GW Exotic Animal Park (Closed) GW Animal Park Discussion

Shellheart said:
I'm sure it does leave a lot out, however, it is a limited series. Given time and budgetary constraints you can't include everything, you just have to include the most interesting parts of a story. That said, I really don't see how anyone would think Joe Exotic is great from viewing the documentary. He's vaguely personable, I guess, but his paranoid ranting, threats of violence, inadequate facilities, and extremely predatory labor practices really make me struggle to understand how anyone's takeaway from the doc was "Joe is neat"...Well, looking at the current occupant of the Oval Office, maybe I don't struggle that much :rolleyes:
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It's as limited as they wanted it to be. It isn't about budget. They interviewed people that I know, some for 10+ hours, and left out all footage because it was too harsh about Joe. Even things that would have have taken a moment to include but made a real difference, like Joe not being the one singing on his "songs".
 
birdsandbats said:
She claims to be against killing cats and yet owns a Leopard-skin coat.
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Ironic for someone who claims to be allergic to cats. I’ve seen the first episode of the series and it is everything I never expected this show to have. And the worst part is that now I want to know more aka watch the whole series.
 
TinoPup said:
She has her pros and cons. Biggest con, imo, being that she's anti-zoo. But she does provide a home for a lot of cats, she's helped stop cub petting at malls, etc.
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I think the funny thing about her anti-zoo stance is how dumpy and inadequate the "homes" she provides her cats are, as compared to the exhibits of a proper zoo, which she labels cages. Personally, I think her biggest con is that she continues to run entirely off of unpaid labor, some of whom undergo half a decade of training, while she profits immensely.
 
TinoPup said:
People choose to work their, they aren't forced to.
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I didn't say they were forced, but it doesn't make it any less immoral. Plenty of people would work at Disneyland for free, but if Disneyland said "We don't pay our employees because they get the benefit of being here" there would be an uproar, mind you that's also Carole's logic. BCR may not be a megacorp like Disney, but she makes plenty of money to pay employees.
 
My friend Dale Anderson, founder of Cat Haven, did a podcast with hosts who had him on as a result of the Tiger King series (he knows Joe Exotic). It's a bit lengthy - just over 34 minutes - but really interesting IMO. They don't get into The Tiger King discussion until around the 16:48 mark, so you can skip ahead if that is all you are interested in. However most of the first part talks about how Cat Haven was set up, how they do conservation, and I think a lot of ZooChatters would find it very interesting. The podcast page appears to have a series of boxes (in descending order). As I type this it is the newest one so it is at the top of the page (titled Tiger Talk). But if you click on this later and don't see it, just scroll down the page until you see that title.
The Me Vs Her Podcast
 
I find it hilarious that BCR is anti-zoo, but the first thing I read when I go to their website and click on "The Sanctuary Cats" tab is "Big Cat Rescue Collaborates with Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium to Bring a Jaguar and Leopard to the Sanctuary."

The concept behind BCR is amazing, providing a home for displaced cats, but the constantly jabs BCR takes are zoos - who also educate people on cats and why they wouldn't make good pets - is disgusting.
 
So I just finished watching the entire series...

my god...

I knew this thing was going to ridiculous - as anything relating to Joe Exotic often is - but my god this was really something else. I've been aware of Joes antics for years and have always had a strong disliking of him, but he still manages to shock me every time he slips further and further into his own lunacy. From handing out condoms with his face of them, his dodgy accommodation for his employees who he picks up off the street, his multiple husbands who are all strait (?), his "Prince Albert" and of course the way he treats his animals. I don't even know how one lets themselves get to this point.

I remember another member saying Joe was the Donald Trump of the zoo world, but if anything Doc Antle seems to resemble him much more. His loud, pompous attitude, affinity for women, and his clear drive for profits. Not to mention his disturbing accusations of cult-like behavior with his female employees. I don't know enough about Myrtle Beach Safari other than that Time when they made the IDA's top 10 worst zoos for elephants list, but this facility looks like a tourist trap, plain and simple. That combined with him supposedly gassing tiger cubs after they outlive their usefulness makes for a pretty grim image.

Now, if Doc was the Trump of the zoo world, Carol Baskin is the Hillary Clinton of the zoo world. Her hypocrisy with her anti-zoo agenda makes zero sense, especially considering the previously mentioned dealings with Omaha. Her cages don't seem too much better than Joe or Docs, and the fact she refuses to pay her employees is downright scummy. I won't comment on the situation with her husband, but it all does seem rather sketchy, no? Really, there is no good guy to this story. Everybody involved is equally as scummy. The only likable characters are the transgender amputee (arm malled off by a tiger) and the guy with no legs, both former employees of Joes.

Hopefully this series doesn't effect the public image of zoos in general. I doubt this will effect public AZA zoos much if at all, but private zoos will probably suffer to some extent because of actions of Joe, Carol etc. A real shame these nuts that have no clue what their doing are tarnishing reputations. A good series with some real scum of the earth people as the stars.

By the way, did Jeff ever get around to opening the new zoo? I don't know how he plans on getting elephants, rhinos etc. but I suppose we will see.
 
pachyderm pro said:
So I just finished watching the entire series...

my god...

