Jul10
Manila Zoo's Lone Orangutan Dies
Posted at 03:17 PM | Permalink
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Comments (12)
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Since 1981, Sisi had been incarcerated at the Manila Zoo. Although orangutans are tree-dwelling animals, Sisi was forced to live much of her life in a tiny, litter-filled concrete-and-steel enclosure. She was on display continually in a cage that was surrounded by noisy souvenir stands and food vendors, and she was provided with nothing to hold her interest, help her pass the time, or stimulate her keen senses.
Sisi's death, reportedly from cancer, is just one indication of how animals have been left in deteriorating health without veterinary care at this atrocious zoo. Because PETA Asia-Pacific remains concerned about the well-being of the surviving animals at the Manila Zoo, who all lack the space, exercise, privacy, and mental stimulation that they require, the organization has decided to send a funeral wreath to the zoo in Sisi's honor. The wreath includes a ribbon emblazoned with the message "Sisi: Suffered in Life, Peace in Death" and will be accompanied by a card calling on zoo officials to close the facility's doors.
Posted by Shawna Flavell
TAGGED:
asia-pacific zoos orangutan Manila Zoo Sisi
Comments
horrific
zoos are prisons
so sad
she is one of thousands
we need to abolish zoos
Posted by: simara | July 10, 2009 04:20 PM
How very sad.
Rest in peace, Sisi.
Posted by: Aneliese | July 10, 2009 05:53 PM
RIP Sisi---
Posted by: cindy | July 10, 2009 06:16 PM
it will never happen
Posted by: jess | July 10, 2009 07:31 PM
R.I.P Susie <3
Let's hope she didn't fie in vain and that Manila Zoo has a change of heart and closes for good.
''Zoos'' are really just an illusion nothing more than prison's for the innocent.
I pray to god that one day animal's will be seen as uqual sentien being's to human;s, and not ornament's or trophies to be stared at in cage's.
Really sad.
Posted by: claire lloyd | July 10, 2009 07:31 PM
What a hellish zoo to place such a magnificent creature in. Some quality zoos are safe havens for species that are beng massacred in their native homelands. Conversely, bad zoos are nightmares for animals.
Posted by: Brien Comerford | July 10, 2009 08:13 PM
This is so sad....Look at that beautiful face.
Posted by: Tammy | July 11, 2009 07:58 AM
Horrible. This is not how children should learn to respect their fellow living beings on this planet.
Posted by: Cat! =^-^= | July 11, 2009 04:01 PM
That is so very sad. I don't think zoos in entireity should be abolished - but they are only the zoos that have the ample care AND ample space that the animals need. Reservations if you wish, where they help stop extinction. But the story of SiSi is sad beyond all comprehension.
Posted by: Abigail Peck | July 11, 2009 04:35 PM
How to tell a good zoo (as if there were any) from a bad zoo:
Is the animal in a cage or a habitat that at least looks like the area the animal is native to?
Is the creature doing something similar to what he or she would be doing in the wild or is he or she pacing endlessley back and forth or walking in circles?
Are there sufficient barriers around the exhibits or are visitors able to throw things into the cages, drop leftover food within reach, or tease the creatures captive in their cells?
Are baby animals left with their mothers (if the mothers are able to care for them properly in their own way) or are they dragged out to let hoards of human children manhandle them or have their pictures taken with them?
Having been across the country and seen many United States zoos and aquariums, I have seen everything from zoos that make the visitor feel they have been on a genuine safari tour to roadside horror shows. Some guidance:
If you can smell the exhibit area before you see the animals, leave. Be sure to ask for your money back...whatever you paid is not helping these animals, it's only encouraging the owners to keep this hellhole open.
If you see one of the employees abusing an animal, report it. Ask to speak to an official or owner, and ask them what they are going to do. If not satisfied, call the Humane Society and the local police department. Then there will at least be a complaint on file.
If you see a visitor abusing an animal, report the abuse to the caregivers or owners. If the abuser is a child, sometimes bringing the parent's attention to the situation helps, sometimes not. In my pre-minister bad girl days I once dumped an entire cup of soda the size of a Big Gulp over the head of a kid who had just thrown a cup of soda at the lemur cage at the Santa Ana zoo. I do not recommend this (but it was sure worth it).
Of course the best thing to do is simply refuse to go to zoos or aquariums at all...
Posted by: Reverend Meg Schramm | July 13, 2009 11:00 AM
Another senseless situation involving a useless zoo. They should go away and not come back! I hate them! Never liked them as a kid and still don't. The people who attend zoo's should be put in cages! They are not respectful to these animals in any way, let alone the care takers at the zoo.
Posted by: Wendy | July 14, 2009 10:42 AM
Zoos arn't bad, but its when these animals are shoved into tiny bare cages with metal bars its gets wrong.
I'm all for a trip to a grassy area zoo with large semi open spaces and trees. But people seem to think all zoo are just iron bars. I support good zoos but bash the bad.
Posted by: Anna | July 30, 2009 11:16 PM