Now, there are many zoos in this world, let alone bad ones. Over the time I have spent website I have seen footage of some nasty facilities from mismanaged government facilities to businesses that reek neglect. I wonder if users of this site who traveled around the world and toured any kind of zoo such as @snowleopard @Giant Eland ever ask themselves "is this the worst zoo yet?" or are able to pick the zoo that is the absolute worst among many others. Well, let me introduce you to such facility which may hold an answer.
Due to the fact that many members of this community are from the West I understand why this place might not catch anyone's attention here. Therefore I'd only expect users from Japan or know Japanese zoos well such as @FrancoiseLangur and @aardvark250 to know or recognize this place. I am the only zoochatter who has mentioned this facility multiple times and only saw one small thread focus on it's now closed branch. I also tried to talk about this place with friends and on the discord server, but I now feel like talking about this for a greater audience. I have seen only a few English articles focus on this facility and the actions it has done. In fact, this zoo has slipped under many (non-japanese) animal rights and welfare radars' until around 2018.
This place I am talking about is the Horii zoo.
The Horii zoo is located in the Moriyama city, in Shiga Prefecture. It is owned and managed by Yoshinori Horii. According to an Interview made in 2017, Horii worked at a petshop/animal broker in Kyoto ever since 5th grade and worked at the animal transport business before opening his mobile zoo in 1982. The zoo is able to obtain animals that are even rare in Japanese zoos such as Canada lynx and Pesquet's parrot.
The facility is actually two locations, one of them being a warehouse in Moriyama
and the other being a small farmland in Yasu city holding larger animals such as giraffes, eland, and zebra.
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...&key=ckNuanhVVExFMUp5UUdsaFh3MzB3elFvd1lCczlR
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...&key=TjlqbGxOVWRGYzVpOERHdHhlcmZTRWViM0JvUFFB
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=M3lyelNJeXVGelRCLUtwOGl6TF93UWVaMVh4Ul9B
I'm posting this video because it shows the interior of the Moriyama ware house including the lift/elevator
Since then, this facility haf faced many controversies including animal escapes (such as porcupines, lungfish, and a kangaroo).
Zoo's escaped kangaroo found in rice paddy
This facility probably got off the hook for the longest time because the owner claimed that most of the animals were either disabled or were goimg to be put down. Examples could be seen in this link describing a documentary made on the zoo in 2007.
ドキュメンタリー大賞 第16回
However they wouldn't be able to get away with this for long.
In February 25 2011 a fire broke in the dawn and killed over 300 animals. According to the animal rights organization peace, this was a result of a cigarette butt which wasn't properly extinguished. There used to be articled and footages of the event online but it seems like they got taken down.
At around 2015, a facility called the Meccha sawareru zoo was opened in the Pieri Moriyama. This facility was the start of the Horii Zoo's downfall. A picture of Leon/Rion was surfaced with a big scar/scab on his forehead amd a red stain on the window which was covered by a sheet of paper. This caused an outroar by animal lovers in Japan. This was followed by information of the zoo violating what I can summarize a Japanese version of the DWA act of England becasue the transfer of a guareza and a bald eagle were not notified to the authorities. More violations were surface by the Japanese animal rights organization PEACE including the unnotified transfer of Japanese macaques, alligators, and giraffes. In early 2019, Pieri did not renew the lease of the Meccha Sawareru zoo causing it to shut down.
These errors, along with a petition to shut down Horii Zoo itself did work. Yoshinori Horii's animal handling/exhibiting licensewas terminated. Horii tried to appeal for the charges he got for the transfer of the dangerous animals, but that did not work. Some of the dangerous or invasive animals did sent to other facilities for the better (i.e. Daichi the chimp getting transferred to the Kumamoto Sanctuary) or not-so-better (Leon and a black bear getting sent to Ouchiyama zoo), while many others may have gotten euthanized.
And thus is the much awaited end of the tragic story of the Horii zoo.
SIKE!!
Now, I did say that Yoshinori Horii's animal handling/exhibiting license was terminated. But not his wife's. Using a loophole, they opened a new facility named Jackson's (named after their bactrian camel.) Not only that they opened a new facility on the parking lot of a big box store called meccha omoroi zoo. It is basically Meccha sawareru zoo but without large carnivores. There was no effort for the staff to make this new place look different than the facilities before Horii's permit was terminated, the same terrible enclosures, sign fonts, and childish taste in decor etc.. It definitely looks safe to visit during a pandemic.