I knew this thing was going to ridiculous - as anything relating to Joe Exotic often is - but my god this was really something else. I've been aware of Joes antics for years and have always had a strong disliking of him, but he still manages to shock me every time he slips further and further into his own lunacy. From handing out condoms with his face of them, his dodgy accommodation for his employees who he picks up off the street, his multiple husbands who are all strait (?), his "Prince Albert" and of course the way he treats his animals. I don't even know how one lets themselves get to this point.

I remember another member saying Joe was the Donald Trump of the zoo world, but if anything Doc Antle seems to resemble him much more. His loud, pompous attitude, affinity for women, and his clear drive for profits. Not to mention his disturbing accusations of cult-like behavior with his female employees. I don't know enough about Myrtle Beach Safari other than that Time when they made the IDA's top 10 worst zoos for elephants list, but this facility looks like a tourist trap, plain and simple. That combined with him supposedly gassing tiger cubs after they outlive their usefulness makes for a pretty grim image.

Now, if Doc was the Trump of the zoo world, Carol Baskin is the Hillary Clinton of the zoo world. Her hypocrisy with her anti-zoo agenda makes zero sense, especially considering the previously mentioned dealings with Omaha. Her cages don't seem too much better than Joe or Docs, and the fact she refuses to pay her employees is downright scummy. I won't comment on the situation with her husband, but it all does seem rather sketchy, no? Really, there is no good guy to this story. Everybody involved is equally as scummy. The only likable characters are the transgender amputee (arm malled off by a tiger) and the guy with no legs, both former employees of Joes.

Hopefully this series doesn't effect the public image of zoos in general. I doubt this will effect public AZA zoos much if at all, but private zoos will probably suffer to some extent because of actions of Joe, Carol etc. A real shame these nuts that have no clue what their doing are tarnishing reputations. A good series with some real scum of the earth people as the stars.

By the way, did Jeff ever get around to opening the new zoo? I don't know how he plans on getting elephants, rhinos etc. but I suppose we will see.
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Take the stuff about her husband with a grain of salt. It's just one of Joe's theories, and he isn't exactly known for quality thinking. The police have investigated anything and everything.

Saff doesn't consider himself transgender.

Regarding the new zoo.. LOL no. He still claims it's opening soon (latest was supposed to be spring break), but drone photos have shown there's nothing on the property. There's also no road to it.
 
Everyone’s a bad guy except for Todd, I actually felt sorry for that guy, and I think he was too young and drugged to know what he was involved in mostly. And kudus to the staff who left and are trying to turn their lives around away from Joe and Jeff.

I think the scariest person in the whole show for me was “Doc” Antle, if anything because outside admitting to killing his cubs once they’re no longer any use which destroys his conservation message right there(of course breeding hybrids and morphs isn’t conservation on a species level), he’s also just a complete creep, and he hides it a lot better than Joe does. He’s just a straight up polygamist and it was very unsettling for me to watch.

Its no surprise that the new zoo hasn’t completed building; private zoos typically lack the money and resources that accreditation gives a facility and it doses not help when you work for a con-artist who keeps getting felony charges.

The biggest complaint that I have about the series is the animals, not just how they were treated, but also how as the series progressed they took a back seat to the psychos running their lives. I liked in the first few episodes how the series exposed the keeping of big cats illegally, and how private zoos often make their money via photographs with cubs and breeding for profit under the conservation message; to those of us who work in accredited zoos it portrays a fascinating, and horrifying story full of short cuts, losses, and desperate and small-sighted decisions. It’s like what was said at the end of the last episode: in the end, no animal won anything from this, and that's a powerful message. I feel like that message took a massive dive as the series progressed in favor of the human antics over the animals welfare issues.
 
TinoPup said:
Take the stuff about her husband with a grain of salt. It's just one of Joe's theories, and he isn't exactly known for quality thinking. The police have investigated anything and everything.

Saff doesn't consider himself transgender.

Regarding the new zoo.. LOL no. He still claims it's opening soon (latest was supposed to be spring break), but drone photos have shown there's nothing on the property. There's also no road to it.
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Trust me, I don't take any of Joes theories seriously, but the memes spawned from it have been pretty funny. Though, in the event she didn't do it I feel extremely bad for her in that regard.

Apologies, I read that somewhere and assumed it was true.

Yeah, it was almost comical hearing one of the guys hyping the place up saying something along the lines of "we won't stop until we're the best zoo in the country." With just a few million to go off of, that wouldn't even fund a new exhibit complex at any major zoo. Considering the buffoons in charge of the place, it wouldn't surprise me if this facility doesn't see the light of day for a while.

As an aside, I definitely agree with @Loxodonta Cobra on being disappointed with the lack of focus on the animals at times. Admittedly some of the scenes that did involve them were pretty hard to watch - specifically Joe dragging a tiger cub away from its mother by pulling it underneath a fence, nearly ripping its head off. Some really painful scenes depicted, the only moment of levity being when Joes elderly chimps were finally moved do a half decent facility.
 
Just realized in my other post when I said Todd, I meant to say Travis, I had forgotten his name but anyone who's seen the series will know who i'm talking about.
 
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