Noah's Ark Zoo Farm Recipe for disaster!

Nisha

Nisha

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Bad news. Despite the protests and all the opostition to the plans Noah's are one step closer to bringing Elephants to Somerset. Planning permisson was granted today and now all they need is permisson from the secretry of state as they want to use green belt land for the project :eek:
The Weston Mercury - Elephant plans approved
 
What a suprise. The plans reach the minimum standard for captive elephants. The animal rights groups will have a field day! What will follow will be more protesting against keeping elephants in captivity and it will be directed at all wildlife parks in the UK that keep elephants. Most of them of which keep elephants in the best possible enviroment.
 
Where were they planning to source the elephants from again? Because I personally can't see any self respecting zoo sending them any, especially if NAZF is only offering "minimum standards".
 
Jacobea said:
Where were they planning to source the elephants from again? Because I personally can't see any self respecting zoo sending them any, especially if NAZF is only offering "minimum standards".
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Nobody in this Country will give them elephants. They will have to import them from somewhere that hasn't heard about there reputation.
 
While the size of the exhibit might sound an issue, the biggest problem I fear will be recruiting experienced elephant keepers, depending on their choice of husbandry technique, I would say for 4 elephants 6 staff will be required to allow optimum time for days off holiday leave etc and still leave time for adequate time for husbandry training, footcare and general husbandry
 
They will import if they can find companies to do it, and I fear they will end up with very inexperienced keepers. I am torn with this though, as some of the best zoos in the UK have a dreadful record with elephants, and if Noah's ark end up housing elderly animals in a non-breeding situation in grass paddocks, I will be eating humble pie. It sounds very much like they intend to breed from them, I envisage some sort of set up not dissimilar to WMSP.
 
Nisha said:
Bad news. Elephant plans approved
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I don't see why this is automatically "bad news".

I am well aware that some of you are rabidly anti NAZF because of their association with a circus and other "sins".

However, when I visited I found that their White Rhino accomodation was far superior to many UK zoos that are more socially acceptable. I also found that their Giraffe housing and paddock were huge in comparison with many zoos. More in line with Safari park sizes.

Perhaps they will do the same for elephants?
 
They will have to satisfy zoo licensing that the accomodation and staffing is adequate. However the regular culling of elephants and game sales in Southern Africa means importing young animals would not be difficult.
 
Steve Robinson said:
However, when I visited I found that their White Rhino accomodation was far superior to many UK zoos that are more socially acceptable. I also found that their Giraffe housing and paddock were huge in comparison with many zoos. More in line with Safari park sizes.
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That was not my impression at all. The paddocks were good-sized but the housing seemed rather low-quality in construction (and the giraffe house is not especially big, if not especially small either).


That said, it's been a few years now since I visited - I find the religious fundamentalism not to my taste!
 
As expected CAPS have jumped on the bandwagon:rolleyes: and are contesting the planning approval of the enclosure on a technicality. Worryingly the article on the CAPS website claims that they have reduced the enclosure size by 50% to avoid a pylon(!?) I dont know much about the park or land available but surely the enclosure could have been built to one side of it? Or the dims changed to avoid and keep the same m sq area. It is more likely to be a budget issue IMO.

As said taking into consideration the previous animal welfare issues raised, the prospect of them keeping elephants is some what worrying to me and when zoos like marwell claim they don't have them because they cant afford to, i do not know how exactly the FARM can keep them properly or adequately. All i have seen of the zoo is on a TV (zoo babies?) programme and the enclosures looked extremely amatureish.

As said they are bound to be sourced from Africa due to the limited availability and the fact that no UK or European zoo would send any there (unless there are any problematic/spare bulls in Europe?)

Its a shame, i should be excited but i just cant be in this case:rolleyes:
 
Johnny Morris. said:
I really need to go to this place, to make up my own mind.

This forum has put me off, but, i keep getting mixed messages.
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It's worth going to pretty much any zoo once (although I'd struggle to recommend Luebeck to any but the most determined visitor: http://www.zoochat.com/gallery/lubeck-zoo/).

I'm sure I'll visit Noah's again at some point, even just for curiosity's sake, but I'm certainly in no hurry.
 
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