do not support animal imprisonment.
AFAR would like to condemn yet again the keeping of wild animals in captivity for entertainment purposes. The 10 year old Penguin stolen from the Zoo and dumped in the City centre is yet another example of the dangers posed to wild animals by Zoos. Zoos are a remnant of bygone days and merely a continuation of the outdated Victorian menageries of the past. They serve no purpose other than that of commercial gain.
Dublin Zoo is no stranger to controversy and bad management as we recall some of the other sad events in the past that have befallen animals, birds and mammals imprisoned in enclosures in Dublin Zoo.
We list some of them as follows:
Shootings: A rhino who escaped inside the Zoo and a wolf were shot dead by Zoo staff.
Poisonings: Penguins were poisoned by toxic paint in their enclosure.
Choking: A hippo choked on a tennis ball in the Zoo.
Driven Mad: AFAR led a campaign in 1998 to get 2 sad psychotic Polar Bears returned to Canada with the assistance of International Animal Rescue.
Thefts: A Macaw bird was stolen from the Zoo.
Animal Fighting: A Rhino killed a Zebra.
Escapes.: Orangatan made an escape bid leaving her baby behind.
Blinding: Sealions went blind from the toxins in their pool.
Zoos are unable by their nature to exist without causing prolonged suffering to animals. I urge anyone who visits the zoo to really look into an animal's eyes. Do they deserve life imprisonment without ever committing a crime?
Soundbites below:
• Thefts from ZOOS are on the increase. Many endangered species are being stolen from zoos and private collections throughout the world.
• Last month about 50 exotic birds were stolen from a private collection in the United Kingdom. In December a pair of prized African gray parrots were snatched from Australia's Adelaide Zoo.
• Also last year a rare chuckwalla lizard was taken from the Oklahoma City Zoo in the United States.