India Takes Action Against Posing With Big Cats

India Takes Action Against Posing With Big Cats

Thank you the CZA. Now lets have other zoo organisations around the world follow suit. There is too much of this. Pulling cubs deliberately for photos or deliberately for hand rearing using any old made up excuse. Zoo staff the world over could do animals a favour by keeping their own 'posing' photos private. Posting on Facebook and elsewhere does more harm than most realise.

Leave the cubs alone!

By Chetan R, Bangalore Mirror Bureau

CZA orders probe against three individuals who posted pictures of themselves holding tiger and leopard cubs on social media, besides a Bannerghatta zoo official and an NGO

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has taken serious note of the alarming trend of people posing with animals in Bannerghatta National Park and flaunting these pictures - which often go viral -- on social networking sites.
Clearly indicating its intention to clamp down on this fad, the premier body for zoos and zoo animals in the country has ordered a probe into individuals and an NGO in instances that are allegedly in gross violation of CZA rules. Based on a directive from their central body, which dashed off a letter on Thursday, the Karnataka Zoo Authority is probing three such cases. Such tactile association poses potential risk to the young wildlife, authorities warn. 

Wildlife activists in Bangalore first alerted the vigilance wing of the state forest department. The issue was also brought to the notice of the-now union minister Maneka Gandhi. Gandhi's People For Animals then took it up with the CZA. 

Under the scanner are an NGO, which allegedly facilitates pictures and selfies with wild animals, besides a forest official and individuals named in the complaint. 

In a directive to his counterpart in Karnataka on May 29, Bishan Singh Bonal, Member Secretary, CZA, ministry of environment and forestry, has stated, "Kindly cause an inquiry and take action as per the prevailing rule and regulations. Sub rule 5(6) of Rule 10 under Recognition of Zoo Rule 2009 (amendment 2013), reads, 'The curatorial -- The animals shall be handled only by the staff having experience and training in handling the individual animals'. Whereas, as per photographs, it seems that general visitors are allowed to pose for photography in violation of RZR, 2009 under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Your early action with status report is solicited." The whistleblower in this case is a 33-year-old MBA graduate Hari Krishna. Besides wildlife photography, he also runs adventure biking expeditions themed around nature and wildlife con
READ MORE
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/cover-story/Leave-the-cubs-alone/articleshow/35855127.cms

China's Animal Olympics

China's animal 'Olympics' triggers outrage

An "Animal Olympics" in China which features elephant basketball, monkey pole climbing, and dog and bear hurdle races, has been criticised by a rights group, describing it as "animal abuse".
The games, which opened Sunday at the Shanghai Wildlife Park, feature more than 40 sports.

An elephant lit the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony, the Shanghai Daily reported Tuesday.

Animals from across the world are participating.

The event will run till November.

The games "mistreat animals" and are "against their natural behaviour and hurts their health", said Sun Quanhui of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

Sun said such activities involve harsh measures during training like withholding food. Many animals die or suffer from injuries.

Bear and gorilla balance-beam competitions, bear bicycle races and monkey rope-skipping are some of the other highlights.

The park insisted they do not harm the animals.

"It is healthy sport as animals participate in the games based on their nature, like a cheetah race as they are known for their fast speed, and we use food as a reward," said Ni Li, a park official.

The Chinese law made it illegal the use animals in performances in zoos. But it does not stop other animal-related activities, the daily added.

Sun said the regulation only targets zoos.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?section=environment&xfile=data/environment/2012/September/environment_September17.xml

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Behind The Cloak of Buddha - Commercial Exploitation of Tigers

Behind the Cloak of Buddha is the true story about a group of captive tigers subjected to a lifetime of abuse and wildlife trade, and of a woman's fight to bring justice and peace to their lives. Set in the seemingly idyllic surrounds of a Thai Buddhist Temple, this landmark book lifts the lid on the hidden atrocities that species are subjected to for greed and confirms the enduring spirit of both human and animal.

To order the book or learn more please click HERE

This Tiger abuse is continuing today, the authorities turning a blind eye to what is really going on here.

 

Take a read of  The Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Thailand

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Zoo Visitor Hospitalised After Tiger Attack

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/murrenkuvat/187535507/

The photo above was taken in a Chinese zoo. Follow up the photo link to learn more.

