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By Warangkana Chomchuen, NBC News
BANGKOK, Thailand – A few staff members cast suspicious looks at me as my video camera rolled. One asked why I was filming.
I wasn't in army-ruled Myanmar or communist North Korea. I was visiting a zoo – in Bangkok – and the employees were monitoring me closely.
"One of our zookeepers even has a picture of the gorilla in his wallet, instead of his wife," the staff member said. "You see, we really love our animals."
But it's a tough love out here at Pata Zoo, a concrete jungle on the top two floors of a department store on a busy road in Bangkok.
Solitary penguin
About 200 species – a gorilla, a penguin, bears, tigers, leopards, sheep, flamingos, pythons, and nocturnal animals – are crammed into cages and pens that are too small or otherwise inadequate for them. The two floors of the zoo are each about the size of a soccer field.
The zoo's superstar, a 20-year-old female gorilla, lives in a 10x15-yard concrete pen. "Bua Noi," as she is called, sat gripping the iron bars of her dim cage, with only a tire, ropes, and TV playing slapstick comedy to keep her company on the day I visited.
Warangkana Chomchuen / NBC News
The Pata Zoo's star attraction, "Bua Noi" a 20-year-old gorilla, sits in her dimly lit cage.
Nearby, two tigers restlessly walked in their cages, their spines and ribs visibly protruding, their hollow-looking faces seemingly all bone. A black jaguar jumped wildly up and down on the fence at the sight of approaching visitors two feet away. And one dazed Humboldt penguin, the lone survivor out of an original group of a dozen, stared blankly at a glass wall in its air-conditioned room.
"No animals can stay healthy psychologically and physically in a building or in an air-conditioned room," said Edwin Wiek, director of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand. "A zoo in a building like Pata is hazardous to animals and humans. It should be a thing of the past."
Animal-rights activists have been fighting to shut down the zoo for years, but it's a losing battle. The zoo is not illegal in Thailand. The animals were obtained legally and the zoo has a license.
'Long life expectancy'
There just is no real legislation in place to protect animal welfare.
The zoo’s managers stand by their facility’s safety and size. "Our enclosures aren’t so small that the animals can't move," said Kanit Sermsrimongkol, Pata Zoo’s managing director. "Besides, our animals have long life expectancy and they reproduce. That’s an indicator of their good health."
Public anger and controversy over the Pata Zoo erupts from time to time. But the zoo tends to play it down by inviting media and zoo authorities in for inspection. Eventually the publicity dies down, people forget about it, and the zoo's permit is renewed.
Sophon Damnui, director of Thailand’s Zoological Park Organization, admits the vague laws governing zoos are problematic. The only existing laws relating to wildlife protection state a zoo must be "appropriate" when it comes to caring for captive animals.
"The bill hasn't been amended to address the issue," Sophon said. "But Pata Zoo has a permit. It has zookeepers to tend to animals' basic needs and their animals don’t have a problem, so that's OK."
Animal-rights activists are stymied by the lack of laws. "The law is never on our side," said Roger Lohanan, secretary of the Thai Animal Guardian Association. "We’ve tried every legal loophole, but there's nothing we can do."
Warangkana Chomchuen / NBC News
Some tourists take pictures outside the bear cage at Bangkok's Pata Zoo.
His major concern is animal safety, especially in case of fire. Before Pata there was another zoo inside a building in Bangkok, but most of the animals were trapped and killed when a fire broke out a few years ago.
"The animals can only wait to be rescued and certainly they will be the last thing on people's mind if something bad happens," Lohanan said.
Cultural cruelty?
The problems at Pata Zoo reflect a broader issue of rampant animal cruelty and abuse in Thailand. It isn't a rare sight in big cities to see men walking elephants on hot concrete streets or pet dogs performing tricks for hours in busy, bustling shopping areas – all in the effort to earn some petty cash.
Weak law enforcement and punishment – a 1,000 Baht ($33) fine or one month in jail for animal abuse – exacerbates the problem.
