What is the best zoo in new england
- Thread starter Dyl0526
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The in-house vet doesn't make a difference between these zoos because all of the AZA zoos also have an in-house vet. There is also a head educator/ curator of education/ director of education at all the other zoos as well. For construction, I am not sure if any/which other zoos have one but I don't think it necessarily matters for quality. All zoos have at least some trained operations staff to do any repairs, and for new construction, while a staff may be the cost-effective option, whether or not they use a staff doesn't matter for quality. Husbandry alone does not mean animals have a high quality life. It is part of it, although all of the other zoos in question have equally high husbandry standards. I have never worked with giraffes, so I can't really comment on which is better as a surface for the giraffes/ maintenance, yet I know grass looks nice from a visitor perspective and that the Franklin exhibit is much larger than Southwicks. As for education, while Southwicks does have education staff, I question how well of a job they do, seeing the numerous accuracy problems with signage. While signage is not all that education entails, it is a large part of it, and the most visible part to average visitors. In contrast, many of the other zoos in question have more accurate signs, and a strong team of education volunteers at exhibits. There definitely is some professionalism issues at Southwicks as well, involving elephant treatment, the ability of monkeys to escape enclosures, and the plethora of outdated animal practices, like parrot on a stick enclosures.
I personally consider it more of a museum, but really the terminology is debatable. If you consider a zoo anywhere that keeps exotic animals, then the Ecotarium is definitely a zoo, although I know the Ecotarium is accredited by both science and children's museum associations, instead of a zoo association. That leads me to believe they self-identify as a museum. Nothing wrong with that, though.
Well not all AZA zoos have in house vets (worked for one as recent as a year ago), on call USDA PVC is required, not in house. Still want to know what elephant abuse/problems that keeps getting brought up (Southwick never had their own elephants and I'm very familiar with the last 4 individuals they used for the lease). Personally dont have a problem with parrots being displayed on perches but I can see where people would think it's an eye sore. Same with baby primates being able to go in and out of enclosures, used to look forward to the baby ring tails when I was younger. Regarding education, Betsy and the Brewers in general have put a lot into it. I do not remember seeing inaccuracies in signage but also not saying it doesn't happen.
@PSO Would you care to supply some qualifications for your claims are you just going to keep stating that Southwick is better and other zoos are inferior without actually providing evidence?
Baby animals being able to freely escape their enclosure is objectively bad husbandry/exhibitry whether it's sentimental to you or not. Same for birds on a stick, which is more than just an eyesore. Yes many zoos still have flightless parrots in older birds which were clipped in days gone by, but Southwick's multiple parrot stick displays and variety of species rather suggests that they're still part of the problem. Southwick never owned their own elephants afaik but I'm pretty sure renting elephants to use for riding still counts as exploitation. As for the felids, I'm referring to their animals such as tigers, Leopard, and Cheetahs which appear out of thin air from "unknown" facilities and are treated as though they are genuinely endangered taxa (ie Bengal for the generic tigers and African for the generic Leopard) partaking in captive programs. In line with this, if you pay attention to the signage, they routinely label animals as being rarer versions of what they actually keep (ie their generic sika labeled as Formosan; Common Squirrel Monkey labeled as Bolivian), regularly provide range maps that are completely incorrect for the taxa they lists, and write off bad husbandry such as animals being able to escape enclosures as being good for them.
No idea where your claim that most zoos, especially accredited ones, lack a house vet or head educator because this is not true. Most accredited zoos have their own separate vet and education buildings. RWPZ and Beardsley both do for the record.
Beardsley is better than Southwick. The latter may be larger and have more odd species, but as discussed in detail already their husbandry is substandard at best for most of them. Additionally, how much conservation work does Southwick do exactly? Beardsley partakes in a lot of local conservation such as yearly monitoring of CT amphibian populations, the spay/neutering of feral cats, and the reintroduction the captive-raised Brook Trout into wild streams. On the lines of reintroduction, the zoo has also sent Red Wolves, Golden Lion Tamarins, and even their old pair of Andean Condors to join wild reintroduction projects. The zoo also partakes in genuine captive breeding programs for a wide variety of endangered species managed within AZA zoos. This includes Amur Tigers, Amur Leopards, Maned Wolves, Red Wolves, Brazilian Ocelot, Chacoan Peccaries, Giant Anteaters, Golden Lion Tamarins, Goeldi's Monkeys, etc. Meanwhile Southwick pretends they are keeping/breeding endangered species like their generic sikas, tigers, giraffes, etc. I will admit, many zoos keeping generic giraffes act as though they keep an endangered taxa, but as far as New England zoos go the other two holding giraffes both keep the actually endangered animal. I'm not sure if the zoo is actually part of the AZA program for Schmidt's Guenon or Black-Crested Mangabey or not, but these would be welcome exceptions if so.
To answer your last question, unlike Southwick, FPZ's tigers are rescues and they are signed as such.
And for the record, Aldabra Giant Tortoises can be purchased from the pet trade.
