Mole Hall Wildlife Park Mole Hall Wildlife Park closes

No-one has the right to demand answers , which is what some fb and zoochat members were doing ! .. even after being asked to be patient , they still kept pestering with the same questions, to the point they were removed from the fb group .

As Jan and Graham have said on their website and also on facebook there were protocols to follow and they were notifying sponsors and adoptors first . why should they answer people who have contributed nothing to Joeys welfare before those that have ?

Yes Abby .. many that knew Joey at Mole Hall also contacted the sanctuary and also Avril on fb , their concerns were dealt with and they were happy with the answers given .. who do you think you are that you have taken it upon yourself to speak for " everyone " .. surely they can do this for themselves !

Its quite obvious from your comments that you would have prefered for Joey and Tubman to have been sent to Spain .. even though the stress of such a journey would not have been in their best welfare , also as it was.. you had no say in the matter , the decision was never yours !
It seems to me that you are totally misguided in your own importance ! you were once a paid employee at Mole Hall .. that does not give you forever rights over the animals , as you seem to think it does.

My best advice to you is to now let Joey Rest in Peace .
 
Gavin123 said:
I understand views from both sides of the arguement.

I have never been, but as you say enrichment can be simple and free of costs, ranging from childrens toys through to donated timber and branches and etc.

I think however anyone that actually gets their teeth into helping animals in this way must be fully respected and commended.

As for the rude emails, it sounds like a very unprofessional way to go about things. I understand it must be irratating recieving a 100 emails asking about the same issue, especially if its about the death of an animal you have bonded with (it would bother me if people were quizing me about how and when my dog died) but surely a standard template explaining 'we are awaiting results from the post mortem' etc etc would be sufficient?! As opposed to being insulting.

But anyway i am great admirers of people who dedicate themselves to the recue of animals and wish them the best.
Click to expand...

Hi Gavin ,

You really should visit , I think you will be pleasantly surprised ,
The chimps have plenty of enrichment , the enclosures have climbing facilities , swings, plenty of logs, barrels and toys etc.. I know comments seem to paint a picture of barren cages , but I can assure you it is not the case at all .
Also all the animals interact with visitors , which of course they absolutely love , especially the chimps as they are such show offs :)

I agree that anyone who goes the extra mile to rescue animals that no-one else wants are to be respected.. Jan and Graham live on the premises and give their time 24/7

If people are truely concerned about the animals at any rescue center I suggest they go along and volunteer a few hours a week .. it helps so much and can be so very rewarding .
 
ZooLeopard said:
I had a completley different reply just a few mins ago. Though very very short.

Tubman is really good we have spent a lot of time with him he also saw us trying to help Joey so it was not that he just disappeared.
Regards
Graham
Click to expand...

did you mention zoochat ZooLeopard? I mentioned the forum and my reply was a load of verbal abuse aimed at us "zoochatters"

All i put was "I recently read on zoochat that the lovely Joey passed away. Is this true? If it is I'm deeply sorry for your loss..."

...

She-Wolf. I was advised by the fb group to contact the sanctuary, which I did and I got a load of abuse for it!
 
No i didnt but I showed a lot of concern and mentioned the facebook group.

@She-wolf, I understand that this must be hard for all concerned at the park but I am sorry to say apart from a measley few details on the death (though this was only done after people complaining after being ignored) the situation wasnt handled well at all. I think the way this was handled was totally inadequate and the park should at least have (as mentioned above) a pre-prepared statment. Many other zoos do have the same problem when an animal dies but most do the above and post a carefully worded statement telling the animals adopters/admirers of the death. We all have seen or read emails/posts that are innapropriate and appear rude when an animal has died. I just think the sanctuary havent done any favours for themselves in replying the way they did. Some people already have concerns about the sanctuary, this doesnt help matters. I am not saying anything about the welfare of the animals at the park but just commenting on the way they handled the situation.
 
Last edited:
I showed a lot of concern too ZooLeopard. I wasn't expecting the reply I had. It was rather upsetting and shocking.

I agree that the situation hasn't been handled well. It's such a shame, as all the staff were lovely when I visited. There are people out there who don't like the place, and I agree with you, saying that this won't help matters. It may even put people off going to visit, which is also a shame as it's a small sanctuary who need financial support in order to continue to care for their lovely residents.
 
She-wolf said:
Message from Jan and Graham regarding Joey ..

Joey


I have been reading the comments on facebook , and yes some people constantly badgered them for answers , even suggesting they had something to hide !!

The facebook creator commented several times that anyone needing to know should contact the sanctuary direct .. these comments seem to have been ignored and the same people kept on asking the same things.

Why couldnt people just leave them alone , its quite obvious they are grieving , having lost Joey and also sanctuary patron Stuart Cable , also protocols have to be met regarding the death of captive animals .. Sometime humans make me sick !:(
Click to expand...

You really shouldn't use somebody's death, and the death of a well-loved captive chimpanzee to shut down discussion because you don't like the things that are being said.

If you are an organisation asking for public support you should expect that a lot of people will scrutinise your work. Either you become professional in your approach, rather than defensive, or you fail.

Or is your arguement that they 'own' these animals so its not for the general public to criticise? Some of the comments on here are very fascistic in their approach. Since when was it not okay to say that you don't agree with or don't like something? This is a discussion forum after all.
 