Appalling records of animal treatment in Thailand make people wonder what happened to this Buddhist country, where compassion for all living beings reigns first in Buddha's teaching.
Animal-welfare campaigners call it cultural cruelty. Many Thais still view animals as one of their possessions, to treat as they see fit, and kindness and compassion usually don't go beyond food and shelter.
"Some people say, 'I love my fighting cock, because it's a good fighter'. This is exactly the same mentality the zoo owner has," said Lohanan, referring to cockfighting's enduring popularity across Thailand. "They said they love their animals, but it's an ancient kind of love."
The Thai Animal Guardian Association and other animal-rights groups are pushing for a more effective animal protection law. They drafted the bill and proposed it five years ago, but it's been buried deep under Thailand’s ongoing political mess.
And zoos are still popular. The birth of a baby panda last year drove the country into a frenzy and spurred the idea of importing even more exotic animals to breed on Thai soil. While it wasn’t exactly crowded, about 70 adults and kids were visiting the Pata Zoo the day I was there.
Animal-rights activists said they don't want to give up hope, but acknowledge that it will take a while for the draft bill to get attention and for the animal welfare mentality to kick in.
"When the public is ready to come out and say, 'We don't want it,' then you can shut down Pata Zoo," Lohanan said. "Until then, there's nothing we can do."
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It saddens me that these animals are confined as they are. I have nothing against zoos, but there is a proper way to house and display animals, and then there is this. I am sure that the owners of this zoo truly believe that they are doing what is best for their animals. But to see the flip side, not everyone can display their animals in an open, natural park-like setting.
Until the animal welfare bill is past, animal rights activists will just have to keep plugging. And the Thai people that love to go to these zoos, will keep going and enjoying them.
Food for thought: "No animals can stay healthy psychologically and physically in a building or in an air-conditioned room". Is it any wonder that there is little to no rehabilitation in the prison system? EDIT: biologically humans ARE animals.
What BANGKOK, Thailand has on display is not a zoo, but pure animal cruelty. Along as people idly stand by and watch this and do nothing, it will continue. I practice what I preach. I can not even bear to look at the picture. Especially an animal as intelligent as a gorilla. It must be agony for some of the animals. I am acutely aware of different views on animals across the world and different cultures. That does not mean we as humans need to stand by and let it occur. I believe we all need to help in what ever way possible to educate, because people as a whole can start to stop these type practices if we put some effort in.
Animal rights activists in Thailand ARE DOING something. They are trying to get legislation passsed:
"The Thai Animal Guardian Association and other animal-rights groups are pushing for a more effective animal protection law. They drafted the bill and proposed it five years ago, but it's been buried deep under Thailand’s ongoing political mess."
I don't mean to be rude but I have to ask this question:Is not looking at the picture, practicing what you preach. Or are do doing something concrete?
I don't mean to be rude, but I certainly can read. I realize that there are animal rights groups attempting to remedy this particular situation. I am only suggesting to any one that is reading this to get involved. I belong to a group that does. I also write to Government officials in various Countries for various causes that can make a difference, (writing campaigns). I give small amounts of money where I can to here in the US and for causes outside the US. My purpose of my post is to let people know that you can easily help in a significant manner or a very minor matter. For me it makes me feel better that I am trying to make a difference.
Please direct your acute heartburn and anger at the annual killing of baby seals in Canada and the killings of whales and dolphins in Denmark.
There is nothing here. Move on.
To Mr. India....you are a bit out of line barking at people when in fact you do not know what they are doing to help the helpless whomever they may be. Perhaps you can work on the baby seals and whales and dolphins while the rest of us work on what we please. You are just being antagonistic and adding nothing to the discussion.
FYI Mr India - Who says that I don't put energy and activity in whales, dolphins and seals? You can bet your bippee that I DO!
The is no act that the US can pass that can touch these people. Even a UN resolution will have no teeth. All it is is a ploy to draw in customers to the store and no thought was ever put into it.
But prisons are for punishment, not the publics enjoyment!
That said, I don't know how anyone can enjoy seeing animals in conditions such as described in the article.
