Howletts Wild Animal Park Who does this man think he is?

sooty mangabey

sooty mangabey

Well-Known Member
Fully aware that the press can take things out of context, that things can be misrepresented, but this follows a pattern of this arrogant clown's proclamations:

London Zoo should close because it is 'sign of our failure as a species', says campaigner - London - News - London Evening Standard

He is, of course, entitled to his views. But I'm not sure why he thinks it appropriate to voice them in this way, and why his desire for attention is so great that he does so.

How can any of those city-centre zoos that he is calling to be closed down possibly work with him or his zoos in the future? Doesn't his saying this sort of thing put the EAZA membership of Howletts and Port Lympne in jeopardy? If Dvur Kralove can get booted out for breaking the rules, then surely the same should apply here....
 
I've never been to London zoo, so couldn't possibly comment on it, however, having had the misfortune of visiting Port Lympne since the changes, he ought to take a look at his own zoo, before criticising any others.
 
I am sure that the ZSL has been involved in at least as many repatriation/reintroduction projects as the Aspinall Foundation. Arabian & scimitar-horned oryx, Pere David's deer, corncrake and mole crickets spring to mind, and I bet there are others. Not to mention all the other fieldwork on endangered species that it has funded and organised.
Mr Aspinall is either being horribly ignorant or deceitfully provocative.

Alan
 
I thought relations between ZSL and the Aspinall Parks had thawed over the years rather but this is reverting to the much earlier stance of John Aspinall when again there was absoutely no common ground between his organisation and the Zoological Society/London Zoo.
 
"The idea that zoos should be for the education or entertainment of mankind fills me with horror."
This is the chap who runs a park where you can ride around in an army truck and camp over night and play around on ropes at his other park.

I wonder if he has put an end to school visits, after all,the thought that those kids were at his zoo to be educated fills him with horror.
 
Copied from Port Lympnes site.
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park offers exciting and educational days out for groups and families of all ages. The park is situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty. With wooded walkways and paths to explore along with fun animal talks throughout the day, there is something to discover around every corner.
 
Gavin123 said:
I would agrre, as said by others that the man always comes across as being extremely arrogant and it seems he doesn’t see his own Zoos as being what they are ZOOS! Instead he seems to view them as being some kind of utopia!

I respect and admire the great work his father done before him and how in the early years Damian took the reins. But to say that animals don't belong in zoos and etc is highly hypocritical seeming as under his watch the size of port lympne has doubled with the extremely commercial and lucrative safari park and holiday camp along with the numerous new species that have been added to both collections in recent years.

It’s kind of hard to tell from his rhetoric what the future holds for the parks, all I know is there is no danger of me visiting port lympne again :(.
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While I do not agree with the statement made by Mr. Aspinal regarding London Zoo and indeed zoos in a city environment, I do think your accusation of Mr. Damian Aspinal as being extremely arrogant is rather ironic, are you not the poster who also adopted this tone when I stood up for a litter of red river hoglets some time ago, watch out for the moderators I seam to remember was the advice given to myself?
 
Knowing about all the good work ZSL does I was annoyed to read a notice at the entrance to Howletts, when I visited last year, saying it was not like other zoos and suggesting it was far superior to all others. The opinion I formed during my visit, was that in fact, there were many better zoos than it and reading this now, hasn’t improved my mood.

In 2010 ZSL was investing £8 million pounds per year in conservation initiatives (which was 20% of its entire turnover at its two zoos). I don’t know the current figures but I imagine they are similar.
 
stulch said:
Knowing about all the good work ZSL does I was annoyed to read a notice at the entrance to Howletts, when I visited last year, saying it was not like other zoos and suggesting it was far superior to all others. The opinion I formed during my visit, was that in fact, there were many better zoos than it and reading this now, hasn’t improved my mood.
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The very first thread I ever started on Zoochat (or Zoobeat as it then was) was on this very subject. http://www.zoochat.com/38/misinformation-howletts-18245/. I'm not sure I would be so charitable towards the zoo as I then was. It's worth reviewing the thread for, at its end, the most brilliant reason being listed for the deletion of a post from Jose - speaking of which, what happened to him? A great poster, from Mexico City, but no word from him for a couple of years. A pity!
 
