Activist of the week!
January 13th, 2007 by admin
This week a traveling animal exhibit- featuring a camel, tiger, leopard, kangaroo, baboon and other exotic animals- set up its bare cages in the parking lot of a Venice shopping center. But thanks to the efforts of one concerned individual, thousands of readers of the Sarasota Herald Tribune learned about the plight of animals trapped in roadside zoos.
The traveling zoo is operated by Robert Engesser, who was cited in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for allowing children to come into direct contact with animals without supervision. It appears that little has changed. In a photo that accompanied the newspaper article, a 10-week-old tiger cub is held by a 5-year-old girl. Mr. Engesser has also been repeatedly cited by the USDA for failing to provide environmental enrichment for the baboon, who has been documented exhibiting stereotypic behaviors and other signs of stress.
During this week’s exhibit in at the Venice Village Shoppes, local resident David Hadley chose to take a stand against animal exploitation by sitting in front of the exhibit on U.S. 41 with a poster that read “Cruel and Inhumane.” He was quoted by the paper, “These are appalling conditions. The time — if there was ever a time — for roadside zoos has long passed.” The paper also reported that Mr. Hadley, “intends to contact each shop manager in the shopping plaza to voice his disgust.” Way to go David!
Please contact the Venice Village Shoppes and urge them not to host exploitive and cruel traveling animal exhibits in the future.
Contact:
Venice Village Shoppes
4147 Tamiami Trail South
Venice, FL 34293
Phone: (941) 493-2800