I couldn't even read the whole article without tearing up. WHat kind of people would do this to innocent creatures. And for profit no less. And what on earth would lead any sane and caring person up to that zoo to enjoy the moment and take pictures. Isn't the true depiction of cruelity enough to remember for a lifetime. Americans may not be able to do anything to help, but wh ycannot the UN step in or why doesn't a very wealthy individual just purchase them and release them back to where they belong.
Sorry Thailand I was going to visit, but now I shall be transferring my ticket to elseware!
What kind of people would do this to innocent creatures. And for profit no less?
Uhh...how about...US? Have you eaten meat from your supermarket lately? Factory farming of livestock in America is a disgrace and no less cruel than this.
yes it is.. so quit eating animals.
I love animals too. They're so tasty!
Big Guns
Yep you be right about that and I also belong to P.E.T.A. [people eating tasty animals]
But, there is big difference between harvesting an animal for food and mistreating them for entertainment.
ALL zoos are an abomination!
We subject innocent animals to an unnatural life simply for our pleasure and the disgusting concept that our children will learn about the animals as they watch them suffer. There may have been rational explanation for the existence of zoos 50 years ago but not today. Close them all and reintroduce the animals to as near a natural ilife as can be managed.
Next time you go to a zoo or a circus ask yourself if your children would like to live like the captive animals, regardless of the safe, longer life they will live.
There are zoos that do keep animals in acceptable conditions (i.e. Chiang Mai, Singapore etc.) and these zoos have a very important job to do when it comes to reproducing animals that will be trained to survive in the wild again. Unfortunately Cleareye, in todays world it would almost more wreckless to close all zoos and set the animals free as zoo animals in general lack the survival skills in the wild. Furthermore if we look at the example of the lovely cheetah without help from zoos around the world this species probably already wouldn't exist anymore because we human killed so many of them for their fur that without zoos there isn't enough genetic diversity anymore.
Having said this, Pata Zoo is a disgrace! Anybody who goes to visit there is just as guilty as the owners. The flipside of that coin is though, if we all stop going there these poor creatures would be probably in even more condition in which they are in right now. I do believe that the care takers do love the animals they are asigned to...no doubt...but people in the "western" world also have to understand how difficult it is to get a decently paid job in this country. The minimum wage has just been lifted to about THB 6,500 that equals about USD 215 or EUR 160. It is almost impossible to live on that here...and a care taker in a zoo does probably get considerably more than that (maybe twice that...no idea but they usually have a university degree).
Again, places like Pata Zoo should definitely be banned. That picture of Bua Noi makes me cry (and rarely something does), but that picture of the girl having her picture taking standing in front of the bear makes me furious. These are exactly the people why these zoos still exist. Get a life people...go on a safari or visit a proper zoo.
One exception to this issue is the Aquarium in Siam Paragon. I did go when it just opened and I have to say yes it's not the biggest aquarium but they do keep up standarts.
I HOPE WE CAN PUT THIS ISSUE TO REST SOME DAY!!!
Not all zoos, Cleareye. I live in WA State and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma is quite wonderful. There is plenty of space and the animals move around quite freely in their habitats. This is the same zoo that had the birth of a baby elephant many years ago (unfortunately, she has since passed away due to a viral infection or something). The only complaint that was ever made (besides high prices for entry and for food) was against the peacocks that were roaming the grounds freely. They had a tendency to attack zoo patrons a couple of years ago. The peacocks no longer roam freely....
There is a building/habitat for people to go in and feed budgies and learn about them. They are very cute, but will fight over the snacks that people are allowed to give them (popsicle sticks coated with peanut butter and bird seed--my 5-year-old got so scared by one budgie that was an eager feeder, she dropped her stick & the budgie took off with it).
Thailand, a Bhudhist country, whose basic philosophy is not to harm any sentient being. Yeah...money and profits trump all that. No one with a conscience could enjoy that. Most people are completely ignorant of animal welfare. Not because there is no information, no, it is because of the inconvenience that knowledge would bring: to have to make a moral decision about the food you eat. It is , as someone else said regarding the environment, an inconvenient truth.
