India's Richest Family Building World's Largest Zoo
- Thread starter Smaggledagle
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OkapiJohn
Well-Known Member
Someone would need to be very naive or lacking critical thinking to believe that this thing ever was a legitimate project... Or even call it a zoo. Let the billionaires save the world's biodiversity as some people believe
I read the article last night and yes most of us are right, just a rich man’s private zoo. His collection raises eyebrows as to where they’re getting these animals. Why is there a need to paint it as a rescue/rehab center and just not call it a zoo of their own? Also why lie about having partnerships with WWF and IUCN? I just hope their animals needs are being met and don’t suddenly feel the need to “rescue” a Saola or Sumatran Rhino.
I know a lot of us are talking about the acquisition of animals, but the fact that the zoo is being funded by the family who owns Reliance Industries, a GIANT natural gas and petroleum company, is, like the article states, blatant greenwashing. It markets itself as a "conservation organization" when the company who funds it literally is the reason why many of these species are endangered.
OkapiJohn
Well-Known Member
But is shocking that some people on this forum would applaud it if they would manage to get saola or Sumatran rhino.
And your evidence for this wild accusation is?
I would have no problems in theory with a billionaire using his funds for a legitimate zoo.
In fact I would guess that is the wild dream of 99.99999% of zoo chatters (give or take a dozen or so
)
And even all the animals acquired from Kangaroo Rescue in the UAE don't seem all that problematic to me (in and of themselves cause they all seem they would be fairly easy to acquire from legitimate sources ) but when they acquire 64! hybrid lions (are these lions of unknown lineage or are they ligers or tigons and such?) that raises more than a few eyebrows about their actual intentions.
And calling it a rescue seems more designed to deflect than anything else.
Kinda of a shame cause it seems he has the funds to do some legitimate good
In fact I would guess that is the wild dream of 99.99999% of zoo chatters (give or take a dozen or so
)And even all the animals acquired from Kangaroo Rescue in the UAE don't seem all that problematic to me (in and of themselves cause they all seem they would be fairly easy to acquire from legitimate sources ) but when they acquire 64! hybrid lions (are these lions of unknown lineage or are they ligers or tigons and such?) that raises more than a few eyebrows about their actual intentions.
And calling it a rescue seems more designed to deflect than anything else.
Kinda of a shame cause it seems he has the funds to do some legitimate good
OkapiJohn
Well-Known Member
You do not need to go further away than this thread... but zoochat is full of "fanboys" celebrating smuggled marine iguanas from the Galapagos and other stuff like that.
Statements like this:
Ok, I’m convinced. Maybe it was just that Saola (possibly already extinct) and Sumatran Rhinoceros both seemed a little far fetched
It is only your superstition that when a rich mans zoo gets rare animals, its everything smuggling and illegal. There are numerous animals in India and elsewhere from old circuses, poor rescue centers, outdated exhibits in old zoos etc, which would fill several places like that.
It is not a conservation breeding facility. But as a rescue place, this is a different league. Numerous old elephants with arthritis in Western zoos can get little more than pain medication. This place has a specialized medical center for elephants. European breeding plan cannot cope with space for 20 growing elephants, Vantara has 200.
Wisp O' Mist
Well-Known Member
Wildlife trafficking and smuggling have already been linked to this facility, though? The good that they do does not offset those crimes.
Ignoring anything else, the fact that they keep Galapagos iguanas alone means they are involved in the illegal trade.
I'd estimate the chances of their having obtained Tapanuli Orangutan via legitimate means lie somewhere between "zero" and "snowball in hell" too... .
Does that mean that every zoo that has Fiji banded iguanas is involved in the illegal trade?
Cause its my understanding that none were ever exported from Fiji legally?
USZOOfan42
Well-Known Member
@OkapiJohn if this zoo does somehow obtain and provide for a species like the saola I will applaud. The likelihood of them somehow getting even into the trade and getting to this zoo without even be caught, kudos to them. I mean is it right, no. But even acquiring them deserves some recognition. But, I do not support this illegal trade that they are doing.
There is a difference between collections holding a species which originated from illegal stock several generations before, and collections obtaining a species directly *from* those responsible for the initial illegal export - and to the best of my knowledge, the vast majority (if not all) of the Galapagos iguanas which have popped up in recent years can be directly tied to the activities of Thomas Price and his associates.
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USZOOfan42
Well-Known Member
How is it not logical to “applaud” a zoo for obtaining one of the most elusive (if not the most) animals on the planet and successfully keeping it?
That’s assuming they successfully keep saolas (which I what you are referring to) in the first try without any casualties in the first place.
The logical contradiction is in claiming you would applaud them for doing it, yet simultaneously not support them doing it.... somehow
I admit the name Thomas Price means nothing to me and I know nothing about what he has done. But you are saying that whatever animals he smuggled if they breed then their offspring are fair game for any zoo.....ETHICALLY? I'm not seeing the difference so much.
I mean there is no question about paying a smuggler to smuggle an animal(s) directly but there are a lot of grey areas after that, IMO.
I think this may or may not be similar to spix macaw. Many of those birds were
smuggled out illegally (Hell all of them for all I know) but I don;t think it was wrong or unethical to gather them from individuals and then breed them. That probably saved the species.