+- Punaweb Forum (http://punaweb.org/forum)
+-- Forum: Punaweb Forums (http://punaweb.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=3)
+--- Forum: Punatalk (http://punaweb.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=10)
+--- Thread: Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga (/showthread.php?tid=16504)
Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga - Kapoho Joe - 10-14-2015
Updated:
October 14, 2015 - 8:55am
BY John Burnett Hawaii Tribune-Herald
The state director of the Humane Society of the U.S. says the county should be denied a state permit to acquire two Bengal tiger cubs for the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens, while the zoo’s director says the organization is basing it’s opposition on misinformation.
The state Department of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals is set to review the zoo’s request to bring in the endangered tigers from an Oregon breeder at a meeting today in Honolulu. If the committee approves the request, it would then go before the state Board of Agriculture for final consideration.
The county facility on Hilo’s southern outskirts is looking to replace its star attraction, Namaste, a white Bengal tiger euthanized Jan. 16, 2014, after a year-plus illness.
“Our position is that they did not provide adequate care for Namaste and they should not pursue any more of these complex, potentially dangerous species,” said Inga Gibson, Hawaii director of HSUS, a national animal advocacy organization not affiliated with the local humane societies. “… These are endangered, wild animals that require specific care.”
Gibson said the tiger likely died of complications brought on by a broken right rear leg suffered by the big cat in late 2012, not complications from hip dysplasia and advanced age, which were cited by the county as the reasons for the 15-year-old feline’s death. She referred to a Dec. 10, 2013, report by U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector Dr. Gwynn Hallberg, which noted the zoo’s decision to not have Namaste undergo surgery on the broken leg, as was recommended by a veterinarian specializing in big cats consulted by the zoo’s attending vet, Dr. Lisa Wood. Hallberg also wrote Namaste’s health “has been declining, especially over the past two weeks” and concluded the non-commercial diet being fed the cat may have caused a calcium deficiency which could “result in the type of illness currently being seen in this tiger.”
“These animals (white Bengal tigers) are inbred and genetically inferior,” Gibson said. “He suffered a broken leg. In those reports, you’ll note these vets noted he seemed very ill; he wasn’t receiving a proper diet. So this was not a natural death simply due to some genetic condition.”
“That is not correct,” countered Pam Mizuno, the zoo’s director, who released to the memo dated Tuesday by Wood on Namaste’s condition, which was written for Mizuno’s presentation before the committee. “He had a broken leg, but it had healed. That is not what caused his death. Dr. Wood said that for a year or slightly over, he had been suffering from renal (kidney) failure.”
Wood wrote in the memo that Namaste’s blood, including samples taken in October and December 2013, showed normal levels of calcium, phosphorous and alkaline phosphate.
“No evidence was found for underlying (metabolic bone disease),” wrote Wood, who cited articles on the disorder, which is caused by poor diet. “The final decision to humanely euthanize ‘Namaste’ was based on his deteriorating quality of life. This was likely brought about by a combination of factors including the fracture of his right femur, degenerative joint disease in his hips and advancing renal failure.”
Gibson also questioned the zoo not being accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, asking, rhetorically, “If you don’t have the facilities, the resources to be accredited, then should you be in the business of taking in these large and potentially dangerous species?”
Mizuno said AZA accreditation is “extremely expensive” and the zoo is in the process of applying for accreditation by another organization, the Zoological Association of America.
In addition, Gibson took issue with the breeder the county has contacted for the tigers, CJ’s Great Cats World Park in Oregon, citing several citations by the USDA for alleged mishandling of big cats. She also noted reports that CJ’s owner, Craig Wagner, who she described as “notorious,” is reputed to have starved animals and beaten one tiger with a two-by-four after the starving animal had killed and partially consumed a leopard 25 years ago in Wisconsin. Wagner was found guilty in 1993 and received a suspended jail sentence, according to the book “Animal Underworld: Inside America’s Black Market.”
After the episode, Wagner moved to Minnesota, where he opened a big cat facility, and later to Oregon.
Wagner’s onetime business partner, Cynthia Gamble, was mauled to death in Minnesota by a tiger authorities said was starving, according to the April 20, 2006 edition of the Askov (Minn.) American newspaper.
“This is a county zoo. Is the public aware of where these animals are coming from?” Gibson said. “… I feel that, as a municipally funded agency, the public has a right to know about this. But for (the county), they’re surely looking at it as a way for them to bring people to the zoo to see these animals. And they’re not looking at the larger issues of where these animals are coming from and if they can provide adequate facilities.”
Mizuno said CJ’s Great Cats is “taking very good care of their tigers.”
“They have a veterinarian on their staff that the USDA vet (Dr. Carolyn McKinnie) is recommending we consult,” she said. “Why would a USDA vet do that?”
“Basically, (today) at the meeting, I’m going to state the facts,” Mizuno continued. “… The zoo serves as an educational as well as a recreational facility. “For a lot of kids on this island, that will be there only chance to see (a tiger). We provide that experience for a lot of the schoolchildren. There are students on this island that never even make it to Honolulu Zoo.
“The Humane Society of the United States is … bringing all of this up at a meeting for the state to issue an import and exhibition permit. That is not the state’s role. … The USDA decides who’s in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act. So that’s two different things.
