Local residents make petting zoo a big issue
December 6th, 2006 by admin
In October, when ARFF Coordinators Carla and Bryan Wilson read in their local paper that a community event in Winter Springs was to include a petting zoo, they attended and were troubled by what they saw. The following Monday they wrote to their city commissioner and to the mayor and urged them to take steps to ensure the welfare of animals and the safety of children at petting zoos. The Wilson’s were invited to speak at a Winter Springs city commission meeting, which they did last Thursday.
The Wilson’s spoke about watching children carelessly grabbing baby chickens and other animals and tossing or dropping them to the ground. They mentioned how the two adults “in charge” were not able to supervise the many children at the petting zoo. A former employee of the Centers for Disease Control also spoke at the meeting and said that the petting zoo did not adequately protect children from disease (in 2005, several children in central Florida got very sick from E. coli bacteria following visits to a petting zoo). After the testimony, Commissioner Sally McGinnis made a motion to ban petting zoos from city events, but unfortunately the proposal was not supported by other commissioners.
Although the city did not enact a ban on petting zoos (yet!), the Wilson’s efforts showed how a few dedicated people can make a big impact. In a recent editorial, the Seminole Chronicle concluded that concerns about animal welfare and the health risks of petting zoos should be given “serious consideration.” The paper said about the Wilson’s presentation: “Looking at the exhibit, or most animal zoo exhibits, it’s easy to see their point. [Animals are] subjected to the whims of children and a fair amount of negligent parents, who simply don’t mind that their kids are handling baby animals roughly. Young animals are generally the ones you’ll find at such zoos, in part because they’re cuter, but also because they take up less space and don’t require as much maintenance as older animals. The animals are shuttled from place to place, which is unnatural and difficult to handle for most animals . . . . ”
Please send an e-mail to Commissioner Sally McGinnis and thank her for taking a stand for animals: smcginnis@winterspringsfl.org.