I couldn't stand this ancient cat house when I visited in the summer of 2008, and the noise inside was deafening with the echoes of visitors rebounding off of the walls. The cages are FAR too small for the pacing cats that live miserable lives. I seriously think that the zoo should put their poor cats out of their collective misery by sending them off to other zoos, and then the building could be gutted and turned into some sort of restaurant/cafeteria area. The Toledo Zoo did exactly that to their old feline house, and there are photos of the "Carnivore Cafe" in the ZooChat gallery.
Here is a photo from the Toledo Zoo, and visitors can sit and eat in the old cages alongside the main walkway:
@BlackRhino:
You haven´t seen Swedish prison cells... comfortable (albeit small) one room apartments with tv, bookshelf and computer. I am not kidding and I do not say that this is good, especially since I am a genuine conservative when it comes to crime and punishment, law and order etc. But that´s the way it is in Sweden...
Anyway, just as you, I was thinking more in line with traditional prison cells all around the world, and I still think that this photo shows what must be a prison cell for a leopard. Thankfully there is a better outdoor cage, according to mweb00.
This leopard might well have an outdoor enclosure, but not all of the cats in this house have access to anything other than what is shown in the photo. The Kovler Lion House was built in 1912, and the "Great Hall" is architecturally wonderful but downright disgraceful for holding large or small cats. The noise level alone is enough for anyone to heap derogatory comments upon the outdated building, but none of the indoor enclosures are anything more than archaic cages that are literally almost a century old.
@Dan: I agree 100%, but American animal legislation is in the dark ages in comparison to your beloved Swedish rules and regulations. The new lion enclosure at "Elephant Odyssey" wouldn't even be allowed to exist under Swedish law, and yet it is a brand new exhibit at the San Diego Zoo! I truly wish that we had stricter laws on this side of the Atlantic.
