Private Zoo mistreats animals

[Suzles]

Originally Posted by Yasa

I'm not sure how it's still able to keep running.

Because people keep going to look at the animals in cages

[kirant]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

None of that matters, don't you see? He made the comment yesterday and a bunch of people on Facebook and Twitter have spread it like wildfire. They don't care if he is tired of answering these questions over and over again, it doesn't matter to them at all.

He's an older guy right? So he probably has no concept of what his comment (even if made in jest) has just done to him and his business.

I think the point being made is that Lynn himself isn't a bad guy and is being portrayed as some monster by the social media networks.

What could very well be is that Lynn is a hard working guy who really cares about his animals, but doesn't have the money to keep them in much more than horrid living conditions. It could also be believed that he's gotten jaded with the media covering him so often and was trying to make a (hurried and probably a case of speaking before thinking) point that if he was run out of business, he couldn't donate his animals elsewhere (an alternative interpretation to the sentence before the bold) and would be forced to sell to a taxidermist.

[underGRADFlame]

Originally Posted by Sliver

That could be true.

Dude would have been way better off to agree with everybody's assessment that conditions are subpar and use that as an opportunity to solicit donations of money and professional expertise. Instead he's ruined his reputation forever.

I never said it was right, I was just trying to maybe explain some of his actions.
They have never claimed conditions are perfect and people can donate to the GuZoo anytime they want, even via paypal.

http://www.guzooforever.com/donationideas.html

[Bigtime]

I understand your point, I'm not passing my judgement on the guy because I'm not familiar with the place and the family that runs it. But in this day and age where so many people get their info from social media what was said could really sound the end of it all for him.

[Jake]

To a small extent, I do sympathize with the owners. Animal rights activists often have no idea what they are talking about and have uninformed/irrational standards for zoos.

I've heard people call the APHIS in the US about an aquarium monk seal enclosure. The enclosure was covered with seal hair and the animals looked "ragged". Apparently they did not know the seals naturally moult at certain times. At those times, it is impossible to keep the enclosure clean, although they still try, and the seals lose a lot of hair.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by underGRADFlame

He's making a point. Where are these animals going to go? I think the comment was probably taken out of context as well, knowing Lynn it was made in jest. Lynn has had so much media pressure regarding the GuZoo for so many years he's probably tired of answering the same questions over and over and is starting to get short with the media.

I'm no doctor, but maybe if the guy is tired of dealing with the same questions over and over, he should have done something about it.....like, I don't know, maybe providing some better conditions for the animals.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Jake

To a small extent, I do sympathize with the owners. Animal rights activists often have no idea what they are talking about and have uninformed/irrational standards for zoos.

This is such an uniformed post. Don't group all animal rights activists in the same mold unless you actually have met many of them.

[Yasa]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

I'm no doctor, but maybe if the guy is tired of dealing with the same questions over and over, he should have done something about it.....like, I don't know, maybe providing some better conditions for the animals.

As much as I don't like the conditions of the zoo, I think the situation is a cyclicle thing. He can't afford to hire enough zoo keepers because not enough people are going or donating, and people aren't going or donating because the conditions are poor. On top of that; how do you exactly 'give away' a tiger, lion, viloent macaque, etc?

It's an awful situation, but finding a viable solution will be tough. I expect many of the animals will have to be put down.

On the other hand, it's on the owners shoulders to have had proper enclosures and training before accepting any of these animals. I don't know how GuZoo got started, so I can't comment any further than that.

[burn_this_city]

$10k for a stuffed lion is way cheaper than going on an actual safari. With photoshop these days whos going to know you never bagged it yourself?

[drewboy12]

Originally Posted by underGRADFlame

He's making a point. Where are these animals going to go? I think the comment was probably taken out of context as well, knowing Lynn it was made in jest. Lynn has had so much media pressure regarding the GuZoo for so many years he's probably tired of answering the same questions over and over and is starting to get short with the media.

Id gladly purchase his turtle and find a reputable zoo or wildlife refugee to donate it to.

[HPLovecraft]

He's a nice guy that keeps his animals in horrid conditions? People that shake their babies to death are probably seen as nice people to some close to them, too.

And there are many, many more options out there for a lion than a taxidermist. Nice people? I have my doubts about that. Dumb people? Indubitably.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Yasa

As much as I don't like the conditions of the zoo, I think the situation is a cyclicle thing. He can't afford to hire enough zoo keepers because not enough people are going or donating, and people aren't going or donating because the conditions are poor. On top of that; how do you exactly 'give away' a tiger, lion, viloent macaque, etc?

It's an awful situation, but finding a viable solution will be tough. I expect many of the animals will have to be put down.

On the other hand, it's on the owners shoulders to have had proper enclosures and training before accepting any of these animals. I don't know how GuZoo got started, so I can't comment any further than that.

