If you didn't catch it, The Report on BBC Radio 4 at 8pm this evening is well worth listening to. 'Marius the Giraffe: Zoogenics' BBC Radio 4 - The Report, Marius the Giraffe: Zoogenics? It was a surprisingly well-balanced report. The tone was generally a positive one and those zoo professionals who were interviewed were given time to express their views clearly and convincingly. Leslie Dickie fell a little flat but Simon Tonge and Bengt Holst were excellent. Even the anti woman sounded like she half-knew what she was talking about. It served, yet again, to highlight the fact that British Zoos are too clammy about sensitive topics such as this. It is a stance that only distances the layman and serves to put the whole community in a bad light when events such as this do make the headlines. Zoos strive to convince the public that one of their main aims is education and I believe that should embrace the gritty reality of managing animal populations responsibly.
I'd agree with this assessment. Simon Tonge, in particular, was excellent. And the balance within the programme was marked.
