Detroit Zoo Rescued Lions Heading To Detroit

Some of the other news coverage of this refers to a man that got caught by one of the lions as this facility. The owner reported he found him when he went to feed, with one arm over the fence in the possession of a Barbary Lion...

Do they really mean Barbary Lion? As in extinct in the wild, one of the largest lion sub-species, only a handful left in the world Barbary Lions? Is this one that is going to Detroit?

What was a creature that rare and important doing in a Kansas junkyard?! I feel sick to my stomach....
 
Lol NO lions in captivity are ACTUAL Barbary lions. They're basiaclly a publicity stunt like white Tigers.
 
I agree with you 100% Dan, and the wildlife acts in the U.S. should have been tightened decades ago. In British Columbia, Canada, just last month a law was passed that effectively banned more than 1,200 animals from being privately owned in the region. Everything from big cats, elephants, reptiles, birds and other exotics were included in the new law and there has been a lot of press in local papers. The U.S. needs to create similar guidelines to eradicate situations where lions are being kept in junkyards.;)
 
If a person with land and experience with cats wanted to privately own big cats, then I don't see why they shouldn't as they could potentially have a brilliant life, but why do people get animals like lions and keep them in that sort of condition? It wrecks it for the people who would do a good job, I know I'd be very annoyed if it became illegal to own reptiles!
 
I agree with Dan and Snowleopard completely. I'm aware that there are individuals who can and do provide adequate care for exotic animals. However, what happens to the animals if these individuals fall on hard times, are hit by a truck or just get bored? The lions still need to be fed and they don't understand that their "owner" isn't there anymore.
 
I guess the same could be said for anyone owning any type of animal, weather it be a domestic dog or a tiger. These are the type of people who should not be allowed to own ANY animals.
 
I am glad the Detroit Zoo is rescuing these lions from such a place. They also rescued a Polar Bear, a Arctic Fox from a woman's home in Oakland County (not far from the Zoo) Three Emus from somebody's backyard. I glad this zoo does things like this because not many do.
 
I do understand your points here, ashely-h. It would of course, in principle, be possible for a very wealthy individual to hold and maintain for instance a group of lions on his or her big ranch or something like that - providing excellent care for the animals.

My main point is that I want very strict rules for minimum size of enclosures, veterinary competence etc etc - both for zoos and private owners (should the latter be allowed). This should rule out the existence of "roadside zoos" and lions in crappy backyards.

But then again, as Rookeyper wrote, what happens if these private owners "fall on hard times, are hit by a truck or just get bored"?

___________

I wholeheartedly agree with the opinion expressed in your latest post: there are people who should not be allowed to keep animals.

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Snowleopard: this law passed in British Columbia, is it a "one of a kind" in Canada or are rules like these enforced in most of the states?
 
Dan said:
My main point is that I want very strict rules for minimum size of enclosures, veterinary competence etc etc - both for zoos and private owners (should the latter be allowed). This should rule out the existence of "roadside zoos" and lions in crappy backyards.
Click to expand...

I applaud your efforts but I feel if you create such strict laws, zoos will either find it hard to stick too them as they are too rigid or that they will only do the minimum, which can be worst than doing there best.
 
@Dan: I believe that the new animal laws are a "one of a kind" as you put it, as other Provinces in Canada (we have Provinces instead of States) still struggle with enforcing animal rights laws. Times are changing though, and here in British Columbia owning any kind of exotic animal has been almost entirely eliminated as a possibility. I think that there are a handful of small critters that are still legal, but not very many at all. The best thing about the law is that it was passed right away, without giving anyone notice, so that people couldn't go out and stockpile an exotic collection.
 
Hello taun,
Your argument here reminds me a bit about the dicussion I had with sooty mangabey in the thread about Swedish legislation. Please check it out if you feel like (and I still owe Kifaru Bwana an answer in that thread, by the way...).

Anyway:
First of all, I want the laws to very strict, enforced to 100% and stipulate generous conditions for the animals in terms of enclosure sizes etc etc. If so, it will not be a question if the zoos "find it hard to stick to them" - they will simply have to do so. The main advantage, though, is that "roadside zoos" and "lions in backyards" become illegal - I particularily want to stress this.

Furthermore, if the law is as good as I think it is in Sweden it will not be much of a problem if the zoos only comply with these minimum standards. Just to mention one of my favorite examples: a bull elephant in Sweden must be provided with an outdoor enclosure of 4 000 square meters (appr. one acre). How many zoos in the world have bull elephant enclosures of one acre? Not many! And in Sweden actually many zoos do go beyond the minimum requirements. For example, at Borås Zoo, the elephant herd has enjoyed a 4+ acre savanna ever since the zoo was created in the middle of the 1960s (a savanna they share with giraffes, rhinos, buffalos, antelopes etc).

In Sweden, traditional "bear pits" and "lion cages" are non-existing. They are simply forbidden by law. Noone keeps a chimp in a garden shed. Circuses are since decades ago forbidden to travel with lions, tigers etc. I hope and pray that elephants will soon be forbidden in circuses. I think it will happen pretty soon.

Hmmmmm....what else can I say to try to convince you, taun....

Ah well, for the moment I will stop right here ;)
 
@snowleopard:
Right, "Provinces" of course, not "States":o.

But let´s indeed hope that this development will be accelerated in Canada, then! You Canadians have a pretty good reputation all over the world, but it looks like you have room for improvement in these matters - as has your neighbours south of the border.
 
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