Zoo animals . . .
in brief
their thoughts / our opinions / the reality of things
Zoo's are interesting places and the most common quote used as a Mission statement by these Organisations is ' they are there for 'breeding and educational' purposes. However, sadly many animals do not enjoy being kept in such small enclosures or without much stimulation. In fact, you will undoubtedly have seen for some, the lack of 'natural' stimulation can lead to mental and physical health issues, from physically swaying from side to side to skin and digestive issues, but more importantly keeping animals in captivity can often reduce the mortality rate of many, especially if they are on their own but, naturally, originate from being large or natural herd / group species and because of this there are many Voluntary Groups out there, many of whom we support, who are trying desperately hard to support and release these animals from captivity.
The reality of this is that yes, some will be released soon or in time, but as proven in the past it can often take months in fact years for the truly suffering animals to be released. Sadly, we fear it will be a long time before such places are non existent so perhaps an alternative, in the interim anyway, is to look at this from a different angle and one which some of the Captive organisations could possibly be manipulated to approve of. So, let's all put our heads together and see 'what can be done in the interim' to make these captive animals lives more acceptable and enjoyable to them as well as make the Public more aware of their own actions and less anxious about the animals who are showing signs of stress or health issues.
Some may say, no, don't make their lives more interesting otherwise the animals will 'look content' therefore a case could not be made in to a legal battle or that defeats the purpose of them fighting for their freedom whereas some say , 'if only they could have this or that to keep them more occupied - or 'what a shame that animal is on its own' . All of these thoughts are just in a minds eye, but the reality is, Zoos will be around for a while yet and YES there is something we can do to help the animals who are struggling or there is something we can do to make it more pleasing for a heartfelt humans eye.
So where do we start . . okay, so, let's say you have a child who is a neighbour, who says he is bored and nothing happens in his / her life what could you do about it?
or
If you see that the same child, out of boredom picking up all the rubbish (bags, empty sugary juice tins etc etc) then plays with it in his or her mouth, mmmmmm, realises there's a hint of sugar in it . . . so licks it, tries to eat it mmmmm . . . delicious . . . but lo and behold a week, a month, a years worth of rubbish is played with and eaten causing major digestive issues which often go unseen. . . so what happens to animals who manage to get hold of 'humans rubbish - well here is prime example - Carla who is in fact situated in a cell behind the elephant above, but just about out of the Publics eye - (wonder why!) to find out more about this poor poor elephant called Carla you can chief inspector Google her for other write ups. Or let's say the animals aren't being fed properly like this link here . So this in itself gives you one massive hint as to what we as humans can do . . . perhaps you could tell us what you think the answer to resolving these specific issues are . . . . . or comment below with a list of things you think could help.
There are other things we as individuals can do, especially for people who do what we do . . . we can give them their voice and ask them what it is that each individual animal would like in their captive pen / arena with a view to making their lives more satisfactory with the end result being a healthier and longer life. . . . prior to their much needed release in to a natural, to them, environment.
Watch this space and see what we come up with after our visits to Animal centres. . . . some of our previously written articles mention what specific animals would like it will be interesting to see what others come up with.
Most of us know and we certainly know the relief that specific things can bring to animals and are so looking forward to helping others experience this same feeling of long awaited elation - or to put it in their language - "at long last someone or 'they' are thinking about us from our point of view and not from a humans point of view". Can you not just visualise a smile on these animals faces, that look of 'sheer contentment' just imagine how much happier and healthier their lives would be, whether in a home, a captive environment or even for an animal that is confined to barracks because of a temporary health issue.
The song '; Wouldn't it be wonderful' so rings true here.
Thank you for taking time to read this and perhaps if you see a child or an adult throwing rubbish in to a pen or on the ground where any wild bird could pick it up and drop it in a captive animal pen, you could say '|would you like that can for dinner' if the answer is no, then ask them kindly to put it in the bin'
Watch this space . . . . .
Let's give all animals their voice, stand up for them, they can understand our body language, they understand the footsteps that open the hatch with food, they understad the trundling of the wheelbarrow full of food, but most do not understand our own native tongue whether it be French, English, German or Italian. What they do respond to is pitches and tones of voices, anxious screams that come from smaller children, laughter and tears of emotions . . .
Many don't understand animals verbal language or that look in their eye, or the way they carry their bodies . . . . perhaps next time you go to such a place, don' just look once, look twice and on the third time look closely . . . on behalf of many animals who have suffered and continue to suffer . . . . thank you