There is no such thing as a wonderful zoo. Just because people think the animal intellegence is inferior to a human being, and because of clear limitations they can not express their desires, it doesn't mean they are at pleasure in their cages, however big they may be. There is no Zoo big enough in any city to give a normal life to an elephant or any kind of hearding animal, whether mammal or bird. A cage is a cage, an enclosure is a larger cage, but still a cage. To those of you who think it is OK, imagine you are in a hotel room where you will be kept in relative comfort and safety for all your life. Your only contact will be the people who minister to your physical needs. You can't go out for the next 76 years, the average human expectancy, unless you are sick and need to be put down. There are not enough toys, TV programs, DVDs or CDs in this world that could keep you from going insane. I am sure you will prefer to take your chances out there, while being free, than being alive and kept in a prison.
The hypocricy is amazing. I bet no one gives a hoot about the untold cruelty inflicted on billions of animals each year...the ones whose pieces are on your plate. I am not saying every one needs to be vegetarian. I am saying people l need to do some research and become aware of the cruelty and unnatural way Factory Farm Animals are raised. Then you can make intelligent selections about the food choices you make.
You can't pretend it is cruel to put a penguin in a cage by itself, or an ape, or whatever, and it is not cruel to keep a calf confined to a cage for most of its miserable life, unable to move, just so you can enjoy tender meat in veal parmessan or scallopini. You couldn't justify raising a hog confined to a cage, smelling its own excrement, going bezerk, just so that you can enjoy a cheap pork chop or bacon. You can't justify keeping chicken or turkeys confined cages or enclosures where they can't move, have to be debeaked so that they don't kill each other in their madness, just so you can have your fried chicken, or whatever.
If you say you care about animal welfare, animals in zoos, baby seals in the Artic, whales, dolphins. ect., you can not live without concern for the animals you eat. A sentient being is a sentient being, no matter the species. Only human beings are the most cruel and greedy of all, because we are the knowing animal. Nature has no morality, that is our responsibility. When we inflict pain we are conscious of what we are doing, we know what we do. Open your eyes and then open your hearts.
If we have respect for the lesser of us, we will have more respect for one another.
My daughter and I find ourselves in a quandary over zoos. We like animals and realize that zoos can help keep some species alive but we don't like how the animals don't have enough room or a truly natural environment.
certain zoos have been known for their cruel practices. Others, like you said, can save species of animals. Do your research and avoid the bad ones. You can even go so far as to donate to zoos who actually help animals if they arnt near enough to visit. I also love seeing animals but i avoid going to anything where the animals seem unhappy. It's just sad to see a creture who cant speak for itself live out it's life being tourtured and exploited.
Poor, sweet looking gorilla. It just seems so wrong.
It seems wrong because it is wrong.
The question we always need to ask ourselves is..."Is this how I would like to be treated?" "Is this how I would want to spend my days (or God forbid) my life?"
I think the resounding answer is NO.
This should be the guideline for all treatment of all animals. The world over.
Until we start treating animals with the respect they deserve - our species will continued to deteriorate.
oh come on, its a zoo, my guess is the animals have more room than most of the people in that country.
Why don't you go over there Poker and view it for yourself before stating such an ignorant comment.
Sillyshrinks, he is actually right but that still doesn't make it right. People have a choice, the animals don't. Also, animals in general need more space than humans that is why they should live in the wild and not confined to cages....especially in such horrific conditions as in Pata Zoo.
Actually sillyshrinks, poker was correct (albeit I'm sure he didn't know it). I have been over there numerous times. Those animals live better than most of the people do, and have about the same amount of space. You sit over here (in America) with everything great in life with no knowledge what the rest of the world lives like. You pass judgement on other cultures because they don't live up to you expectations. They have what they can afford, and live where they can. Often in cramped, small unfurnished dwellings. To them that zoo is just what they would imagine a zoo to be. They aren't going to live life to your standard. The common problem with most Americans is their lack of vision. Especially when it pertains to other's way of life.