Last edited:
bevhill1956 said:
.....and by the way I have a lot of sympathy for the owners and the staff who loved Joey, it was like losing part of thier family, so lets be a bit sympathetic here, after all we have all had animals we loved, and it is like losing a member of your family, I would reccomend this sanctuary to anyone, as there is always a warm and sincere welcome for everyone , and without people like these where would animals end up .
Click to expand...

No, actually lets not be sympathetic. Yes its sad that an elderly animal passed away, in reasonable if not quite five-star accommodation, having lived a long life in reasonable but not quite four-star accommodation. If the owners are so emotionally devastated that they can't keep it together to deal with members of the public enquiring about it then maybe they should think twice about rescuing elderly, charismatic animals, because, chances are, its likely to happen again. You need some professional boundaries otherwise you'll get completely burnt out and be no use to anyone, especially all those monkeys you're saving.

As for 'without people like these where would animals end up' - I would suggest they might end up in the Mona Sanctuary, in Spain.

I'm pleased that they rescue chimpanzees. I really am. Their housing is slightly better than the collections they came from, and they get lots of interaction and stimulation. Great. But criticism is OK. It is healthy.
 
johnstoni said:
No, actually lets not be sympathetic. Yes its sad that an elderly animal passed away, in reasonable if not quite five-star accommodation, having lived a long life in reasonable but not quite four-star accommodation. If the owners are so emotionally devastated that they can't keep it together to deal with members of the public enquiring about it then maybe they should think twice about rescuing elderly, charismatic animals, because, chances are, its likely to happen again. You need some professional boundaries otherwise you'll get completely burnt out and be no use to anyone, especially all those monkeys you're saving.

As for 'without people like these where would animals end up' - I would suggest they might end up in the Mona Sanctuary, in Spain.

I'm pleased that they rescue chimpanzees. I really am. Their housing is slightly better than the collections they came from, and they get lots of interaction and stimulation. Great. But criticism is OK. It is healthy.
Click to expand...

I think this whole subject has now been taken out of all proportion .. who has said that the Garens are " so emotionally devastated " ? No-one !

I have seen the messages and comments from the two people involved in this contraversy and to be honest they are rather worrying, accusing the sanctuary of some rather underhanded deeds, and even of a " cover up " .. I too would be extreemly p*ssed off if I were on the recieving end of such spiteful and unfounded remarks ..

I take it you are another believer that Joey and Tubman should have gone to Spain .. forgetting that it was on veterinary advice that they did not go there .

Negative critism is certainly not healthy .. if people want to critise then they should come up with a more possitive approach ..

Its totally pointless going over and over old ground.. ie: they should have gone to Spain .. Joey died and at the moment until reports come back no-one really knows why ..so what is the point in accusation and speculation ?

I think we all need to concentrate more on the living , and do whatever we can to help and support rescue sanctuary's here in UK .. they are few and far between .

I am off to Cefn later today armed with treats to see all the animals and to spend some extra time with Tubman , I suggest those that really care about animals get off their butts and do something similar .
 
johnstoni said:
You really shouldn't use somebody's death, and the death of a well-loved captive chimpanzee to shut down discussion because you don't like the things that are being said.

If you are an organisation asking for public support you should expect that a lot of people will scrutinise your work. Either you become professional in your approach, rather than defensive, or you fail.

Or is your arguement that they 'own' these animals so its not for the general public to criticise? Some of the comments on here are very fascistic in their approach. Since when was it not okay to say that you don't agree with or don't like something? This is a discussion forum after all.
Click to expand...


There has been a section in the fb groups discussions for several days where members can leave their condolences etc.. surprisingly only one person other than the group creator has left a comment !!
Says it all dont you think ?
 
Can we please stop going round in circles about these damn Chimps,as somebody who has had the pleasure of visiting both collections and seen the Chimps at them neither of them can be described as anything better than average.As for the death Joey yes its sad but hes was an old Chimp they die just like we do,get over it!
As for the debate about where he should have gone its just needless and pointless and end up where he did because the best place,to take him in the UK doesn`t do old rescued Chimps from closing down Zoo`s because the PR`s not good enough for them!!
 
Agree completely zoogiraffe!

I think the main issue here is just how well the sanctuary dealt with the PR side of things. However upsetting, rude or nasty the comments were that were aimed at the sanctuary, the people who have posted them should have been given a well pre- planned statment. The statment didnt need to say why the chimp died just something along the lines of: "that the park was looking into his death and further information will be released when the park themselves find out." As for the people who are generally concerned shouldnt under any circumstances be put into the same basket and have rude replies back from the park. This is the main issue I can see here, not the animals welfare but obviously the parks response hasnt done them any favours whatsoever.
 
I agree ZooLeopard. It only takes a couple of sentences to say that yes he has passed away and they are looking in to the nature of the death. There was absolutely no need for the rude replies myself and others were sent. I was genuinely concerned for both Joey and Tubman after visiting them recently and was shocked when I was called a lazy lay-about with nothing better to do than moan about their sanctuary!

I don't have an issue with the welfare of the animals, when I visited they all looked very happy and healthy in their enclosure. The staff obviously care for their charges and do their best for them.
 
Yep I couldnt believe the the statment they released about Joey though on their website, sounded very unproffessional and seemed to be aimed at anyone who had left a comment on facebook.

Here is an extract:

"We did not want you to find out in this manner via the website or facebook but the gossipmongers have made it necessary"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top