Join our zoo community

GAIA report

Discussion in 'Belgium' started by Gorilla Gust, 21 Aug 2008.

  1. Gorilla Gust

    Gorilla Gust Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    5 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    302
    Location:
    Belgium
    Gaia, an organisation for the rights of Animals has a new report about the Zoo's in Belgium. It is based on a so called studycase of 5 years, but it has many faults.
    Anyway, these are their results...

    Just keep in mind that this is a report without the opinion of the Zoo, the so called "wrong" things are not even verified with the zoo's, not even an explanation has been asked. The just went to the media without any notice to the Zoo's...
    Why i post it anyway? Because it was headliner news here in Belgium, and some things are thrue...


    Zoo's that have been visited:
    Aviflora (Ingelmunster) - Bellewaerde (Ieper) - Boudewijnpark (Brugge) -
    Familiepark Harry Malter (Heusden) - La Crête des Cerfs (Bouillon) - Le Monde
    Sauvage (Aywaille) - Mont Mosan (Huy) - Olmense Zoo (Olmen) - Park Paradisio
    (Brugelette) - Planckendael (Muizen) - Wildpark Saint-Hubert (Saint-Hubert) -
    Wildpark Han (Han-sur-Lesse) - Wildpark La Reid (Theux) - Wildpark La Roche
    (La-Roche-en-Ardenne) - Zoo Antwerpen (Antwerpen).


    • Not a single Zoo is complete in order with all the guidelines for animal welfare. Wildpark Saint-Hubert is the only who has all the minimum guidelines in order.
    • 3 Zoo's should close immediately, that are Aviflora, Familiepark Harry Malter en Mont Mosan.
    They are horrible for the animals. The Hygine is bad, dead animals, small cage's, an African elephant that needs to be walked across the street to his cage, etx...
    • 1 zoo is bad, but should only be partly closed. That is Olmen.
    The complaints are again the small cages, no indoor or outdoor exhibit for some animals, ...
    • 2 other Zoo's, La Crête des Cerfs and Le Monde Sauvage, are not good enough, but better than the Zoo of Olmen.
    Here is the complaint mostly the safety of the animals and the visitors...
    • De Zoo van Antwerpen, het Boudewijnpark, Wildpark La Roche en Wildpark La Reid are between "not good enough" and "should be better"...
    Of the 81 faults that GAIA found 5 years ago in Antwerp, the most are now gone, or should be gone soon.
    • Park Paradisio and Dierenpark Planckendael are just average.
    Paradisio has now many new faults because it has expanded alot, a took many new kind of animals the last years. GAIA is also not happy with the birds of prey, they don"t like to see the birds with a robe around there feet before and afther the show, because the animals can't freely fly, and they wants to.
    Dierenpark Planckendael has the most animals in better conditions than should be according the guidelines, but some are then again not in order. One (the cranes) is even very bad...
    • 3 Zoo's are almost good. Bellewaerde, Wildpark Han en Wildpark Saint-Hubert. Mostly the education in Bellewaerde was not good enough...
    • Wildpark Saint-Hubert is the best zoo, but the education should be better in the future...

    This is the scoreboard:
    Aviflora, 47 O
    Familiepark Harry Malter, 40 O
    Mont Mosan, 27 O
    Olmense Zoo, 55 O
    La Crête des Cerfs, 28 O
    Le Monde Sauvage, 22 O
    Zoo van Antwerpen, 38 O
    Boudewijnpark, 10 O
    Wildpark La Roche, 8 O
    Wildpark La Reid, 9 O
    Park Paradisio, 33 O
    Dierenpark Planckendael, 27 O
    Bellewaerde, 4 O
    Wildpark Han, 3 O
    Wildpark Saint-Hubert, 2 O

    (O stands for Overtreding, of Fault in English ;) )

    Is sorted from bad (above) to good (below) according to GAIA. It is not sorted on "how many" faults, but on how heavy the fault are...

    But again, this is not fully correct.
    For example, the KMDA (Zoo antwerp, Planckendael) has already said that only 4 complaints are correct, the others not (any more)...
     
  2. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

    Joined:
    1 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    7,583
    Location:
    Abbotsford, B.C., Canada
    @Gorilla Gust: Are all of these Belgian zoos really that bad? Does the country even have a Prime Minister? I can recall Belgium going about a year without an elected leader...
     
  3. sooty mangabey

    sooty mangabey Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    29 Apr 2008
    Posts:
    1,939
    Location:
    Sussex by the Sea
    Many of these zoos are off the radar of the mainstream zoo community. What, for example, is the zoo in Ypres like? I have visited the town several times, but did not know there was a zoo there. I'd be interested to hear about it - and the other obscurer places you lisr.
     
  4. Gorilla Gust

    Gorilla Gust Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    5 Aug 2008
    Posts:
    302
    Location:
    Belgium
    We have a leader, but almost everybody wants new elections here... But the politicans doesn't listen at us normal people. But that is offtopic i think, and the Belgian politics are not easy to understand for an outsider... ;)

    But the main thing is, Belgium is the only land where a organisation as Gaia can yell so loud, en comes into the news. The zoo's are not always great, but they are the same as all the other zoo's in Western Europe... The big ones are mostly OK, the smaller ones have there faults...

    But for example, GAIA said that the birdscages are bad in the Zoo. The cages they ment aren"t used the last ten years... The also sad that the Crocs of Monde Sauvage have a bad exhibit, and no indoor cage... But it are plastic Crocs! :eek: :p


    Bellewaerde is more a attractionpark than a Zoo, but is offical also a Zoo.
    You find there a Girafsavanne, Squirelmonkeyforest, Elephants, Lions, Tigers, etc...
     
    Last edited: 22 Aug 2008