It has happened again! Always, always an accident waiting to happen. Posing for photographs with big cats should be banned wherever it takes place. The West and Australia are not in a position to point a finger of blame when some of their own collections persist in carrying out the same stupid activity. Big cats should be parent reared, of natural colour and in official internationally recognised breeding programmes.

This latest (reported) incident took place in

Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm

Read more about

Zoos in Thailand

And read more about

Playing with and Posing with Lions and Tigers

Now read the news item:

Woman attacked by tiger popular visitor attraction

A shocking incident took place at the popular Million years Stone Park and crocodile farm on August the 11th when a tiger attacked a tourist.

48 year old Pimonpan from Bangkok was doing what thousands of visitors to the theme park do, sitting beside a tiger for a photograph.

The staff briefed her on how to sit however she got up to check the photo, when she sat down again she sat in the wrong spot and put her hand above the tiger's head, this unnerved the tiger who bit her arm and clawed at her face and she was quickly rushed to Bangkok hospital Pattaya where she was treated for her wounds and would spend 3 to 5 days for observation.

The Chairman of the Million Year Stone Park and Crocodile Farm, Suan Panomwatanakul said on the day the woman had sat with a 2 year old white male tiger named Milky had been posing for photographs with visitors for over 6 months now and that this was the first time any thing like this had happened.

Suan said that they would cover any medical expenses and any counseling that Pimonpan may require and stressed that his theme park has strict rules and safety measures for tourists and that they are followed very strictly.
The atmosphere at the theme park

Read Full Story HERE

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The Idiot Lion Man Was Stopped!

The idiot Lion Man was stopped, but it was very much a last minute sort of thing and going by the photograph, a well attended event. I drew attention to the proposal of this idiotic spectacle some time ago and wrote it up in:

The Idiot Lion Man Must Be Stopped

*****
Not a pleasant video

*****

This was followed up by my colleague Dina Zulficar in Cairo who alerted and reminded the authorities. Here is the message she sent me yesterday:

"Dear Peter


Please find updates from Egypt regarding the Essawi Case:

After maneouvers with authorities, all day today, Essawi gathered the press in Mansoura, at 1pm, all don't know where he would hold the alleged fight, at 3pm, all left Mansoura following Essawi by cars to unknown destination. After 2 hours driving Essawi stopped at "Kalabsha" a small district near "Gamasa" on the coast, turning right and left in between vegetations.. and there was the lion in a cage.

Egyptian Police Authorities were all alert, Essawi started the fight BUT was stopped shortly by the police and the fight was called off.

Currently the authorities are taking necessary actions. In time, shortly interrogations outcome will be declared by authorities.

http://twitpic.com/5gpgab


at 7 pm fight was called off: someone called - twitted about it and uploaded some pictures, than he said that Essawy called off the fight and made a speech.

Essawi kept manouvering all day today, at last he stopped in the bushes of a vegetation area which no once could imagined. Thank God Police took action.

Sincerely

Dina Zulfikar"

Thank you Dina for you noble efforts to prevent this atrocity taking place.

***

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Tiger Temple Update - November 2010 - Important

Tiger Temple Update - November 2010

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luisca/3607613474/

(The post below has been taken directly from Sybelle Foxcroft's post in Notes on cee4life you can read the full post on the Facebook page.)


Hi All

Firstly, I'd just like to thank CNN for the exposure of the Tiger Temple to the US and any one else around the world who was watching. Brilliant, and I thank this huge network for having the guts to bring this to a wide public audience.

At the same time that the CNN broadcast of the Tiger Temple abuse and Tony the Truckstop tiger went to air, something very disturbing unfolded inside the tiger temple.

To bring you up to date, the Tiger Temple is removing all foreign staff from hands on contact with the tigers. That means the care and handling of these tigers has taken a massive step backwards.

Although, when the foreign volunteers were hands on with the tigers, they were still only able to stop some of the abuses, particularly the physical abuse. Now there is no one to stop it. The Temple just employed another 5 thai staff workers to work directly with the tigers. These Thai workers are off the street and have had no animal experience in their lives, much like all of the staff.

So when they are employed in the temple, they are trained by 2 very nasty pieces of men who's only method of controlling a tiger is via a smash in the head, karate punches, kidney kicking, and other vicious actions. These have all been caught on film, and are up on YouTube along with other abuses, for your viewing pleasure........ :(

So the information for the world is up on the internet, its still just a matter of getting this out to the public.