To be fair I do want to visit there so no one else has to.
Due to the fact that many members of this community are from the West I understand why this place might not catch anyone's attention here. Therefore I'd only expect users from Japan or know Japanese zoos well such as @FrancoiseLangur and @aardvark250 to know or recognize this place. I am the only zoochatter who has mentioned this facility multiple times and only saw one small thread focus on it's now closed branch. I also tried to talk about this place with friends and on the discord server, but I now feel like talking about this for a greater audience. I have seen only a few English articles focus on this facility and the actions it has done. In fact, this zoo has slipped under many (non-japanese) animal rights and welfare radars' until around 2018.
This place I am talking about is the Horii zoo.
The Horii zoo is located in the Moriyama city, in Shiga Prefecture. It is owned and managed by Yoshinori Horii. According to an Interview made in 2017, Horii worked at a petshop/animal broker in Kyoto ever since 5th grade and worked at the animal transport business before opening his mobile zoo in 1982. The zoo is able to obtain animals that are even rare in Japanese zoos such as Canada lynx and Pesquet's parrot.
The facility is actually two locations, one of them being a warehouse in Moriyama
and the other being a small farmland in Yasu city holding larger animals such as giraffes, eland, and zebra.
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...&key=ckNuanhVVExFMUp5UUdsaFh3MzB3elFvd1lCczlR
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...&key=TjlqbGxOVWRGYzVpOERHdHhlcmZTRWViM0JvUFFB
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=M3lyelNJeXVGelRCLUtwOGl6TF93UWVaMVh4Ul9B
I'm posting this video because it shows the interior of the Moriyama ware house including the lift/elevator
Since then, this facility haf faced many controversies including animal escapes (such as porcupines, lungfish, and a kangaroo).
Zoo's escaped kangaroo found in rice paddy
This facility probably got off the hook for the longest time because the owner claimed that most of the animals were either disabled or were goimg to be put down. Examples could be seen in this link describing a documentary made on the zoo in 2007.
ドキュメンタリー大賞 第16回
However they wouldn't be able to get away with this for long.
In February 25 2011 a fire broke in the dawn and killed over 300 animals. According to the animal rights organization peace, this was a result of a cigarette butt which wasn't properly extinguished. There used to be articled and footages of the event online but it seems like they got taken down.
At around 2015, a facility called the Meccha sawareru zoo was opened in the Pieri Moriyama. This facility was the start of the Horii Zoo's downfall. A picture of Leon/Rion was surfaced with a big scar/scab on his forehead amd a red stain on the window which was covered by a sheet of paper. This caused an outroar by animal lovers in Japan. This was followed by information of the zoo violating what I can summarize a Japanese version of the DWA act of England becasue the transfer of a guareza and a bald eagle were not notified to the authorities. More violations were surface by the Japanese animal rights organization PEACE including the unnotified transfer of Japanese macaques, alligators, and giraffes. In early 2019, Pieri did not renew the lease of the Meccha Sawareru zoo causing it to shut down.
These errors, along with a petition to shut down Horii Zoo itself did work. Yoshinori Horii's animal handling/exhibiting licensewas terminated. Horii tried to appeal for the charges he got for the transfer of the dangerous animals, but that did not work. Some of the dangerous or invasive animals did sent to other facilities for the better (i.e. Daichi the chimp getting transferred to the Kumamoto Sanctuary) or not-so-better (Leon and a black bear getting sent to Ouchiyama zoo), while many others may have gotten euthanized.
And thus is the much awaited end of the tragic story of the Horii zoo.
SIKE!!
Now, I did say that Yoshinori Horii's animal handling/exhibiting license was terminated. But not his wife's. Using a loophole, they opened a new facility named Jackson's (named after their bactrian camel.) Not only that they opened a new facility on the parking lot of a big box store called meccha omoroi zoo. It is basically Meccha sawareru zoo but without large carnivores. There was no effort for the staff to make this new place look different than the facilities before Horii's permit was terminated, the same terrible enclosures, sign fonts, and childish taste in decor etc.. It definitely looks safe to visit during a pandemic.
To be fair I do want to visit there so no one else has to.
