No, you're taking my comments too personally - you personally are not a snob. I just think people forget when they are defending something that other opinions might also be informed.
It's fine to challenge me about my keeper past, but there's no way I'll be drawn on it because I'm not here to field countless PMs for information about the collections I worked at, nor do I want to be asked about them as if I'm representing them as I left this field around a decade ago, and current keepers for those collections may use this site in which case they should be representing those collections, not ex-staff. BUT, I will say that the 'super-zoos' I worked in were by no means perfect.....which is exactly my point, I don't mean to put your back up as the keeping staff are rarely to blame for the overall state of a collection. But I stand by my view that a lot of these enclosures do not look like they are the products of keeper brainstorming sessions.
I appreciate that you feel strongly that this man should be able to realise some 'dream', but this is not some artist or composer we are talking about, the subjects of his dream are living, breathing creatures, some which have come from the wild, all able to feel stress and discomfort, over which he has ultimate control. I believe EAZA and regional cooperation in terms of collection planning and best practice are essential to the zoo community moving forward. It was one thing for a maverick such as aspinall in the 50s to strike out along a different path, but today this kind of unilateral collecting of unusual gems is interesting, but I don't believe appropriate. I think lots of people on this site want this zoo to be better, they don't want it to close down. Criticism for that end is therefore constructive, no matter how many nerves it touches.
And I would still like to know if you would send tapir or sun bears to those facilities.
