Noah's Ark Zoo Farm Noah's Ark suspended by zoo welfare group

I totally agree chickens, ducks and rabbits are always being killed for food for humans so why not for food for tigers. I would be angry if they were larger animals but there not. This palce is a working farm and on working farms animals get killed, ITS A FACT!! live with it!

 

Why not just show them being slaughtered? I mean, its life, right? Make an abbatoir exhibit. 'This is how we feed our animals'.

Its about context. If you have a meaningful farm exhibit for domestic stock showing their roles in human civilizations, for example at Drusillas (and this is a zoo aimed at children), as opposed to 'familiar friends', 'Pets corner', 'children's zoo' etc, then it is easier to imply that those animals the visitors see may go on to become true farm livestock........I think whether that is at another site or at the zoo itself is slightly irrelevant as long as the animals are displayed in such a context that does not suggest they are 'pets' or different in any way from farm livestock.

However, I think zoos do well to use abbatoirs that have to meet external standards, rather than run a cheaper operation of slaughtering their stock on site.

As for non-domestic species, I think the message gets extremely messy when antelope or deer etc are found to be fed to carnivores when surplus to requirements. Also, non-domestic species, unless shot, are likely to find the process of being brought to an abbatoir or to a small shed or pen for slaughtering far, far more stressful than for domestic stock, which on the whole are more used to being routinely moved and transported short distances by humans.

I don't believe the general public cannot accept that carnivores eat domestic animals that were once alive. I think zoos run into trouble when their boundaries around this issue and the roles of their stock are not made clear.

 

NAZF actually does that, so it makes CAPS point even less valid on some level I guess.

 

Well it sounds like they are getting kicked into shape a little. None of this would have come about if they had done things differently with their tigers. Maybe all this is a good thing; I suspect very few of us on here would expect the collection to evolve (no pun intended) into one of the better zoological institutions of this country. I welcome all the external forces bearing down on them, even though some are clearly clutching at straws. It can only make the zoo improve.

 

Here's the actual report

http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/welfare/documents/circus-report.pdf

 

not if the negative stories result in fewer visitors (admittedly not that likely), with less finance could mean greater failure to meet standards.

 

Yes, its a sort of initiative that 'no animal is owned by Zoos etc'

 

Noah's arc suspension

Has anybody heard any more about this? I think I remember that the suspension was untill about 24th Nov so there should be some more info available now or soon?

 

Just found the following on thier website

Noah's Ark Zoo Farm is now closed for the winter, we will re-open on Saturday 6th February 2010. We will be open for our Christmas Nativity Plays and for Keeper Experiences during the winter season.

Staff at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm are celebrating recognition of outstanding sustainable practise this November after being credited with the Silver Award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme on Monday 16th November.

After months of preparation and an extensive audit by officials from Green Business, the highly regarded organisation assessing the green credentials of businesses nationwide; Noah’s Ark was scored impressively for its achievements in this area and granted the Silver Award.

All areas of the Zoo and Farm were scrutinized in order to fully audit the business, to discern the extent of its commitment to sustainable green practise in areas as diverse as waste minimization, recycling and green communication to the public. Noah’s Ark joins an elite group of business in the South West who have achieved a score over 65% in what has become the most widely recognised green award system in the UK.

We prize the beautiful area we work in and are priveleged to have access to 210 acres of farmland along with our 100 ace Zoo- see our Green Tourism page for details of energy-saving measures employed here and conservation of our natural heritage, with its flora and fauna.

Thier was nothing else on thier website so still in the dark

 

Noah's ark zoo farm has now officially been expelled from BIAZA.

BBC News - Zoo expelled from industry body

 

Edit: Found this:
"The reasons for termination are due to a refusal to provide BIAZA with information when requested and entering into an arrangement with the Great British Circus, which contravenes the Animal Transaction Policy, despite having been warned of possible consequences".
That makes more sense as I wouldn't have thought the circus dealing was the sole reason.

 

I'd agree - that reads like they might have got away with it if they'd been open about it.

 

Another twist to the tale, now Noah's ark are to return the 3 tigers back to their previous owners.

BBC News - Zoo to return circus link tigers

 

The plot thickens. Will they try to source replacements I wonder? How curious.

 

Might be worth stating a new thread for this twist....

 

How odd, I wonder why they decided to do that?

 

The BIAZA Animal Transaction paperwork can be found here:

http://www.biaza.org.uk/resources/library/images/ATP09.pdf

 

I really can't fathom it.

If they think they're getting bad press because they took animals from a circus, how will sending the animals BACK to the circus help?

If they think this will appease BIAZA, I'm quite sure it won't - particularly as they didn't discuss this with BIAZA (the article says Miranda Stevenson was unaware of the move).

If they opt not to replace the tigers, then I can only assume that they want to move on and hope to avoid any future bad press.

If they get more tigers in, I really can't see what they've gained by sending these away, particularly as they've sent them back to the organisation they were criticised (by CAPS and the press) for even dealing with.

Bizarre.

 

Thanks for that John.

The wording then, is that BIAZA collections:

To me, 'may include circuses' suggests that circuses are evaluated on a case-by-case basis to find who is considered appropriate.

 

Indeed, I'm reading between the lines but I'm thinking that if NAZF were more open about it then it may have been alright.