Keep passing judgement, you just prove the rest of the world's point about America.
Before you start judging (which you will do any way I suspect), I don't like the fact that we pen animals just so we can look at them. Regardless of how "nice" any zoo is. That is just an excuse you Hippocrates.
Joey,
many zoos are employed by people who genuinely love animals. Most have spent over 4 years in college trying to be a zoo keeper. Some zoos have taken animals off the endangered species list. It is not hypocrisy to approve of the zoos that actually help animals (i think it's better to have a few generations of a species live out their lives in captivity if it means their offspring will not be the last of their kind) and to disapprove of zoos who do not respect their animals. Confining any animal to a concrete cage is in humane.
These are not domesticated animals. They are by definition wild animals and I’m not certain we should be confining them in zoos or other enclosures. They need to be free in their natural habitats where nature runs its course without human interference.
There are of course exceptions which require human intervention and zoos. Some reasons for such intervention are to preserve a species, help wounded/injured animals and keep those who could not otherwise survive in the wild.
I think most if not all zoos in the U.S. go to considerable lengths to provide their animals with reasonable habitats, a practice not often emulated in other countries.
The problem with keeping these animals alive in the wild or their natural environmet are humans. We have steadily moved into their habitat and that is why most of these animals are on the endangered species list! I just read the other day an article in the Bangkok Post that snake alerts/emergencies have almost tripled in recent years in Bangkok...why? Because this city is growing at a rate that is unhealthy and by growing is drying up valuable swamp lands which are the natural habitat for these animals.
Unfortunately we probably will only be able to see such animals in zoos some time in the future , unless we change our ways drastically. Having said that, this is no excuse for a place like Pata Zoo!!! "Zoos" like Pata, if you can even dare to call such a place a zoo, should be banned. I think that Rock Doctor in the first comment hit the nail on the head by comparing these conditions with prisons. However prisons are for punishment...what have these sweet creatures done to deserve this!!!
This is cruel, just looking at that picture of Bua Noi makes me sad. It's a true shame that countries don't pass animal protection laws to prevent animals from being crammed in tiny cages like this. Unfortunately, the tourists and their own Thai population find this to be a novelty and will continue pumping money in order to have their picture taken with these sad animals, so expecting these people to boycott this "zoo" will never happen.
There is a place in my country called the "Wildlife Sanctuary". Is a non-profit animal rescue that houses and takes care of rescued big cats, bears and wolves. The animals come from zoo like attractions and misguided Tiger enthusiasts that think they can raise one in a suburban back yard. The volunteers there work closely with law enforcement agencies all over the country to locate abused animals and relocate them to the sanctuary. Some of the animals there are even sent by wildlife enforcement agencies as an alternative to euthanizing nuisance animals like black bears. I use the term nuisance loosely since it is really people who have encroached on their territory. The sanctuary will allow visits in order to increase funds to feed the animals but the volunteers are first to point out they are NOT a zoo. The volunteers also provide education about what their rescues need in order to survive and thrive in a rescue environment. Reading about a department store zoo makes my skin crawl. Wonder if people in Thailand would really be so supportive if they took a minute to learn about it.
Sad, but not suprising from a country that has an alarming rate of child prostitution
Sad yes I agree...but what that has to do with child prostitution beats me!!! Have you ever been here? I live in Thailand and let me tell you the law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed with complaints about pedophiles...and guess where all these perverts come from...not Thailand!!! They all come from North America and Europe (Europe being my origine I have to admit with shame when I read these articles!). Poverty is what drives prostitution...and believe me it goes on everywhere. Maybe not as "open" as in Asia in general but it does everywhere. Do your research first before you write slandering comments about a country and look at your own doorstep first!
