i'm sure some zoos raise and eventualy kill cubs in some countries in the world but certainly not in any respectable zoo
Why breed more bears when there are so many Moon Bears in China needing rescue? Animals Asia is doing a great job but I would like to see zoos helping out by supporting the rescue of these bears that live a tortured life for the sake of gathering bear bile for Chinese medicine.
The Darling Downs Zoo and it's owners have been staunch supporters of Jill Robinson [no relation] and Animals Asia for many years. It is heartening to see that ARAZPA, and thus it's member zoos, has now thrown it's weight behind the cause. The plight of those bears has to be seen to be believed.
Well, the Moon Bears do go through a very traumatic time. After living in tiny cages where they can't stretch their legs or move at all, and having a permanent catheter into their gall bladder, they get infections and other horrible illnesses. The first bear that was rescued, Andrew, didn't live very long as a free bear, but he did at least die in a place where he was loved and respected for the wonderful animal that he was
Hi dragon+. I don't know of one in Thailand, but I know of the one in China. It is at Chengdu, and I can't think of any particular name for it, except refuge. I will have to look up my paperwork.
Yes, dragon, that would be a fantastic trip. I would like to go there, as well. Actually, I would like to volunteer there, but when I enquired, they had enough volunteers. They also rescue bears from Vietnam, but I don't know where the refuge is for them.
im going to respond to some earlier posts by Dan, i think it was, and link this thread back to what it originally started about. here in Australia, the sun bear has become the focus of the Australasian regions breeding programs. To date, I would guess that close to a dozen sun bears have been rescued and rehoused in Australian zoos, where problems with sterotyped behaviours and other issues like infertility have limited the success of the program in terms of breeding. Nonetheless, 4 sun bears have now been born, 3 in New Zealands Wellington Zoo and 1 recently in Perth. These are not indiscriminate births, they are the result of a carefully executed plan which mirrors the best practice adopted by all other accredited ARAZPA zoos. In contrast, all other Ursid species with the exception of Polar Bear have been dissuaded from breeding for well over a decade and are being phased out. I can see how in commercial, private zoos in some Western nations births of many species still occur purely for publicity stunts, and I hate to think what happens to the offspring after. But in the main, accredited, major zoos across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, North America etc carefully breed their animals. Now back to bears.
Well, that sounds very hopeful, Glyn. Publicity stunts by zoos breeding animals is not to be encouraged. Perhaps they are phasing that out, too. With zoos and keepers becoming more professionally managed, it is hoped that they will be more considerate of the animals. Personally, I would like to see the old style zoos phased right out of being. If it is necessary to keep zoos (and I question that) then I would much prefer to see the open range type of zoo. I believe that with the easy travel open to most people these days, they should be able to go visit the animals in their primary habitat. That is, if we stop encroaching on it, and using animals for profit (such as hunting, medicine, etc.)
In other words roobee, if my grandkids want (for example) to see spider monkeys, then instead of taking them to Taronga, I should book the whole family on a trip to Guatemala? Not very realistic!
Did I say that you should do that? The words I posted are the words I thought of, not "other words". I believe what I said was with the way travel has opened up these days, people can go to the places if they want to. Also, there are so many good docos on TV or available on DVD, if people want to learn about exotic animals. The reason I dropped off this forum before is because of the antagonism I saw from some posters towards others. I believe a debate is best conducted politely, with respect for others views.
i think that it has got easier and easier to see wildife in the natrural habitat, but it doesn't mean zoos should be phased out, not everyone has the opportunity to go abroad.....i've only been abroad once in my whole life, though i wou;d love to go again
Exactly, also there will allways be a demand to see animals and its much cheaper than travelling abroad.
You should probably mean old style zoo exhibits rather than zoos. Most good modern zoos started out in the same mould as what you would expect to see in poor third-world zoos. It is just a difference of money and education. There is a role for modern good zoos (which is happening) in helping out the poorly funded ones to help raise their standards. I think the argument for open-range zoos is too simplistic. It should be a 'horses for courses' approach. I firmly believe that large ungulates and particularly elephants should be only kept in large open-range facilities. The majority of elephants in captivity are kept in groups of less than four individuals which is not a true herd structure. But an open-range setup would be obviously wasted on slow loris, millipedes or piranhas. Your third point has problems too. Ecotourism can be used constructively to provide an important income stream to poor countries, and thus encourage governments to move away from more destructive industries. But it is not necessarily the best situation for the animals. For example, crowds in minibuses hanging around cheetahs in East Africa, openly encourage lions and hyaenas to steal their kills, thus putting extra stress on the cheetah population. Added to this the few opportunities to see rare and obscure wildlife in the wild, rising cost of fuel, the effects of increased plane travel on global warming etc etc, than visiting and viewing animals in the zoo probably sounds like a sound idea for the average person.
