Roadside Zoo News website (re Jack Facente Serpentarium)

[Aardwolf]

FWIW, I wasn't familiar with this website before this thread but a cursory flick through the articles includes stories on Dallas, St Louis, Henry Vilas (which the site boasts of having reported on) and Gladys Porter zoos. Are they "roadside zoos"? I guess they do have roads running alongside them.

Whenever he hears that phrase, David Bright, of Bright's Zoo in Tennessee, always replies "Every zoo is a roadside zoo, because every zoo has a road that leads to it." Heck, Dallas Zoo has a road running *through* it!

I personally don't view that site as a credible news source, nor do any other zoo folks that I know/work with. And, speaking aside from the serpentarium again, and without naming any names...

I have definitely seen several instances on here of folks who really dislike a particular institute call out something "bad" that the facility does (which may or may not be bad), and then go on to praise another facility which does the same thing (or might be a worse offender in that regard). On the other hand, some folks really carry a torch for a place to the degree that they feel that place can do no wrong, and sing out all of the wonderful things it does... which might actually be kind of standard issue.

Folks on here are dedicated zoo enthusiasts, many of them quite knowledgeable. But there's only so much you can tell from the outside looking in. I've seen on some of the population threads people decrying decisions made about moves or breedings (or decisions not to breed) that "make no sense," when in reality, they make perfect sense for the zoos and animals involved. I certainly can't claim to know the inner-workings of everyone else's workplace or what decisions are being made there. If I see something on here that I know is incorrect, I'll usually just be quiet, in part to keep confidential info to myself, and in part because... it's usually harmless.

Looking at the pics of the serpentarium available, I'd agree with @Batto - the US is a bit (maybe a lot) behind the curve on rack culture, though it is perhaps more understandable in a venom extraction facility than in a major zoo (some of which, including well-respected AZA facilities, still keep snakes in enclosures that many of us would consider too small and plain behind the scenes).

 

[birdsandbats]

No, it doesn't Are you really comparing your three bullet points, of which you have continued to ignore everyone asking for proof of your claims, to a 32 page document with a plethora of sources? Even comparing Mtoxins to SeaWorld, at a base level, is just silly.

I'm not comparing MToxins to SeaWorld, I'm comparing the argument methods of the article and the argument methods of Blackfish. They both go about making their arguments in a similar way - heavily misleading the viewer/reader with things that aren't technically incorrect, but paint the facility in a horrible light due to the lack of additional context. They also use pathos and use their misleading evidence to argue that the animals are suffering.

 

[Batto]

But is trying to get people through the door bad?

Let's put it that way: if I tried something like that at WdG, the Tierschutzombudsmann (i.e. the central federal contact for animal welfare issues in the state of Salzburg) would close WdG down in a split second. I'm friends with the owner of MToxins and appreciate his and his team's work; but that rotating "guest" animal aspect never set well with me, both in regard to animal welfare and public / veterinary health. Furthermore, it doesn't make sense in regard to the overal thematic focus of the establishment.

Why do zoos keep any animal?

You wouldn't have been on ZooChat that long if you didn’t know that while zoos need to be cost-effective to operate, there are (or at least should be) more reasons to keep animals on public display than just to make money.

 

[TinoPup]

I do have privileged information I cannot share. That's the last I'm going to say on the matter.

 

[Great Argus]

As sourcing has been a point of contention, I contacted the Wisconsin DNR who issued the citation seen in the article - it is 100% a legitimate citation. Roadside Zoo News is not incorrect re this incident. It would not surprise me to see more citations come to light given the severity of falsifying paperwork regarding a federally protected bird.