“We’re allowed to import the animals per their administrative rules. We’re a government zoo, and per their conditions, if we abide by their conditions, we should be allowed to import these animals. The Humane Society of the United States is asking the Department of Agriculture not to issue that permit based on things other than the Department of Agriculture’s administrative rules.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-news/battle-over-bengals-panaewa-zoo-gardens
RE: Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga - Punatic007 - 10-14-2015
I'd like to see the world outgrow the inhumane institution of zoo's. Animals may not be as smart as humans, they may be run by instinct over logic but emotionally they feel...deeply. Anyone who has had a dog knows this. Pain, sadness, loneliness, despair, frustration, anxiety, anger and mostly hurt. Hurt that humans are so selfish and cruel as to imprison them for display and exploitation.
RE: Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga - viviansuet - 10-14-2015
additional info from HSUS:
The article on the Panaewa Zoo’s request to import 2 Bengal tiger cubs failed to mention additional violations related to the zoo’s current animals (Zoo seeks permit for tigers, October 14). On May 23 of this year the United States Department of Agriculture cited the Panaewa zoo for failing to provide adequate barriers for the sloth and brown lemur to prevent physical contact with the public. They were also cited in January of this year for a 3 year ongoing repeat violation for protruding corrugated metal fencing posing a threat of injury to the animals, and other sanitation and housing facilities violations.
RE: Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga - viviansuet - 10-14-2015
I would like to take this opportunity to share my support of the HSUS opposition to replacing the bengal tiger on Hawaii Island.
These are my added comments and sites found for added information.
1. The tigers are coming from Oregon. There is also an Oregon Tiger Sanctuary providing life long sanctuary to abuse and unwanted tigers. If we were helping that organization out, I would be proud. Here are links to both organizations. Please take the time and see which group you would like to be associated with. One is more money oriented, and the other more animal oriented, in my opinion.
http://oregontigersanctuary.org/index.shtm
http://www.greatcatsworldpark.com/
2. If we acquire a white tiger it is a product of inbreeding. http://bigcatrescue.org/abuse-issues/issues/white-tigers/
http://bigcatrescue.org/contact-bcr/ is another source of information.
I too have enjoy zoos, but really it is not a necessity but an expensive inhumane luxury....our community has so many other needs....
more spay/neuter of dogs and cats for example !!
Aloha & Mahalo
RE: Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga - kalakoa - 10-14-2015
humans are so selfish and cruel as to imprison them for display and exploitation
Your tax dollars at work. Isn't this what you "voted" for?
RE: Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga - Kapoho Joe - 10-14-2015
quote:
Originally posted by kalakoa
humans are so selfish and cruel as to imprison them for display and exploitation
Your tax dollars at work. Isn't this what you "voted" for?
You can "vote" by submitting testimony to the Acting Inspection & Compliance Section Chief Hawaii Department of Agriculture Plant Quarantine Branch - Jonathan.k.ho@hawaii.gov
RE: Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga - kalakoa - 10-14-2015
submitting testimony to the ... Hawaii Department of Agriculture
Being as this Department can't manage invasive species, I'm skeptical that testimony will have any effect.
RE: Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga - leilanidude - 10-14-2015
quote:Without zoos, there would be almost zero empathy for any wild animals.
Originally posted by Punatic007
I'd like to see the world outgrow the inhumane institution of zoo's. Animals may not be as smart as humans, they may be run by instinct over logic but emotionally they feel...deeply. Anyone who has had a dog knows this. Pain, sadness, loneliness, despair, frustration, anxiety, anger and mostly hurt. Hurt that humans are so selfish and cruel as to imprison them for display and exploitation.
RE: Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga - DTisme - 10-14-2015
There are 3 reasons I'm against the cubs: I lived in SF area when the two young men were attacked and one killed by the Siberian tiger Tatiana in 2007. The young men were drunk and had been teasing her, throwing things at her enclosure, etc. She finally had enough, leapt up over the wall, escaped, and hunted the two down. One was mauled and the other killed. When we moved here a couple of years later and I saw Namaste's enclosure, I could only compare it with that of Tatiana's, the walls of which were much higher. (The new enclosure there has been built even higher.) Those big cats can jump tremendous distances if they've a mind to.
The 2nd reason is that, when I saw Namaste being fed whole raw chicken in a dirty enclosure with rusty bars, it just didn't seem like appropriate vet-approved care. I was not surprised at all when Namaste fell ill.
And the 3rd is personal. There's an area in the tiger enclosure that is surprisingly close to the public. One time I was walking along the path with a friend and Namaste was just feet from us on the other side of the double fence, walking the same direction and at the same pace. As we walked, she faced me for a second and let out this little unnerving growl. Maybe she was just saying hi, but I never went near her enclosure again.
If a tiger at Panaewa were to escape, who there will handle the ensuing chaos? Are there staff members on site with tranquilizer guns? (Even in SF, no staff was around to deal with Tatiana -- most everyone had gone home for the day -- and she ended up shot by local police.) Are there full-time staff who will be devoted to the tigers? Do they have young tiger experience?
Unless you're a world-class, accredited zoo, you have no business taking on large dangerous animals like tigers. As much as I enjoyed seeing Namaste, I've been glad that she hasn't been replaced.
RE: Battle over Bengals at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo & Ga - Seeb - 10-14-2015
The zoo is a gem of Hawaii county. It's one of the few places that kids growing up here can see or dream about something bigger/ better. If you say they don't have the facility's- then give some them some money.