoff, a retired University of Colorado biology professor and author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals," called Pfaff's death a tragedy.
"These animals should not be in zoos because of the possibility of these things happening, and for the welfare of the animals," Bekoff said. "What's to be gained by having an animal like that in the zoo?"
Others argue that allowing humans to see such animals up close makes it easier to raise money and public support to preserve the animals and their habitats in the wild.
"Money that's raised by zoos goes a great distance to preserve their habitats. We can do so much with education," said Jack Grisham, vice president of animal collections at the St. Louis Zoo.
Denver Zoo officials said Tuesday they were cooperating with investigations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Denver police.
An autopsy found Pfaff died of a broken neck and had extensive internal injuries. Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said toxicology tests from the autopsy will likely take several days.
Pfaff was attacked in a service hallway adjacent to the jaguar's enclosure. Zoo officials said the door to the enclosure was open.
"We don't know if she was going in, and we never will," zoo spokeswoman Ana Bowie said. "Why that door was open and what she was doing, we do not know."
Zoo policy requires doors to be closed when keepers are in adjacent areas and forbids keepers to be in an enclosure when an animal is present. Zoo officials said Pfaff had experience working with big cats and knew the routines.
The animal had no history of abnormal behavior, and a necropsy showed it was in good health.
Bekoff said even experts exercising extreme caution can make mistakes that put them in danger when dealing with predators.
He cited himself as an example: Despite extensive experience studying wolves, he once took a step toward a male gray wolf's food inside an enclosure. The wolf backed him against the fence, stared and growled before eventually backing off.
"I was foolish to do what I did and I know wolves well," he said. "I almost got nailed by a wolf being stupid."
Mara Rodriguez, an instructor at the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College in California, said Pfaff's neck injuries sounded like the result of a classic jaguar hunting behavior.
"That is how a jaguar kills its prey, and that animal has been programmed to do that for thousands of years," she said.
"Regardless of the handling, the hand-rearing, the years of captivity, that animal is still a jaguar," she said. "Any predator is a predator and it will always have that instinct. They are looking for opportunities to be themselves."
Steve Feldman, spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said fatal animal attacks in zoos are "fairly rare." He said it was still too early to know exactly what happened in Denver.
The association, which accredits the Denver Zoo and more than 200 other institutions, requires its members to train its workers and follow safety procedures.
Zoo officials say they continually train employees and evaluate safety procedures and conduct "red alert" animal escape drills at least four times a year.
The zoo has 16 staffers trained in the use of firearms in case of an escape. Four of those employees responded to the attack on Pfaff.
Before Saturday, the most recent fatal attack at the Denver Zoo was a bear attack that killed a zookeeper back in the 1920s.
Here are a couple quotes that sum this issue up:
"That is how a jaguar kills its prey, and that animal has been programmed to do that for thousands of years," she said.
"Regardless of the handling, the hand-rearing, the years of captivity, that animal is still a jaguar," she said. "Any predator is a predator and it will always have that instinct. They are looking for opportunities to be themselves."
"These animals should not be in zoos because of the possibility of these things happening, and for the welfare of the animals," Bekoff said. "What's to be gained by having an animal like that in the zoo?"
Article:
Jaguar Attack Renews Predator Debate
Some question whether big predators should be captive
http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/pages/News/
Detail?contentId=2517996&version=2&locale=EN-
US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
DENVER --
A jaguar's lethal attack on a keeper at the Denver Zoo has renewed the debate over whether big predators should be kept in captivity in the first place.
Ashlee Pfaff, 28, died Saturday after she was mauled by a 140-pound jaguar named Jorge. The jaguar was shot and killed when it approached workers trying to save Pfaff.
Marc Bekoff, a retired University of Colorado biology professor and author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals," called Pfaff's death a tragedy.
"These animals should not be in zoos because of the possibility of these things happening, and for the welfare of the animals," Bekoff said. "What's to be gained by having an animal like that in the zoo?"
Others argue that allowing humans to see such animals up close makes it easier to raise money and public support to preserve the animals and their habitats in the wild.
"Money that's raised by zoos goes a great distance to preserve their habitats. We can do so much with education," said Jack Grisham, vice president of animal collections at the St. Louis Zoo.
Denver Zoo officials said Tuesday they were cooperating with investigations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Denver police.
An autopsy found Pfaff died of a broken neck and had extensive internal injuries. Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said toxicology tests from the autopsy will likely take several days.
Pfaff was attacked in a service hallway adjacent to the jaguar's enclosure. Zoo officials said the door to the enclosure was open.
"We don't know if she was going in, and we never will," zoo spokeswoman Ana Bowie said. "Why that door was open and what she was doing, we do not know."
Zoo policy requires doors to be closed when keepers are in adjacent areas and forbids keepers to be in an enclosure when an animal is present. Zoo officials said Pfaff had experience working with big cats and knew the routines.
The animal had no history of abnormal behavior, and a necropsy showed it was in good health.
Bekoff said even experts exercising extreme caution can make mistakes that put them in danger when dealing with predators.
He cited himself as an example: Despite extensive experience studying wolves, he once took a step toward a male gray wolf's food inside an enclosure. The wolf backed him against the fence, stared and growled before eventually backing off.
"I was foolish to do what I did and I know wolves well," he said. "I almost got nailed by a wolf being stupid."
Mara Rodriguez, an instructor at the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College in California, said Pfaff's neck injuries sounded like the result of a classic jaguar hunting behavior.
"That is how a jaguar kills its prey, and that animal has been programmed to do that for thousands of years," she said.
"Regardless of the handling, the hand-rearing, the years of captivity, that animal is still a jaguar," she said. "Any predator is a predator and it will always have that instinct. They are looking for opportunities to be themselves."
Steve Feldman, spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said fatal animal attacks in zoos are "fairly rare." He said it was still too early to know exactly what happened in Denver.
The association, which accredits the Denver Zoo and more than 200 other institutions, requires its members to train its workers and follow safety procedures.
Zoo officials say they continually train employees and evaluate safety procedures and conduct "red alert" animal escape drills at least four times a year.
The zoo has 16 staffers trained in the use of firearms in case of an escape. Four of those employees responded to the attack on Pfaff.
Before Saturday, the most recent fatal attack at the Denver Zoo was a bear attack that killed a zookeeper back in the 1920s.
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