FEATURES
animals in prison
Compilation & Commentary by Sherry Henderson
Zoos and Aquaria: Sanctuaries or Deathtraps?
When we hold people in captivity we call it imprison- ment – when this occurs outside of the legal system it is called false imprisonment and the captors are subject to being prosecuted and held responsible for capitol crimes if one of their hostages dies. However; this is not the case in zoos and aquariums, where animals are held captive for the “education” and entertainment of humans. This practice, of holding animal hostage until death is universally accepted as the norm.
We are not talking here about rehabili- tation facilities and other wild life cen- ters that exist for the purpose of protect- ing the animal popu- lation from extinc- tion nor are we tar- geting groups which rescue and rehabili- tate injured animals and sea creatures, rather this discourse is intended to draw attention to those amusement parks which house animals and our participation in this crime against nature.
Research facilities which use dogs, cats, mice and chimps have long been understood to be torture chambers. Almost everyone who has any kind of interest in animal rights is working diligently to have animal testing stopped. Yet it seems that those same animal rights proponents turn a blind eye to the atrocity of taking a living sentient being out of its habitat and forcing it into captivity.
In captivity, birds’ wings are often clipped so they can- not fly, aquatic animals often have little water and ani- mals who naturally live in large herds or family groups are often kept alone or, at most, in pairs.
Animals are closely confined, lack privacy and have little opportunity for mental stimulation or physical exercise, resulting in abnormal and self-destructive behavior such as repeated head-bobbing, biting cage bars, pac- ing, producing stillborns, playing with excrement and severely mutilating themselves.
20
Doing life with no parole
PETA India Reports:
In 1999 - At the Prince of Wales Zoo in Lucknow, 72- year-old elephant Damini died while grieving the loss of the only elephant she had ever known.
Lalita, a lion being kept at the Heera Golden Zoo, resorted to licking herself all day long out of sheer boredom. After she was seized from the zoo, a veterinarian extracted two huge balls of hair that had led to a 5-foot block in her intestines.
In Montgomery Alabama’s Zoo
Zoo veterinar- ian says the final necropsy reports show the deaths of a 23-year- old African ele- phant and her 1- month-old calf were not related to breeding ele- phants in zoos, a conclusion that critics dispute.
Zoo veterinar- ian Jack Kottwitz said the report showed the mother elephant, Mary, died Aug. 16, 2008, from an abdominal problem with intestinal rup-
ture and that she would have died in the wild.
She died three days after giving birth. Her male calf, weighing 200-plus pounds, died from a fungus infec- tion, known as candida, resulting in heart failure, according to the necropsy.
A California-based group, I ees f Ai as, seeks n Dfne o nml
to ban elephant breeding in zoos, contending the restricted space of captivity can create health problems during pregnancy, including digestive disorders like those that led to Mary’s death. w
w.ao.o
Georgia Aquarium High Profile Deaths
Marina a female Beluga whale, died Dec. 1, 2008 after she stopped eating and appeared disoriented while swimming. She was about 25 years old.
Nico and Gaspar, two whales obtained from a park in Mexico suffered “significant health issues” from their
Oracle 20/20 April 2010
wonwcm
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44