~Thylo
Baby animals being able to freely escape their enclosure is objectively bad husbandry/exhibitry whether it's sentimental to you or not. Same for birds on a stick, which is more than just an eyesore. Yes many zoos still have flightless parrots in older birds which were clipped in days gone by, but Southwick's multiple parrot stick displays and variety of species rather suggests that they're still part of the problem. Southwick never owned their own elephants afaik but I'm pretty sure renting elephants to use for riding still counts as exploitation. As for the felids, I'm referring to their animals such as tigers, Leopard, and Cheetahs which appear out of thin air from "unknown" facilities and are treated as though they are genuinely endangered taxa (ie Bengal for the generic tigers and African for the generic Leopard) partaking in captive programs. In line with this, if you pay attention to the signage, they routinely label animals as being rarer versions of what they actually keep (ie their generic sika labeled as Formosan; Common Squirrel Monkey labeled as Bolivian), regularly provide range maps that are completely incorrect for the taxa they lists, and write off bad husbandry such as animals being able to escape enclosures as being good for them.
No idea where your claim that most zoos, especially accredited ones, lack a house vet or head educator because this is not true. Most accredited zoos have their own separate vet and education buildings. RWPZ and Beardsley both do for the record.
Beardsley is better than Southwick. The latter may be larger and have more odd species, but as discussed in detail already their husbandry is substandard at best for most of them. Additionally, how much conservation work does Southwick do exactly? Beardsley partakes in a lot of local conservation such as yearly monitoring of CT amphibian populations, the spay/neutering of feral cats, and the reintroduction the captive-raised Brook Trout into wild streams. On the lines of reintroduction, the zoo has also sent Red Wolves, Golden Lion Tamarins, and even their old pair of Andean Condors to join wild reintroduction projects. The zoo also partakes in genuine captive breeding programs for a wide variety of endangered species managed within AZA zoos. This includes Amur Tigers, Amur Leopards, Maned Wolves, Red Wolves, Brazilian Ocelot, Chacoan Peccaries, Giant Anteaters, Golden Lion Tamarins, Goeldi's Monkeys, etc. Meanwhile Southwick pretends they are keeping/breeding endangered species like their generic sikas, tigers, giraffes, etc. I will admit, many zoos keeping generic giraffes act as though they keep an endangered taxa, but as far as New England zoos go the other two holding giraffes both keep the actually endangered animal. I'm not sure if the zoo is actually part of the AZA program for Schmidt's Guenon or Black-Crested Mangabey or not, but these would be welcome exceptions if so.
To answer your last question, unlike Southwick, FPZ's tigers are rescues and they are signed as such.
And for the record, Aldabra Giant Tortoises can be purchased from the pet trade.
~Thylo
I wish they would. I know the zoo has had incredible financial difficulties for a few decades now. In fact, I've been told be several various staff members that Stone actually supports a portion FPZ. Talks of closing both zoos and opening I new one has come up over the years but just not financially feasible
Lets lay out some Facts about Southwicks:
Maybe an accreditation system that allows of this is not stringent enough. But you are not ready to have that conversation.
- Hawthorn Corp is where the elephants were leased from. The USDA had so many complaints that they seized the elephants. Multiple died at young ages from TB, and had regular contact with humans including being used for rides while positive. Also USDA barely ever takes this radical an action, so you know its bad.
- The Chimpanzee indoor holding is 1350 sq feet. Considering the climate of the region, I would say Franklin Park keeping gorillas indoors with a far larger area year-round may actually be better.
- The big cat house that is the indoor holding for both the lion and tiger is just 1000 sq feet.
- The white rhino barn is 2734 sq ft. Picture the rhinos in there all winter.
- The owner when the head of the ZAA advocated for a continuation of cub petting.
- The zoo partnered in 2015 with an organization that advocates for keeping monkeys as service animals. Using electric charges on the monkeys when they don't behave.
- Lastly the owner claimed that ZAA institutions have better standards than AZA standards in this op-ed. Does anyone believe that on here? Has the ZAA ever taken a moral stand on anything? Or do they just bow to circuses, roadside zoos and breeding farms.
Maybe an accreditation system that allows of this is not stringent enough. But you are not ready to have that conversation.
Considering the size of Southwicks collection, which it lists as 850 animals, in a mammal-centric collection one would think they would have an in-house vet, as that size collection is a full-time job.
Spot the Mistakes - ZooChat
This is one of the signs with large inaccuracies I was talking about. A sign showing different types of parrots that includes both a Turaco and a Quail, and this is only the tip of the iceberg for bad signage.
This is one of the signs with large inaccuracies I was talking about. A sign showing different types of parrots that includes both a Turaco and a Quail, and this is only the tip of the iceberg for bad signage.
Also this thread is from earlier this year. If anyone thinks that Parrot on a Stick exhibits have high support on this site, they are sorely mistaken.
The Parrot on a Stick Exhibit (and why it should end)
The Parrot on a Stick Exhibit (and why it should end)