Eve-Angeline Mitchell
Arlington Heights Cats Examiner
A
leopard at Big Cat Rescue might seem harmless, but BCR takes great
pains to ensure that the public can't get close enough to this leopard
to be injured.
Photo by Patrick Mitchell, used with permission
The Kansas state legislature is working on a bill that would make close contact between exotic animals—including big cats—and the public easier. This bill would allow people to physically touch certain wild animals with the goal of "education." According to KSN.com, the Tanganyika Wildlife Park assistant director, Matt Fouts, supports the bill for the following reason:
Fouts believes that, with proper handling, the experience could be very valuable. However, his wildlife park has been hit with USDA violations, including unsafe caging for jaguars, unsafe food, and even unsafe contact between a lemur and an unattended infant.
There's a slight possibility that Fouts sees this bill as the path to create a pay-to-play petting zoo at Tanganyika. That would be par for the course for an organization with the kinds of violations seen at Tanganyika. The sad thing is that Tanganyika is an accredited zoo – many such facilities are little more than roadside attractions.
The truth is that wild animals and people don't get along, and allowing more contact is dangerous for people, and unhealthy for the animals. These animals aren't meant to be in contact with us, and it can stress them out. That stress can make them sick, or worse, it can make them attack. This is not a smart move on Kansas' part.
source
"Let us do, what we do best. Let us strengthen the connection between people and an actual world."Fouts believes this is a good way to further educate and engage the public:
"We can make more of a difference by taking the animal and showing them the animal then just telling them the facts about the animal or even showing them a picture."One major problem with this is why Kansas even wants to legalize this. Is it really for the good of the public, the good of the animals, or was this ultimately pushed by people with a profit motive? Profit is often a motivating factor in this kind of thing – roadside zoos and pseudo-sanctuaries can make bank off of pay-to-play schemes without regard to the health of their animals, or the safety of their guests.
Fouts believes that, with proper handling, the experience could be very valuable. However, his wildlife park has been hit with USDA violations, including unsafe caging for jaguars, unsafe food, and even unsafe contact between a lemur and an unattended infant.
There's a slight possibility that Fouts sees this bill as the path to create a pay-to-play petting zoo at Tanganyika. That would be par for the course for an organization with the kinds of violations seen at Tanganyika. The sad thing is that Tanganyika is an accredited zoo – many such facilities are little more than roadside attractions.
The truth is that wild animals and people don't get along, and allowing more contact is dangerous for people, and unhealthy for the animals. These animals aren't meant to be in contact with us, and it can stress them out. That stress can make them sick, or worse, it can make them attack. This is not a smart move on Kansas' part.
source
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