“Zoo” encourages guests to play with wild animals
July 31st, 2008 by admin
Last week the Miami Herald ran an article promoting “Lemur Experience,” a new money-making scheme at Miami’s Jungle Island. For many years the owner of this quasi-zoo, Bern Levine, has been breeding birds, orangutans and other exotic animals for profit. His latest idea to prop-up the financially-troubled attraction is allowing visitors to interact with lemurs.
Today the Herald printed an excellent letter to the editor by Valerie Howell. Here’s an excerpt:
In the July 26 story ‘Play with a lemur’, we learned that for $45 you can play with a baby lemur at Jungle Island. The article reports the owner of Jungle Island, Bern Levine, got the lemurs from a breeder and “will swap them for another group of babies when they turn 1.'’ This statement epitomizes an essential problem with the zoo industry. Zoos want babies to bring in the crowds. Then, once they are grown, zoos sell them because they have limited space and resources. The dealer-buyer then sells the animals to whomever will pay, with no guarantee of humane treatment or appropriate housing. Who knows how many times these lemurs will be sold in their lives or how they will be treated?
Great letter Valerie!