Dartmoor Zoo Lion Man Craig Busch at Dartmoor!

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jacks zoo

jacks zoo

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I am so very sad and dissapointed that Dartmoor are endorsing Craig Busch- he is appearing there on the 26th and 27th October. Apparantly he is doing a tour of uk zoos. This realy makes me sick!
 
Maybe he will go in with the tigers and they can show him how friendly they are :rolleyes: :eek: (not declawed )
 
Dartmoor Zoo does not agree with everything that may or may not happen at Zion Wildlife Gardens in New Zealand, the truth of the matter is that Craig Bucsh has a huge fan base in the UK, with 25000 facebook members. For a small zoo like Dartmoor if even a 10th of that amount visited us whilst Craig is at the zoo then that would help majorly with funds over the winter. We have many plans to develop new enclosures throughout the zoo that'll hold some new exciting endangered species; we cannot do this without money. We appreciate that some people may dislike Craig for whatever reason; I ask those of you to see it from a business point of view.
 
The majoriy of Craigs uk supporters are unaware of the reality of zion wildlife gardens, but i suppose most of those supporters also think that white tigers are an endangered species! Having him at the park may earn some extra funds but wont earn them any respect.

I feel sad that all the hard work others do in educating the public is being undermined:(
 
I must say i have to agree with DZP. Whatever you may think of Craig Busch he will be helping the zoo raise much needed revenue so that Dartmoor can continue with the good work already done and improve the lives of all the animals. This cannot be done without money. Craig does have a huge fan base in England. If the fans come to see him at Dartmoor then the animals can only benefit. Its not as if he is going to do any "hands on" work with any of the animals. He is just visiting during a UK tour. Why not benefit from it.
 
I understand it is fantastic publicity but it is sending the wrong message to the public. I think they should let him do some hands on work with the big cats-the jaguar would be my first choice :)

Shame on Dartmoor for supporting the Lionman
 
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The Lionman

Hi Guys, i understand why Dartmoor is doing what they are doing, however as has been previously said most of the UK fan base refuses to believe that their beloved Craig Busch is not an animal conservation god, the facebook fans in the past have harrassed Noah's ark zoo telling them that the baby tiger cub needed more human interaction and that they should get a vet in to it!

The message that this visit is sending out is really really bad, he endorses white lions and tigers and claims that they are endangered, he also claims that his white tigers were all unrelated however with the way that bloodlines in America run, is this really possible? i have my doubts. The MAF declawing report sugests that he knew that declawing was wrong, with wanting the procedure and any mention of it kept off camera.
 
Lion Man in the UK

I just hope that Dartmoor is not paying the freight to get Craig Busch out to the UK. Maybe just the flock of sheep that seem to pay his way in life are doing that.
 
Just a question I would pose here to Dartmoor Zoo. Is that definitely confirmed because it has not been announced on the Facebook Fan Page at all. I would have thought if this is an event there would have been an announcement? Very very odd indeed and also he is in the Employment Court on the 20th of October so I suppose he'll be flying out after that if he is actually going that is.:confused:
 
I am absolutely disgusted that Dartmoor should even consider this. Quoting 'business' has absolutely no credence. I would rather close my zoo down than give him a stage on which to perform. Dartmoor should cancel and show that they actually care about animals. If they don't they don't.
 
Peter Dickinson said:
I am absolutely disgusted that Dartmoor should even consider this. Quoting 'business' has absolutely no credence. I would rather close my zoo down than give him a stage on which to perform. Dartmoor should cancel and show that they actually care about animals. If they don't they don't.
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Peter I'm wondering if it's actually going to happen at all. But I understand where you are coming from. Personally I would get someone else to visit. David Attenborough would be a good choice or someone well known in the field of conservation work rather than someone who willfully had 21 Lions and 9 tigers declawed, and promoted white tigers as an "endangered species" when they are in fact the result of inbreeding for their colouring nothing more. Hands on contact? To what benefit? Simply for commercial reasons. I take it Dartmoor Zoo is privately owned rather than funded by any Government or local body.
 
Peter Dickinson said:
The visit is on Dartmoors Blogspot: Dartmoor Zoological Park

Purely commercial. I belive they must re-think.

Just re-checked. I note you have visited the blog.
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Yes I've read the blog post. I'm following it now to see what the updates are. I also have been following yours for quite some time. Excellent reading and resources and yes I have visited the hub as well. Commercial reasons are usually why organisations such as Dartmoor Zoo make such choices. In this case - not such a good one and he's not working for ZWG anymore.
 
What particularly worries me DZP is that you talk about Craig Busch large fan base but he also has a lot of people who are very against him not only from the animal rights but also because of his history of domestic violence!

What exactly do Dartmoor have planned for the possible protestors that may also turn up at this event. I do not agree with any aggressive protests by anyone but people do have a right to voice their opinions either for or against. BUT animal rights protests do have a history of getting out of hand very easily. With any protest it only takes a few!!

