Adam and I were cruising through some acquaintances' honeymoon photos when we ran across snapshots that jerked my head up.
People posing with tigers, smiling. Tigers lying submissive, bellies exposed. Paws limp. The absurdity of the photos almost -- but not quite -- belied the chains around the animals' necks.
What the hell?
Google brought me to this: the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Province outside Bangkok. Check out the webpage: Meditate with tigers! Stroke tigers! Have an up-close-and-personal encounter with tigers!
I have only slight knowledge of the Buddhist tradition, but I'm fairly certain it doesn't involve chaining animals and charging tourists $9 a throw for a photograph of them mugging with said chained animals.
Some argue that this saves the tigers from being poached in the wilderness. I couldn't be more opposed to poaching, but to me this is a thin argument. Two wrongs don't make a right, and in fact many conservationist efforts fail not because of malice, but out of good intentions gone wrong.
Care for the Wild International agrees. The animal welfare and conservation charity has produced a report alleging abuse and exploitation at the temple. In turn, the report says, tourists themselves are at risk of attack from the stressed animals.
This is why I hate zoos. And safaris. And any other endeavor that claims to protect animals while at the same time holding out a hand for the almighty dollar.
We're not the only creatures on this planet. That's one of the major precepts of Buddhism, from what I can see. Sometimes the best thing we can do for nature is to leave it alone.
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3 comments:
I have very mixed feelings about captive animals. I agree with the point you make -- but to issue a blanket condemnation of zoos seem out of place to me.
Again, I in no way support things like the tiger temple or dolphin encounters.
But there are numerous endangered species whose best bet for survival lies in zoos. Captive breeding programs like the one that is keeping the California condor from dying off are the only alternative to extinction we can offer.
And to condemn these institutions for using the public as a source of funds seems to go a little too far to me.
Yeah, this does encourage a certain number of abusive practices -- even the best zoos will tend to have some animals like elephants whose captivity is a form of torture -- but how exactly are they supposed to be funded?
Especially when continuity of support is absolutely vital -- imagine getting our government to fund breeding for the Cuban crocodile in the current political climate.
I'd suggest reading some of Gerald Durrell's writing on his captive breeding programs at the Jersey Zoo in order to get a view from the other side of this question...
This is one of those areas where there is valid reasoning on both sides of the question and a lot of sentimentality thrown into the mix. There is no no perfect approach to dealing with this situation.
I know that it's impossible to go into most zoos or animal parks and not be conscious of bad decisions resulting in animals leading lives of misery.
But like it or not, every animal on Earth is affected by the presence of humans on the planet. What with climate change, overpopulation (and remember, most humans on the planet are dealing with survival issues that render questions of animal rights irrelevant), mining and lumbering and agriculture, "Just let them live free," is no longer an answer -- it seems to me more an abdication of responsibility.
Hey Sean,
Going to respond in private ... check your email.
- A.
Thank you for highlighting the issues here. In response to those writing about the values of captive breeding I'd just like to make it clear that the Tiger Temple are illegally breeding and trading their tigers; far from rescuing them,they have admitted to buying them from private dealers. In addition to this the tigers, who consist of different species, are allowed to interbreed. The Tiger Temple have made bold conservation claims,stating that they eventually plan to release tigers to the wild. This will never happen; the release of any of their tigers or their offspring would compromise wild tiger populations.
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