In an alarming finding over the weekend, The Dallas Zoo, already ravaged by the discovery that the fencing to two of their enclosures had been cut, announced that their lappet-faced vulture, Pin, died from unnatural causes. Zoo officials spoke with local news to discuss the incident and have asked anyone with information to please come forward - there is a $10,000 reward.
Pin was a remarkable ambassador animal to his wild cousins, not only as a 33-year-old resident of the Dallas Zoo, but as a father and grandfather. His progeny includes 11 offspring and 1 “grandchick,” all of whom live in zoos around the country. Lappet-faced vultures are in the AZA’s Species Survival Plan that seeks to globally preserve species in participating zoological institutions for the purposes of keeping the genetic pool diverse and providing research data.
Breeding programs in US zoos began in the 1970s and the first chick hatched in 1991. Only 5 zoos in the US have been able to successfully hatch chicks. The SSP Program Leader for lappet-faced vultures was Pin’s long-time keeper from the Dallas Zoo, making this an even deeper blow to the zoo and its keepers.
Today, the vultures are listed as endangered with the potential to move to critically endangered status. They can be found throughout many parts of Africa, and are most threatened by secondary poisoning: as carrion feeders, they may feed off of vermin killed by strychnyne or other poisons.
Hunting has a long history and remains popular in Spain, generating a respectable 5 billion Euros annually. But just as in many other Western countries, hunting is considered a more rural activity, while urban folks are less likely to hunt and more likely to look down on or even disapprove of it.
A recently proposed animal rights law in Spain places this urban-rural divide on stark display. In a nutshell, a law was proposed by the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), that reads as if someone tried to thoughtlessly cobble together every low-hanging concession to animal rights activists they could come up with before lunch break. Unfortunately for the PSOE, this law contained provisions about abandoned animals, training, and breeding that really ticked off a group of key supporters: rural voters. More specifically, hunters. Hunters considered the law an attack with the potential to “legislate hunting out of existence.” This led to a last-minute amendment excluding hunting dogs and other rural activities… and raised questions about the viability of the proposed law as a whole.
It is a positive that the disagreement between the party’s urban and rural bases led to a favorable amendment (and, ideally, towards the law being shelved altogether). However, this example also serves as a troubling reminder of how non-stakeholders often feel perfectly fine about passing their values onto others. “I live a different lifestyle than you, and, for various reasons, have never or will never hunt. But never mind that: let me tell you how you need to do it.” If you are involved in animal sports or hobbies of any variety, you know you’ve heard a variation on that theme before!
Let's be honest. This one kinda looks like a biter.
SeaQuest is a chain of aquariums that offers up-close and personal animal encounters and exhibits that feature different ecosystems from around the world. Visitors can pay extra to feed a variety of different ambassador animals guided by their keepers. Once a visitor is in the door, SeaQuest engages them with conservation messaging on issues like aquatic ecosystems and shark finning.
Recently, a citation from the USDA was released to the public via a FOIA request from PeTA describing several AWA infractions that led to SeaQuest receiving a $4,500 fine. The incidents involved their New Jersey, Nevada, and Utah locations. The Utah location in particular had the most infringements by way of customer injuries during paid animal encounters. While it is important to note that accidents do happen even in the safest of environments, keeping animals and customers safe has to be the highest priority. There are keepers present during every encounter and they are done separately from the general public. Plus, they must be scheduled ahead of time in order to line up with the availability of the animals and the keepers' time.
PeTA routinely files FOIA requests on entities they ideologically oppose, lies in wait for a mistake, and then pounces. In their press release they call for the closure of all SeaQuest locations. Their reactions ignore that the incidents occurred during a 2 year window and that SeaQuest has already been in communication with USDA, who until recently regarded these types of infractions as “teachable moments.” But this is to be expected when the end goal is keeping your name in print with the possible bonus of putting someone out of business (which, conveniently, can also be used as a means of keeping your name in print).
All SeaQuest locations are still in operation, which means that their USDA licenses and inspections, state veterinary inspections, and all other requirements for each state have been met. Working directly with animals big and small does carry a risk. Those are addressed in waivers customers must sign before every activity. Informed, consenting members of the public have a right to pay for an encounter they wish to experience. Let’s hope that SeaQuest is able to move forward in a positive direction and implement more effective protocols to lessen the inherent risks in the unique experiences they offer.
