After covering the zoo-prison connection just recently, the folks at The Onion have put together a spoof news story highlighting how absolutely ridiculous (and—dare I say—lowbrow) "donkey basketball" is.

It's worth noting the newscasters' description of Nubbins, who drops in weight and perceived value as he stops performing for the crowd: He ends up "tethered to a trailer out back" and dumped at a roadside petting zoo. Surely, high school and community fundraisers could come up with more compassionate and less absolutely weird sporting events than these. I mean, we've established that people often play basketball without donkeys, right?

--Sean

Posted by Sean Conner, Laboratory Investigations Special Projects Coordinator

We frequently catch wind of some insightful satire from the folks over at The Onion, as their talent for drawing attention to ridiculous practices and pastimes deservedly focuses on animal issues from time to time.

In this very clever piece, the San Diego Zoo reportedly merges with the San Diego prison to boost tourism and cut costs (which is a common theme in animal industries). It's worth noting that they refer to the new facility as a zoo-prison, which is not exactly a new concept—"zoological park" is really just a kid-friendly way of saying zoological prison. The only difference between the medium-security inmates and the big cats, after all, is the inmates' right to a day in court before a life of imprisonment. The last quote in the article really says it all:

"To see all those poor souls forced to live in confined living quarters, with little to no sunlight, and no hope of freedom, it's just so inhumane," San Diego housewife Carol Wurster said. "Those otters deserve better."

—Sean

Posted by Sean Conner, Laboratory Investigations Special Projects Coordinator