I found this video very disturbing. The behaviour of the staff I believe was extremely unprofessional. Just what were they trying to prove or do?
You have hold of the antlers and you reverse to the gate and you release the animal. I cannot defend the actions seen. Were these trainee keepers? Please use comments below if you have an explanation.
Well my blood pressure is through the roof! There is no excuse for this. One should NEVER go in with rutting reindeer! The male should be transferred into a different yard while the staff cleans. Someone should watch the male if he has been transferred without the does to make sure he does not hurt himself trying to get back in with them. Running the whole herd into the transfer area if it is large enough would be best. It was obvious this male was rutting. His prepuce was protruding and there was fresh velvet hanging on his antlers. Where I worked we never went in with male reindeer between the time they shed velvet and their antlers fell off. Beating the animal as some sort of twisted idea of discipline for doing something his raging hormones are telling him to do… I just don’t have words for it…
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable behaviour to actually whack the animals nose with a large shovel. As you say two people could have held it's antlers and backed up towards the gate to get themselves out but for another person to come in and actually get himself in exactly the same position, I hope Antwerp can give some explanation for this as I can only imagine what the public at the enclosure thought of their actions.
ReplyDeleteI hope heads roll over this, it's unbelievable incompetence on every level.
ReplyDeleteDisgusting behaviour from what appears to be "experienced" keepers, according to this post I found elsewhere discussing this incident.
ReplyDelete"According to the news, the reindeer, Jolf, is fine. The staff claim that it was an us-or-him situation that really took 20 minutes so the video gives the wrong idea. She's worked at the zoo for 20 years, him for 13. Both still work there, and the zoo has changed the habitat so that the staff don't come directly in contact with the reindeer. An animal rights organization has complained, but I don't think there's been any official charges or anything".
I would like to know just how many Antwerp zoo keepers does it take to screw in a light bulb? It appears from the video when one keeper uses bad judgment they all like to jump in and do the same stupid thing. I do believe my favorite part is that the door leading off exhibit is OPEN. Truly an example of just how high the zoo's standards of safety, professionalism of the staff and plain common sense.
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