Sad, but not surprising from a culture with an alarming rate of child prostitution
Thank you NBC for shedding the camera light on a dark subject. Animal cruelty and human cruelty are one in the same — they are horrifying beyond words. I deeply appreciate anyone who fights for the rights of humans or animals (Thai Animal Guardian Association) so that they can live their lives with dignity, love and hope. May those that do take a stand not grow weary in their battle against apathy and the lack of understanding — any victory is victory! This is a powerful reminder to those of us living comfortably in the U.S. that there is a lot of work to be done in this world -- and it could be you that will make the difference for one of God's creatures. I hope that I can.
I can't go to any zoo and pictures like this sadden me. The animals look so sad to me, caged like criminals, deprived of their lives for the benefit of a zoo. Sometime it seems to me the cruelist animal in the world is the human being.
Amen! You said it perfectly...only humans can be the cruelest-poor animals are abused and poached over and over and it saddens me beyond belief.
The worst part is, it's all self-destructive. Stupid humans don't realize it's BIODIVERSITY that makes nature possible. We are part of that. Destroy the ecosystem...Destroy yourself.
It's all connected and if we continue on this path, soon we won't be able to feed ourselves. The Earth has a way of eliminating over-consuming organisms from the food chain. We are not immune from that.
the ppl shall be ashamed to stuff animals like this . and this is not anything else but animalcruelty! Swedish ppl are not going to this place and pay to see animals suffer. Shame on them!!!!
Sick people in sick countries..stop harming animals!
Apparently the animals rights activists in Thailand are not doing enough. If we wait for government officals to take care of the problem then it will never get done. Government officials are bought off and the poor animals continue to suffer. What they have on display there is pure cruelty. It has to stop and people need to do more....alot more!
Just talking about this is good. The more we talk about it the more people will know and then the more people will stand up and fight for what is right.
There are some people who belong in there. Palin, obama, bush, ect....
A truly partisan comment from an obvious fool making an off topic comment to further his/her political agenda. PATHETIC!
Hmmmm...partisan comment...didn't know Obama, Palin and Bush were all the same party...lol. However I do agree the comment was out of place.
The worst part is making the gorilla watch slapstick comedy on TV, when he'd rather be watching Masterpiece Theater. At least they don't make his watch Glenn Beck.
All kidding aside, this is reprehensible. But there are places right here in the US that need to be dealt with, like Bearland in Cherokee, NC.
Watching Glenn Beck would make them tear their cages apart and run away. Wait a minute....
This is so screwed up I can't even decide where to begin.
this is disgusting. these people over there wouldn't know how to be kind to an animal if you paid them.a gorilla in a box like that,. disgusting. they ought to put these people in a box and put them on display.they eat anything that walks or crawls.
if there's any animal rights activists over there for god sakes do something!geesus
In all fairness gloria, the U.S abuses it's fair share of animals. This is a global issue.
The activist can only do so much. It doesn't help that people wait in line to get photos of these captive animals.
The activist have to also contend with the people that think it's crule to cage an animal, but will snap a photo since they are there.
I remember the last time that I visited the Denver zoo, the animals looked healthy, except for their mental healath. After that I decided that I'd never see a Zoo again, and I've never been back.
Toph,
I am right there with you, the denver Zoo lost ,e a few years ago during the Holiday lights when I saw the elephants chained up tightly to a gate and did not even have enough room to turn around in. Thus I will never step foot into the Denver Zoo ever again!!!!!!!!!!
The only thing I've seen that even comes close to a natural habitat is the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The animals are in massive, open areas, mixed together as they would be in the wild. The habitats are very close to the ones these critters live in. The animals are very healthy, even mating regularly. This facility brought the California Condor back from extinction with a pioneering hatchery program. It is an example of what a zoo can be.
Yes, there are still fences and the animals have hundreds of acres, not thousands. But sadly, in Africa today, these animals also face fences and ever shrinking preserves to live in. Poaching is rampant too.
I'm not entirely sure where I stand on zoos. If done right, they are incredibly educational and inspirational, and in the case of the SDWAP, helpful in preserving wild animal populations.
However, most zoos and this monstrosity, are just there to make money and consequently, they are often inhumane. They should be shut down.
