NIEUWS WEEK 9
Goliath, Simba and Ringo
Bij deze willen we via deze weg ook alle toeristen waarschuwen om niet mee te werken aan betaalde "interactie" met grote katten (en andere wilde dieren) in Zuid-Afrika en andere landen. Werk niet mee aan het in stand houden van deze handel en mishandeling van dieren, hoe verleidelijk ook bedenk goed wat een leed hierachter schuilt!
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Every year thousands of people visit facilities where they can interact with lion cubs. Every day, a captive bred lion is killed in a canned hunt. The truth is that these lions are the product of factory farming. The cubs are taken from their mothers so that she can produce another litter in six months time, as opposed to two years time, if she had the opportunity to raise her own offspring. These factory farmed cubs are often kept in unsuitable cages with little regard for their social requirements. For a fee you can play and have your photograph taken with them. What happens to these human imprinted animals when they have outgrown their usefulness? Because they are human imprinted and have been deprived of growing up in a natural social group they cannot be rehabilitated or sold to game reserves. Do these lion cubs benefit from this forced interaction? How can they! What possible enjoyment can they derive from being pawed, picked up and being posed all day long, day after day, until they have grown too big? Are these animals part of breeding programmes that will save lions from extinction? NO! These inbred, human imprinted and psychologically damaged animals have absolutely no conservation value. They cannot be rehabilitated into the wild. They cannot be used to supplement dwindling wild populations. They can be used as canon fodder in the canned hunting industry. Every reputable animal welfare organization in the world considers the practice of using lion cubs for human playthings as cruelty. Lion cubs are by their very nature not gentle animals. Lion cubs used for petting opportunities are normally trained not to scratch or bite. How do you think a naturally boisterous animal is trained not to behave naturally? These cubs are sometimes even drugged! What about your safety? Every year many people are injured while interacting with wild animals in petting parks. Why do you think that they want you to sign an indemnity or have signs stating that you play with these animals at your own risk? Do they warn you about the possibility of being infected with parasites carried by these animals, some of which can be deadly? Next time you are presented with the opportunity of playing with a lion cub, first ask; Where are the cub's mothers? Why aren't they being raised by their mother? Where do the cubs come from? (Often, operators rent lion cubs from bigger breeding farms) What happens to them when they grow too big? If they are rehabilitated Where have they been rehabilitated and is there supporting documentation? Once they have been rehabilitated, do they have the opportunity to live out their natural lives, or is their rehabilitation just to facilitate their death at the hands of hunters? If they are sold to game reserves Which game reserves (by name)? If they are part of a breeding program For what purpose? What happens to surplus animals? The operators of facilities with lion cubs often have all the answers, but if you start asking these questions you will at some point be faced with a hostile response. At the end of the day it is up to you how you spend your money. We urge you to practice responsible tourism. If you are compelled to play with a lion cub that has been stolen from its mother and is subject to stressful and unnecessary handling day after day, please do so with the knowledge that this is probably why it has been bred and what will happen to it! |
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BEZOEK AAN GAIAPARK
WCM
is zaterdag 23 februari jl. in het Gaia Park te Kerkrade geweest op
uitnodiging van zoölogisch directeur Wim Verberkmoes. In ons
gesprek met Wim Verberkmoes heeft hij zijn kant van het verhaal
verteld over de kwestie van de overleden en verdwenen lynxen in dit
dierenpark. Hij heeft ons daarbij met klem gezegd dat het Gaipark
nooit en te nimmer dieren verkoopt en zeker niet aan particulieren.
De vraag blijft dus waar de verdwenen lynx is gebleven, maar
daar zal wel geen antwoord meer op komen.
Van ons prettige bezoek aan het Gaia Park kunnen jullie binnenkort meer
lezen in de serie "een dagje dierentuin" van WCM op DierenNieuws.nl.
Vooral de "apenfans" zullen hierbij goed aan hun trekken
komen. Lees ook de nieuwe artikelen van WCM op de dierennieuws website, zoals "een dagje dierentuin....deel 4: Ouwehand's Dierenpark".
MUNDIKAT MAGAZINE
De nieuwe uitgave van Mundikat Magazine is uit met daarin weer enkele WCM artikelen. Dit keer te lezen in de uitgave waarin de kleur zwart centraal staat: "Mijn poes Wiske", "Zwarte wilde katten" en het artikel "Actie - Reactie" waarin beschreven wordt dat de (wilde) dieren altijd reageren op een actie van de mens.
Leeuw bijt Chinees jongetje arm af
Een circusleeuw heeft een Chinees jongetje van 10 een arm afgebeten, heeft het staatspersbureau Xinhua maandag gemeld. Het ongeluk gebeurde zaterdag in Wanfota Park in Mengcheng in de oostelijke provincie Anhui, toen de leeuwin haar klauwen door de spijlen van haar kooi naar buiten stak en het jongetje vastgreep. Circusmedewerkers trokken de jongen weg, maar zijn linkerarm werd afgescheurd.
Het plaatselijke ziekenhuis bevestigde het verhaal, maar wilde over de toestand van het slachtoffer geen bijzonderheden geven. Volgens de politie stonden de spijlen van de kooi te ver uit elkaar, zei Xinhua.
(bron: depers.nl)