ZOO CONDEMNED BY LEADING INTERNATIONAL ZOOS |
SAFE has attracted further media attention in relation to Wellington Zoo. Two leading zoos in Europe are backing SAFE's concerns against the Wellington Zoo's rent-a-cheetah programme. In a recent article published in the Dutch newspaper Friesch Dagblad Dutch zoo spokespeople claim the programme shows little respect for the animals and is not educational.For $2,500, Wellington Zoo will take its two juvenile cheetahs to parties, shop openings and other events. The zoo cites education and conservation as the main benefits of the visits. SAFE welcomes the qualified support from the international zoo community. SAFE has condemned the rent-a-cheetah programme as irresponsible claiming that it puts both people and the animals at risk. The organisation considers the use of cheetahs as objects of entertainment to be deplorable. "SAFE believes that Wellington Zoo is acting unethically. We are pleased that we are receiving support from within the international zoo community", says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek. "We are completely opposed", says Wijbren Landman from Emmen Zoo in Holland. "We would never do something like that. Actions like this demand that the animals are very tame and we strive to keep them as wild as possible. We don't allow keepers between the animals, let alone strangers". According Landman it shows little respect for the animals when they are taken to a party and put in a room to be petted. "Its not educational either".
Spokesman Bas Lukkenaar from Burgers Zoo in Holland says "Our zoo strives to keep the animals in an as natural as possible environment. This initiative from Wellington Zoo is not acceptable by our standards. The animals are used in a manner that does not benefit their welfare. Cheetahs are wild animals. That's why they are and will remain potentially dangerous for people if they get stressed or end up in unnatural situations".
28 October 2006
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