The San Diego Wild Animal Park is a work of art and the employees are true professionals. I shot their brochure years ago and spent hours upon hours in the animal's holding area. At no time did I see any inappropriate action by anyone but one tourist who thought he could pet a Rhino, dang it, the staff wouldn't allow it and secuity bought in the San Diego Sheriff's Dept. The somewhat upset man was transported to San Diego's other zoo - the county jail. Ah yes, that's a real Zoo!
Audobon Zoo, in New Orleans, is another outstanding zoological park. They were not much better than this mess, back in the early 1970s, but are now widely applauded as one of the best in the nation. The Audobon Institute also has a large species survival center on the north side of Lake Ponchartrain, that is breaking new trails in species preservation.
It is a truly bright spot, in a devastated city.
It's a tough call about zoo's. I wonder how the animals would sustain and behave if they were cycled from wilderness to zoo and back to wilderness? The cost of capture vet examinations and care as well as transportation to and from would be considerably more.
But I just wonder what effect it would have on the animals. Like borrowing them from their natural habitats periodically say 2-3 years and cycling them back again.
Just a thought.
It is a tough call. Zoos do provide an opportunity for people to observe and develop some level of caring for these creatures that might otherwise be eliminated from the wild. They also provide for some research that potentially helps the survival of the species. Zoos do let people see that many of these animals have personalities and are not just some mindless organisms. To some extent these zoo animals are martyrs for their species.
It is possible to have a quality zoo that offers at least reasonable representations of their natural environments. With larger, wide ranging species, it's a compromise at best. A lot too, has to do with the business model behind the zoo. If it's about making profits, it's exploitation. If it's about education and protection of natural environments, it could be something else. I believe that you can often tell when the animals are under stress and not living "normal" lives. Likewise in properly sized and well designed confinement areas, some of these animals can live pretty decent lives without the sometimes "kill or be killed" stresses of their natural environments or the danger of starving without adequate food. A table top glass sided ant farm may be fine for ants, but a concrete and steel cage for great apes is abuse.
Ideally, zoos go more the way of wildlife refuges. But these also require a lot of space and commitment. They don't come cheap.
As for cycling animals in and out of zoo and natural environments, this really wouldn't work very well. Some animals can be "rehabilitated" and returned to wild environments, but the successes are rare. The zoo animals quickly have to adapt to an existence dependent on others for their survival. They will endure a lot of hardship while their survival instincts are all that keep them going. When returned to the wild, these animals are often ill equipped to deal with their natural environments. Prey animals are easy pickings and predators don't have the skills to succeed. Even adapting to the changed social environment may be a daunting task. There will be exceptions, and some species may do better than others, but this approach is mostly wishful thinking. In reality, this would only subject more wild creatures to the hardships of zoo life.
The "zoo" in this article is pretty clearly something that shouldn't exist as it does. How you fix it may not be so easy, but it's worth the effort. As some have pointed out, many of our "human zoos" are just as bad. The only difference being that we put the inhabitants there as a form of punishment. In theory, we cycle them in and out and it doesn't work so well. Sadly too, we don't do a very good job of rehabilitating them either before turning them loose in their natural environments. What they may be subjected to in their confinement can also be very inhumane.
Human beings are quite good at justifying cruelty, whether it be zoos or prisons, and there's plenty of other examples too. When we do this we are either being heartless or making some undesirable compromise. The more we do this, the further our society declines. These are tough calls, and we need to think about them more to do the best possible thing.
It wouldn't work & would undoubtedly make the animals severely depressed if not psychotic. They would probably stop eating & die. Most animals need stability, be it in captivity or in the wild. They need one home & a stable set of significant others. Much variety in objects for play & activity & as much space as possible but a stable home. In addition, the extreme change between wildness & captivity would really be way beyond their tolerance.
The wilderness is frightening & very dangerous place for an animal accustomed to captivity. If they weren't raised in the wild & just recently living there, they won't even know how to find food & shelter in many cases. The mere act of catching an animal in the wild can result in its death. That act causes extreme duress & no animal should have to undergo it if avoidable...and certainly not repeatedly.