The access to Dartmoor Zoo is very restricted and could easily be blocked, also the cost of security could outway any profits!

By the looks of things on your blog the againsts so far outway the for!

I visited Dartmoor recently on my holiday, and like many visitors had watched the TV prog and wanted to see for myself. We had a lovely morning at the zoo and were inpressed with the changes but could see there was still a lot to be done! When we arrived just after opening time there was one other car but by the time we left was a good few in the car park (it was a Tuesday in October!). (Must say I can understand that the animals come first but the outside loos are shocking!! )

Surely with christmas coming up and the influx of celebrities bringing out books, surely some book signings etc by 'animaly celebrities' etc will bring in much needed publicity and money to the zoo rather than the bad publicity this event could bring to the zoo!

Also after visiting Craig Busch's various sites it all seems to be about donating money to him to get his 'babies' back *sic* I can't see how his loyal fan base are going to contribute anything to Dartmoor (other than enterance fee) when he is gangling his bucket in front of their noses!

Also cannnot believe he will not try to interact with your animals in anyway as its a bit like having Paul Daniels with out his tricks!!

Also!!! someone mentions other zoos he was visiting then deleted it (including colchester :mad: grrrr hope not) does anyone know where else he is going - I can think of 2 he would probably want to due to the number of 'white animals' but cannot find any information out on line??
 
Karen you make an interesting point, if he's bringing merchandise with him, the fans are gonna buy his stuff and not the zoo's so as you quite rightly say dartmoor is only going to get the entrance fee.
 
DZP said:
Dartmoor Zoo does not agree with everything that may or may not happen at Zion Wildlife Gardens in New Zealand, the truth of the matter is that Craig Bucsh has a huge fan base in the UK, with 25000 facebook members. For a small zoo like Dartmoor if even a 10th of that amount visited us whilst Craig is at the zoo then that would help majorly with funds over the winter. We have many plans to develop new enclosures throughout the zoo that'll hold some new exciting endangered species; we cannot do this without money. We appreciate that some people may dislike Craig for whatever reason; I ask those of you to see it from a business point of view.
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Dear "DZP" (I don't know who I'm addressing here but I'm guessing it's someone who works in the marketing/management of Dartmoor Zoo Park),

I am a huge fan of your zoo, albeit from the other side of the world. I've read Ben Mee's book and would love to visit one day.

But I have to say that I find this comment very disappointing. I understand fully well that Dartmoor Zoo is a small business that needs a steady flow of funds to survive. I understand and sympathise with the need to do new things to keep people interested and coming back through the turnstiles time and time again.

But this is not appropriate. Craig Busch is currently the subject of allegations that, if proven, should disqualify him from ever again working with animals. The public standing of zoos all over the world - and especially those that are privately owned - are diminished when revelations of animal cruelty in pursuit of public entertainment are made.

To promote Craig Busch at your zoo is to tacitly accept and endorse the behaviour that he is alleged to have engaged in whilst employed at Zion Wildlife Gardens. This is unacceptable and damaging for a zoo that is engaged in genuine animal conservation and welfare work. The great achievements of Dartmoor and other zoos risks being lost amongst the negative public perception of figures like Craig Busch.

Dartmoor puts itself out there as a conservation and animal welfare-oriented zoo. Asking people to accept endorsement of animal cruelty as the price of doing business just doesn't cut it.
 
karenZOO said:
Also!!! someone mentions other zoos he was visiting then deleted it (including col******* :mad: grrrr hope not) does anyone know where else he is going - I can think of 2 he would probably want to due to the number of 'white animals' but cannot find any information out on line??
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That was just a short list of prospective zoos for visits posted on the official Lionman fan page on Facebook back in July. I posted it mostly because one of them was so unlikely it was laughable. It was in the public domain anyway, but thought it better to delete than risk misunderstanding! (Thanks to the other poster who edited as well btw).
 
DZP said:
Dartmoor Zoo does not agree with everything that may or may not happen at Zion Wildlife Gardens in New Zealand, the truth of the matter is that Craig Bucsh has a huge fan base in the UK, with 25000 facebook members. For a small zoo like Dartmoor if even a 10th of that amount visited us whilst Craig is at the zoo then that would help majorly with funds over the winter. We have many plans to develop new enclosures throughout the zoo that'll hold some new exciting endangered species; we cannot do this without money. We appreciate that some people may dislike Craig for whatever reason; I ask those of you to see it from a business point of view.
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There are many other people you could have visit or events you could organise to raise funds. By having him visit your zoo in this capacity, you will appear to the paying public to be supporting him. I feel it's a bad move for your reputation.
 
Its a shame all the ill feeling against Dartmoor Zoo, when they have worked hard rebuilding the zoos public image this visit has created. I have noticed the blogspot has disappeared, I hope this is a rethink from them and not that they have taken away peoples right to add their opinion.
 
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