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Posts by reversechapter

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  • Abandoned baby polar bear is 'better off dead' than raised in zoo ('Animal rights' activists)

    06/24/2007 3:54:57 PM PDT · 86 of 112
    reversechapter to SandyInSeattle

    I just did a search and saw that I created a little “stir.” I am amazed how some people (not you) attacked me using points attributed that I never even made. I didn’t agree with them 100%, so they were allowed to make up a profile about me that isn’t even close to accurate. Strange and childish. Anyhow......

    I think they should try to care for “Gnute” since he is already in captivity. I just know first-hand how problems exist even in the best zoos in the world (I worked at one). If there is any financial or staffing probem, the animals suffer. I don’t think people realize how big of a task it is caring for a polar bear in captivity. More frequently than any other problem, leaders make bad decisions, like they did at this German zoo shortly after this story made the headlines.

    Shortly after Gnute was put on display, the leaders there packed people into the facility to make as much money as possible. A Panda dropped dead from the stress of the large crowds. Pandas are very sensitive animals, and this zoo let one die to make as much money as possible from Gnute before he grows up and gets “ugly.” Ironically, pandas are a LOT more popular than any adult polar bear.

    The zoo has every right to do whatever they want with animals they captured or purchased (I don’t believe in “animal rights” and don’t appreciate people labeling me without even reading my posts), but if they have the right after demonstrating that they do not have the expertise to care properly for large wild animals, so should anyone else. Then, once you have private zoos getting into the act you wind up with government-subsidized facilities to care for abandoned animals that failed to make a profit. Do you guys just cover your eyes or look away when you see the rare headline about “rescued animal” facilities? I would rather have the larger animals stay in the wild and my tax money stay in my pocket. I was trying to look beyond a few feet in front of me. “Well, he’s here, let’s start taking care of him”....sounds like an unplanned teen pregnancy.

    I would not kill an animal like a bear in the wild, but if someone does it for food or fun I would not seek any government solution. I just know that this zoo does not look equipped to care properly for even one polar bear, let alone three. The death of the Panda proves I am right (to whoever posted “prove it.”). Killing an animal in the wild is better than caging one and mistreating it for years. Protecting them in the wild by preserving and restocking habitats would be the best solution; perhaps even using cloning. However, I would never put certain wild animals - cloned or not - in an inadequately tiny cage or pool. That is just cruel. Now I’ll leave again so your “regulars” can blame the Panda’s death on “activist liberals” that don’t even exist.

  • Abandoned baby polar bear is 'better off dead' than raised in zoo ('Animal rights' activists)

    03/20/2007 9:24:33 PM PDT · 67 of 112
    reversechapter to Stoat

    The insane thing is that large mammals like this (and whales, lions, tigers, dolphins, etc.) are kept in captivity and certain zoos and companies are essentially given monopolies to do so by governments. These animals suffer, die at a young age, and do not represent the real animal behavior (they are like the original with mental and physical disabilities, only they were deliberately made that way by people). They maim and kill their "expert" caretakers with amazing frequency. One picture or a day at the zoo does not tell the entire story.

    I am all for allowing people to do whatever they want, and I am a conservative. But wanting to save this "cute" cub is not a logical conservaative view. What do you think would happen if I tried to start my own neighborhood polar bear viewing business? No way I could get approval. Here is how it would have to work: I would have to illegally capture the animal, then have enough money to pay off the government in order to continue my business. That's how it has worked historically. Large animals like this are unhealthy and miserable in captivity. I have seen it, and anyone can research the history and the facts.

    The cub should not be killed, but it should not be there. It is not a cute cartoon. It will grow and want to roam, become bored, pace in the small area (really a prison), never have a chance to act naturally. One day a zookeeper who thinks like most people posting on this board will think they can pet it like their cat or dog; because, of course they think they have developed a special relationship with the animal (only them). Then the zoo's general manager will be explaining a little later that the zookeeper died as a result of making a procedural mistake.

    Animals become extinct. It happens all the time. People will become extinct one day. That doesn't mean we have to create zoos to keep a "copy" because they are cute. They generate revenue.....that was the only reason they were captured originally and the only reason they are treated as well as they are now. They are still treated poorly at best overall in every zoo - even the best in the world. They are treated poorly because they are not kept for any legitimate environmental or even scientific cause, but to make money.