In addition to our two dogs, I have seven parrots. They are never confined to their very large cages except for when they sleep at night. They have a huge room with vine-like ropes hung throughout the ceiling with lots of toys, play areas & hanging gyms all over the room & throughout the ropes. Of course, there are play gyms in other rooms where I bring them out one or two at a time when I'm not in the room with them (where I am a good deal of the day).
One of my birds is a rescued cockatoo who had severe psychological issues when I got her (along with health issues) & was terrified of other birds & pretty much everything in life. She never played with anything. It's taken six years but she is finally as of this year a happy, healthy, playful & VERY affectionate little girl. Parrots, especially cockatoos (due to their near human intelligence) are very prone to most all the psychological conditions that plague humans & are most likely to develop them due to either lack of stimulation or change in home & significant others.
Did you know that most parrots have been researched extensively & found to display the intelligence of a 3 to 5 year old human...with Greys & Cockatoos being at the upper end of the scale? They bond as strongly to their human or humans as human toddlers bond to their parents.
Imagine taking a human baby away from its home & family & dropping it off in a strange home with strangers all around them & then just as they start to get used to the new home, put them back in their original home just to repeat the process over & over. That's what it's like for many of the animals with higher intelligence as well & probably even for most of those with somewhat lower intelligence levels.
So while it may sound like a good idea, shifting an animal back & forth between captivity & the wild would be doing it no kindness. And for many animals, captive environments can be created, even in a home, that come very close to providing as much variety & stimulation as well as freedom of movement as they would have in the wild with the added bonus of having a longer life due to being safe from predators & many diseases not present in a clean home environment that exist in the wild, along with a stable, healthy diet & regular health care. Plus the benefit of a human who loves them & who they love back.
It's a myth that all animals are better off in the wild. Some are & some aren't. But all those who aren't in the wild should be kept in an environment that is clean, healthy & meets all their physical & psychological needs including space & variety in terms of areas to explore & things to play with & on & regular changes in those objects & their space arrangement to prevent boredom.
This is sick. Most humans are idiots and lack awareness.
Easy. Boycott Thailand. Don't travel there. Don't buy goods from there. Of course, there's lots worse things going on in Thailand than abusive zoos - like the kiddie trade?
I'm w/ ya...i have NO desire to go to Thailand-or even many Asian or Middle Eastern lands-such as India-the animal rights over there are nill...they still have poor Black Bears performing on the streets w/ hooks in their noses-it's SO disgusting and sad!
And, don't get me started on circus's and elephants...
This is a global problem. Every country uses animals for the peoples amusement. Every once and a while, the animals get revenge and take a life.
It's all just a matter of degrees of abuse, but abuse none the less.
Unfortunately for some, we can't enforce our way of life on every other country. Somewhat akin to trying to change a tribal culture into a democracy with permanent results. Protecting the rights of animals is a noble goal, but some sovereign nations simply don't see it our way. Animal rights activists in a country such as Thailand are an anamoly.
What worries me is the lack of caring for humans that goes on with the right-wing in this country. Why don't we do something about that?
Humans are capable of being kind to both people and animals at the same time. It's not an "either or" scenario as your simpleton post conveys.
This is not new for Thailand. Several years back people rescued orangutans from bad situations in Thailand and took them back to Indonesia where hey were reintroduced to their natural habitats. Maybe the Pata department store can be convinced to give their "zoo" animals to an animal rights organization for placement in either their natural habitats or appropriate wildlife refuges. I'm going to write MSNBC and the author of the article, Warangkana Chomchuen, and see if we can get something started here. Any takers to help finance this project.
It is sad to say but most of the countries that treat the animals this way also have been cited in the past for human rights violations. It is kind of hard to try and make them treat animals better when they have humans living below human standards.
Oops, just fell off my soapbox.
Educate the people to stop patronizing zoos. I could see the use for them in the 50s, 60s etc. before the internet. But now you can see more and better on the net. Why zoos?