Ida Worst Zoos For Eles 2007
- Thread starter Zoo_Boy
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ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
"Top 10 worst" by who? The IDA? We are IGNORING them!!
Putting the SDWAP elephant habitats among any worst list is utterly ridiculous. As for the Zoo, they were well aware of the deficiencies of their Elephant Mesa, which is why they are opening Elephant Odyssey this year!
Again -- IGNORE the zoo-haters! They ONLY want to shut down zoos!
It is not blind zoo love. IDA is blind of how good zoos are these days. In my opinion I actually LOVE San Diego Zoo's Elephant Mesa and really don't think it is that bad. Ron Ringer (The head keeper) has a lot of experience and really cares about the elephants he cares for. The exhibit also has loads of enrichment to keep the elephants busy. Not to mention the way San Diego feeds their elephants is great too. Rather than placing food three times a day they place the food around in puzzle feeders. This way the elephant spends around 8-10 hours foraging around through the puzzle feeders and getting some exercise at the same time by manipulating them. This has helped their elephant problems tremendously and Devi, the 30 year-old Asian Elephant has lost nearly a ton since 2000.
@NZ Jeremy: The fact that IDA has SDWAP and SDZ on their top 10 list just goes to show how inaccurate the list really is. In all honesty the only zoo that really deserves to be on the list is the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA.
@NZ Jeremy: The fact that IDA has SDWAP and SDZ on their top 10 list just goes to show how inaccurate the list really is. In all honesty the only zoo that really deserves to be on the list is the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA.
On the same note ZOOS SHOULD NOT NEED TO PROVE ANYTHING TO THE IDA.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
I would say that I resent this "blind zoo love" tag, but I think I know you're not necessarily trying to insult me.
I am NOT blind in my love for Zoos. As I've said, I fully agree that, in may cases, zoos could do better and they do have "flaws" and "imperfections". I do argue that 95% of America's top zoos have no real "problems" -- that is problems where the animals are truly suffering. That's not blind, nor is it "seeing the glass half full". It's a realistic look at these excellent zoos.
Question: Is it blind pro-Americanism to say "Ignore what Al Quida says about the USA"? No, because we all know that Al Quida only wants to destroy America. Same thing with the IDA and zoos -- they only want to shut down zoos, thus IGNORE THEM!
sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
I think I'd disagree Allen - although I think you and I might disagree on many issues! But surely we - whether that be zoos or world superpowers - simply cannot afford to ignore our enemies, and their views. I don't want to get dragged into world politics, but - and I say this as an America-phile - possibly it's America's problem that it hasn't sought to understand those who are "against" it. Likewise with zoos. We do need to listen to the stuff which is spouted by those who would destroy us, so that we can fight it and argue against it - and, if the argument put forward does have any validity, move to sort out the problem which has been highlighted.
I don't know about the situation in America, but here in Europe there were many, many poor exhibits to be seen ten or fifteen years ago. These have largely gone now. And I think it would be naive to think that the anti-zoo lobby has had nothing to do with that. My experience of America is based largely on zoo visits in the early 1990s, and there were some very poor exhibits then - off the top of my head, I would highlight Philadelphia's old carnivore house, big chunks of Topeka and Kansas City Zoos, and most of the Baltimore Zoo. And I won't even go there with the Henry Doorly Zoo! If we are confident of ourselves, we can take on board the comments of those with whom we disagree, learn from them, and then improve as a consequence.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
Sooty,
I understand your point -- and I don't totally disagree with you. I also don't think I have an "Americaphile" problem. When I say IGNORE THEM, I mean to disregard any possibility that they have any legitimacy. And I'm not saying we should ignore everyone who disagrees with us. I'm talking about those whose goal is our destruction -- whether it be Al Quida wanting to destroy America, or the IDA wanting to shut down all zoos. We have to ALWAYS keep in mind what their ultimate goal is.
I'm also not saying we should ignore them from an "intelligence" angle. Of course the Intelligence-gathering community (CIA, etc.) of the USA and Western Europe cannot afford to ignore what terrorists say. Similarly, we can hear what the anti-zoo radicals say -- so we know how to counter them. But again, we should ignore any legitimacy of what radicals say, whether they be terrorists or anti-zoo fanatics.
Whatever good changes have been made in both European or American zoos, I do not give the anti-zoo lobby any credit at all. The good changes came about because of responsible pro-zoo people like most of those on this board. Whenever the anti-zoo radicals have happened to be correct in their criticisms, I chalk that up as similar to a stopped clock being correct twice a day -- coincidence.
I understand your point -- and I don't totally disagree with you. I also don't think I have an "Americaphile" problem. When I say IGNORE THEM, I mean to disregard any possibility that they have any legitimacy. And I'm not saying we should ignore everyone who disagrees with us. I'm talking about those whose goal is our destruction -- whether it be Al Quida wanting to destroy America, or the IDA wanting to shut down all zoos. We have to ALWAYS keep in mind what their ultimate goal is.
I'm also not saying we should ignore them from an "intelligence" angle. Of course the Intelligence-gathering community (CIA, etc.) of the USA and Western Europe cannot afford to ignore what terrorists say. Similarly, we can hear what the anti-zoo radicals say -- so we know how to counter them. But again, we should ignore any legitimacy of what radicals say, whether they be terrorists or anti-zoo fanatics.
Whatever good changes have been made in both European or American zoos, I do not give the anti-zoo lobby any credit at all. The good changes came about because of responsible pro-zoo people like most of those on this board. Whenever the anti-zoo radicals have happened to be correct in their criticisms, I chalk that up as similar to a stopped clock being correct twice a day -- coincidence.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
Sooty, I just re-read your post, and I think I can summarize: I have ZERO interest in "understanding" the views of those whose goal is to destroy us. My only interest is in destroying them. Same thing with the anti-zoo radicals -- I don't want to "understand" them, but rather I want to destroy their arguments!