At least it looks rather hypocritical to send 2 female gorillas as far as Belo Horizonte city zoo in Brazil, considering the mission of the John Aspinall Foundation.
 
Taisha said:
At least it looks rather hypocritical to send 2 female gorillas as far as Belo Horizonte city zoo in Brazil, considering the mission of the John Aspinall Foundation.
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One thing I have learnt in many years of observing and visiting the Aspinall Parks, since before Howletts opened to the public actually, is that there are [/B]no set rules there!!.

They say one thing, then later do the opposite themselves. It has always been thus.;) These comments about 'finding entertainment and educational aspects of Zoos horrifying' are, as someone has highlighted above, a complete contradiction of the statements on their own websites. However that doesn't mean he doesn't genuinely(personally)feel that, but the Parks have certainly joined the dance in this respect in recent years, so that it appears hypocritical.

I would just warn posters again on this thread to keep any critical comments within reasonable bounds.
 
I'm extremely critical of these parks because they constantly seek to put other zoos down. Like the constant mantra of 'we're not like other zoos' implying that every other British zoo is some kind of 1950s menagerie with pacing bears behind bars and chimps tea parties.

I would also note that when I went to Port Lympne a couple of years ago their guide book was full of errors and even included the line 'we look forward to welcoming you back to Howletts'.
 
Shirokuma said:
I'm extremely critical of these parks because they constantly seek to put other zoos down. Like the constant mantra of 'we're not like other zoos' implying that every other British zoo is some kind of 1950s menagerie with pacing bears behind bars and chimps tea parties.

I would also note that when I went to Port Lympne a couple of years ago their guide book was full of errors and even included the line 'we look forward to welcoming you back to Howletts'.
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There maps are always hopelessly inaccurate too, although they occasionally update them with new species, they forget to take off ones they havent held for years!
 
Indeed sending back gorillas to Africa in time when hundreds of them are slaughtered for bushmeat trade yearly into instable politically region is a wise move. Look what happened to okapis. Epulu station survived two world wars, now it is gone! Howletts is sending animals for no reason, always with some eventual profit in the end. I wouldn't be surprised to find some very rare west african animals given time. They are seding a single female silvery gibbon to a rescue station in Indonesia while in other such places on Java alone there are hundreds of silvery gibbons with nowhere to go. This is a nonsense but again noone knows what Aspinall is aiming for.
 
Shirokuma said:
like the constant mantra of 'we're not like other zoos' implying that every other British zoo is some kind of 1950s menagerie with pacing bears behind bars and chimps tea parties.
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I have always had a funny feeling about the places that advertise themselves thus as it seems they have an ingrained hostility toward all other animal collections, whereas you would assume that whatever their differences, being in the basic same business that they would have some sort of empathy with them that would preclude such attacks.

Two other places in the UK which employ similar tactics are Monkeyworld ('we are not a zoo') and South Lakes WAP ('we don't just talk about conservation, we do it').
 
Howletts

John Aspinall upset the zoo world in his early gorilla keeping days by having some unconventional ideas about how to keep them. His 'wacky' ideas [such as not keeping gorillas in tiled bathrooms, but giving their immune systems a chance] actually worked, and the zoo world started talking to him.
Damien is now doing equally unconventional stuff; let's see where it goes. I have a nasty feeling he actually doesn't want a zoo at all, never mind two.
 
FBBird said:
Damien is now doing equally unconventional stuff; let's see where it goes. I have a nasty feeling he actually doesn't want a zoo at all, never mind two.
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I think you may be very close to the mark there- I always had a feeling he was a reluctant heir to the mantle his father left him. He made moves to try to sell off Port Lympne some years ago but nothing came of it.
 
i think i speak for all the locals when i say the people of kent think very highly of john aspinall but not so much daiman they know that the parks are for conservation and i think a lot of the marketing that goes on there is for the people not from the area that dont really know the history of the zoos.
 
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