What is it about people that makes them put their own enjoyment over the needs of other living things? I understand greed. I understand desperation. There are circumstances that can explain people, even decent people, doing terrible things.
But …
In the case of many zoos and most circuses I can only come up with two explanations for those who continue to support them.
Arrogance – the belief that we have the right to determine the fate of creatures we deem less than us for our own amusement.
Ignorance – not being aware of the facts of life for animals being held in zoos or being exploited and abused in circuses.
I can’t do much about the first but I’m going to keep on trying to do something about the latter.
Bob Barker was on Craig Ferguson’s show talking about the successful rescue of Maggie. He paid to have her flown from a zoo in Alaska to the PAWS Sanctuary in Northern California.
He and many others are currently fighting to rescue more suffering elephants. Especially those at the LA Zoo.
Kudos to the Alaskan Zoo for agreeing to release Maggie. Sneers to the LA Zoo for not giving a damn about their animals.
In the interest of fairness you can read the zoo’s side of the argument HERE Sounds like a load of political crap to me.
The Ringling Brothers Circus is still here in NYC and I’ve read a lot of blogs and news reports about how wonderful ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ is. It isn’t. As I posted LAST MONTH, the circus is being actively investigated for horrid elephant abuse.
Places like PAWS and the sanctuary in Tennessee that I posted about HERE are the ones doing the great work. For the animals. Not for the mindless enjoyment of people who either don’t care or don’t know any better.
You might not be able to see the elephants dance and wear silly hats at the sanctuary but you can know that a majestic creature with wants and needs and feelings much like your own is finally living a life of dignity.
the photo is from National Geographic
