Does anyone know where the bison herd at Knowsley Safari Park went? After I met David Ross some time ago and he told me they'd left, I've been scouring the internet for information as to their current whereabouts, but I haven't been able to find anything. The herd was pretty large, so I don't think they just died off and I don't think they'd sell them to a bison farm. If you could give me some info as to their whereabouts, that would be great!
I do not know what happened to the bison herd at Knowsley, very interesting. However I would not dismiss the theory that they could have been sent to a bison farm, Chester Zoo did this some years ago, although I must emphasise I am not stating this is what happened to those at Knowsley
Can zoos do that anymore? I know they used to, but I'm just wondering whether or not they could still do that. Today, I asked on their Facebook page where they sent them to and am hoping for a response soon! Maybe the mystery will be solved once and for all! Thank you for responding to me.
I think the words you are looking for is were they the European species,not was them the European subspecies! And the answer is no they were pure Plains Bison,and i believe some went to Woburn as for the rest I think they may have gone to a Bison farm in Wales that was looking for new breeding stock!
The herd was gradually fizzled out a few years ago now. I know some went to a farm in Scotland, as I was actually there watching some going in the back of a truck from the farm. I understand that the animals going to the farm(s) where not for butchery themselves, but for breeding for meat. I would like to think that some went to Woburn as mentioned and are breeding with some success. They were in my opinion a good exhibit, especially as a large herd at a Safari Park, but the section they were regularly displayed in is very much African species now.
Even if the bison were originally intended for breeding they would have still ended up being slaughtered for meat, they were sent to a farm not an animal sanctuary.
why do I get the impression I am replying to a vegetarian . in my opinion more and more grass fed bison should be farmed as their meat is lower in cholesterol and saturated fats than many meats, even skinless chicken, so it would be beneficial to increase production of bison meat for the markets......and hospitals.
Bison are wild animals, transporting them to a slaughter house, handling them while there will be very stressful to the animals, more so than to domestic species. I have recently viewed two undercover videos of domestic animals being treated in a disgusting fashion in slaughter houses, one made by Animal Aid concerning sheep being slaughtered at a halal facility in Thirsk, the other made by the marvellous Hillside Animal Sanctuary at a firm of "high class butchers" in Leek, believe me it does not make attractive viewing. If this is how domestic normally docile animals are treated and abused behind closed doors at slaughter houses I dread to think how more highly strung bison may be treated. This business of safari parks involving themselves with the meat trade makes me wonder about the statements made in Tim Brown's I.Z.E.A. guide to British zoos, published five years ago, ie, what contribution have these places made to serious animal conservation in all the years that they have been open, a very valid point in my opinion.
if you don't like zoos, safari parks etc, then don't do Zoochat. Turning a thread about what it was into yours above about slaughter house conditions is nothing and has nothing to do with the original posters question. PETA maybe more your thing than zoos and Zoochat maybe? Good luck, P
I was having an argument with a vegan about meat production earlier today in work. Don't waste your time trying to argue back, you will have a more reasoned debate with Kim Jong un. Their arguments are so one sided and all the studies and videos they throw up are so biased they fail to see the fact that if it wasn't for meat production a majority of the animals bred in farms these days would not be bred in the first place.
Just because they were sent to a farm does not mean they will be slaughtered. You seem to have ignored the use of the words "breeding stock" - the animals that were sent off will be used to establish a herd which will provide a good base for future productions . If they follow standard practice for beef production, nearly all animals that will be slaughtered will be males aged 18 months to 3 years. Therefore (given none of the Knowsley animals were in that age group), it's highly unlikely the original herd will be slaughtered. Unfortunately, their offspring will. And, besides, Knowsley, which is a well-established safari park with joint membership of BIAZA and EAZA, would not send its animals off to be slaughtered - first of all, there are regulations in place to prevent them from doing it and second, well, it's bad PR. Zoos and safari parks are closely monitored by the bureaucracy running BIAZA and EAZA so they can't just send surplus (or dead) animals "off to the glue factory" anymore. Oh, and by the way, it's IZES, not IZEA.
Okay, cards on the table and fully aware that I am wading into someone else's argument. Not a vegetarian, not entirely happy with what I know about the way some slaughterhouses operate but still willing to eat meat. Not comfortable with zoos and safari parks selling animals into the meat industry but aware that there is nothing to stop them doing so for species that are already in the meat industry. What do people think will happen to the breeding animals when they are no longer cost effective for breeding? It's not going to be retirement is it; so presumably it is slaughter for lower quality meat - bison burgers etc. Who actually knows?
I have often referred to this 2007 article highlighting some of the problems farming a wild animal such as bison under UK laws at the time: Farming News - Bison and Deer farming in Leicestershire Would anyone happen to know if the legislation has changed since then? I think there is a real welfare issue with bringing wild animals to a slaughterhouse. I don't see as much of an issue with shooting an animal in the field, as this is, in effect, instant, and no different to culling, with the meat being utilised for human, rather than animal, consumption. It's pretty galling to me that the current policy at Yellowstone in the US is to load surplus animals for a journey to the slaughterhouse, rather than culling them in the field, and there is a great deal of protest around this currently. I feel the same way about venison, and will only eat wild game partly for this reason. It is a very emotive issue, as clearly shown on this thread, but I would add that there is nothing AFAIK to stop farms, having received breeding stock from zoos some years previously, from 'culling' these animals when deemed to be at the end of their productive lives, just as can happen at some zoos. I know of nothing in BIAZA policy/ Zoo licensing regulations giving responsibility to the collection of origin for the ultimate fate of the 'breeding stock' it sent to a farm. The only bison farm I know of in Scotland was forced to kill its entire herd of 50 animals last year after some tested positive for TB, so hopefully this wasn't where the Knowsley animals had been sent. I used to be a vegan for many years, but now eat some meat, although very selectively in terms of how it was produced/how the animal died. There are many kinds of meat-eater, just as there are many kinds of vegetarian and vegan. I get tired of vegans who happily chomp their way through soya/palm oil products without questioning whether this came from cleared forest, just as it irritates me to hear meat-eaters trot out the 'if it wasn't for raising the animal for meat it would never have been born at all' argument (as if this would be a terrible thing), and those meat eaters who will eat steak or chicken breast but who recoil in horror at using more of the animal, such as making bone broth out of a chicken carcass. To go back to the topic of the thread, wouldn't it be nice to see some real transparency and accountability in how UK zoos operate, to be able to go to Knowsley's website and find an article clearly documenting when, how and why the bison left, and where they went to? Some years ago, I worked in a well-regarded collection that benefited from 'zoo babies' during the summer, only to have no option but to send them to a farm (as founder stock). I won't name the collection or species, but this was done quietly. I personally would love a cultural shift in this country towards more wild game, given we have numerous invasive and destructive species (rabbits, sika, fallow, muntjac, grey squirrel, some species of duck), readily available as a food source, but would also be very happy to see a system where healthier meat was as common as beef cattle, where field-slaughtered farmed bison could be both included as a serious percentage of our food production, and justified by the zoos who contribute founder stock both on welfare and conservation grounds.