But on the very night that the CNN exposure aired, in Thailand at the Tiger Temple, a Hollywood film crew entered the Tiger Temple. The long suffering Hernfa (tiger with his head yanked up and down all day everyday for tourist photos) Saifa (one of the last, ailing and in desperate need of veterinary aid, remaining original tigers) the young adults Mek & Payak (my Harnfa's sons) and the younger Sangton (female), were all hauled out of their cages to participate in the filming of the Scorpian King 3.......

I am in absolute shock that Hollywood used the Tiger Temple tigers... this is an absolute disaster. Hollywood would have paid the Temple quite a bit of money for this. Unbelievable....

Now if 1 Hollywood production company chose to use these horribly abused tigers, then there could be 2, then 3 etc etc....

The trucks drove in and set up massive flood lights and the tigers were pushed and prodded to 'act'. The problem is that they were not acting, the sight of the thick sticks that they are beaten with ensured that they would not misbehave too much. However, Hernfa (who is becoming defiant in his older years) objected to this, and was hit repeatedly, chastised, and the bloody tiger balm was all over him.

The next morning the tigers were counted and checked just in case any had disappeared, none had.

Now I know that these Hollywood people did not know about the abuse these creatures have endured. I know to us that know about it, it would seem like they would have to be living with their heads in the sand to have not heard about it, but still alot of people do not know.

So the Scorpian King 3, which is apparentently going straight to DVD, used some of the temple tigers. They paid for them, and they have inadvertantly contributed to the ongoing abuse of these creatures.

Now about the tigers.....

Sangtewan is not pregnant. They have been trying hard to get her pregnant again, however this time I think her body has given up. Her beaten and broken body is a mess. If she does not recieve any veterinary aid she will suffer and she will die.

Fakram - has given up on everything. He is isolated from the other tigers and is situated at a lonely end of tiger island. The reason for this, I can only think, is because he is not able to be handled at all and challenges everyone, he is a killer. He always was a killer, however in 2007 - mid 2009 he was a killer that still had a personality, now he has no personality, just a killer. It seems they are starving him to death as he is losing a massive amount of weight. The other tigers are being fed, however Fakram is rarely seen with any food.

It is not that the Temple doesnt have the money, it is just that Fakram has no use to them, he is forgotten. One of the senior TSW was overheard saying 'Fakram will be gone soon and we use the cage for other tiger'.

WTF are they up to.......

There are 84 tigers inside tiger island now, there are approximately 34 cages under tiger island. 4 cages cannot be used, and Mam Mam the Moon bear is in another cage.Now do the maths. 29 cages for 84 tigers, now grassed area, just cement and rusted bars.

Cee4life is trying very hard to keep an eye on all of the ailing tigers. I will put a list up of all of the ailing tigers soon, and some photographs.

Weya - is doomed. Dr Somchai refuses to provide the correct medication to end his unbearable haematoma.... this is tragic, angering.

Hernfa - his eyes are shaking and he is unable to focus. This is the same for 15 of the tigers. This has been brought to the attention of the Dr, but nothing is done. These ailments have now been going on for 5 months.... they will go on forever if this cant be stopped.

Nanfa - the tiger Nanfa has begun to just stop moving. Once Nan would walk around the cage, but now wont move most days. Something terrible has happened to Nan, I am trying to find out.

Rowie - the young male Rowie has also got serious eye problems, is unable to focus directly on anything.

Saidow - the young cub Saidow is one of many who is born cross eyed, however numerous tigers within the temple are suffering eye infections, disabilities of some kind or another.

These eye problems are multiplying. It is not just the older tigers, it is the young ones too. This could be a symptom of a number of things. In the older ones, the sudden shaking eyes could be neurological, a stroke maybe, maybe a head injury, a virus - it will be unknown until professional veterinary aid is given.

The young cubs being born with cross eyes - probably from inbreeding, also a symptom of a parent who has been drugged alot during pregnancy.

Whatever the case, they are still in dire need and........go to the cee4life to read more. It is important.

For even more on the Tiger Temple please read:

The Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Thailand

And can I once again renew my appeal to the zoos of the world to put up a small sign on their Tiger enclosures advising tourists not to visit the Tiger Temple when they visit Thailand? Please. It is your countrymen which keep this place going.

***

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