That's a silly argument if I've ever heard one.
Would it really be that hard to find a place to send some of these animals? Are there really no zoos that would be interested in taking a lion or tiger out of such a crappy situation?

In any case the point is moot. I don't know how the guy got the animals, but if you're taking in animals you damn well better be sure you can take care of them properly (espeicially when it's something like a Tiger which aren't as easy to come by as a goat).

I don't know why people are making the guy out to be a victim in this. He made the choice to take the animals, and he's making the choice to keep them instead of trying to find somewhere more suitable for them. That means he either doesn't care about the conditions, or is/was completely ignorant of what is required to take care of some of those animals. Either way he is the one responsible for the welfare of the animals.

No wonder people don't want to donate to or visit this place. Why would anyone support someone who either doesn't care about, or doesn't know how to properly take care of his animals?

[Bertuzzied]

Wow. i have never heard of this place until i saw it on the news last nite. Does that Lynn guy run the entire zoo by himself? thats the impression i got with the news story.

Also how is that innisfail zoo? is it as appalling?

[Jake]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

This is such an uniformed post. Don't group all animal rights activists in the same mold unless you actually have met many of them.

Yet, in the first post of this thread, you grouped all private zoos together and I doubt you have actually been to all of them.

I said "often". That means I was not saying all animal rights activists are like that, but they often are. I am not at all uninformed when it comes to issues like this.

I think you are confusing animal welfare activists with animal rights activists. The latter group is far more extreme.

[ken0042]

They ran a story on Global last night about this. From what I recall; after it went viral on Facebook whoever regulates this (SPCA maybe?) did an inspection. They found only minor issues.

I'm not saying he is a saint; but it's hard to pass judgement based on one side of the story.

[Yasa]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

That's a silly argument if I've ever heard one.
Would it really be that hard to find a place to send some of these animals? Are there really no zoos that would be interested in taking a lion or tiger out of such a crappy situation?

In any case the point is moot. I don't know how the guy got the animals, but if you're taking in animals you damn well better be sure you can take care of them properly (espeicially when it's something like a Tiger which aren't as easy to come by as a goat).

I don't know why people are making the guy out to be a victim in this. He made the choice to take the animals, and he's making the choice to keep them instead of trying to find somewhere more suitable for them. That means he either doesn't care about the conditions, or is/was completely ignorant of what is required to take care of some of those animals. Either way he is the one responsible for the welfare of the animals.

No wonder people don't want to donate to or visit this place. Why would anyone support someone who either doesn't care about, or doesn't know how to properly take care of his animals?

I already stated the onus was on him for being responsible to begin with. I bet there are many places that would love to take these animals into proper care, but I imagine it's way easier said than done. Firstly, the zoo would need to arrange transport (you can't throw a tiger into the back of your pick up truck) which I imagine is very expensive, as not all trucking firms will do it and insurance is probably not cheap. Secondly, the new zoo would need to have proper facilities pre-arranged. You can't drop a new animal into an environment without easing it in and making sure they get along with others. The macaque GuZoo has, for example, is clearly not a social animal. It would have to be in solitude for the rest of its life.

If it was that easy to get rid of these animals, they would be gone after the first major incident. Government run zoos might have better facilities, but they can't always take in every mistreated animal on a whim.

I'm not defending the actions of the owner, all I stated was that cycle is probably what lead to the current conditions. As I said before; he was responsible for being prepared and trained before getting any of these animals.

[GreenLantern]

Typical Rider fans.

[RubberDuck]

Yes, it actually is hard to find a better place for these animals. It just sounds like everyone including fish and wildlife started dumping anything and everything on this guy and his heart would not let him turn any animal away.

Seems like alot of good intentions but not enough funding.

"But in short order, it fell upon the GuZoo to become a lasting future to individual animals in need of sanctuary (or as we often refer to it, “retirement homes). Orphaned bears, deer, foxes, coyotes, skunks, unwanted horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, llamas, cats, dogs, etc… all found their way to GuZoo. From the beginning, the Fish and Wildlife office would bring orphaned wildlife to the GuZoo. Often these were young animals, still needing milk. Mr. Gustafson couldn’t bring himself to turn away an animal in need and so applied his knowledge and resources to helping animals that came his way."

"Being a farm, it was only natural for people to approach Mr. Gustafson to ask him to take in a donkey they could no longer keep, or help find homes for an unplanned litter of puppies. Word got out that if you couldn’t keep your barn yard animal, just phone the GuZoo. As the name of the GuZoo grew, so did the demand for space needed to provide adequate housing for unwanted domestic animals."

"Chickens, rabbits, ducks, geese, goats, pigs, caged birds, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, … you name it… all would be offered to the GuZoo. Demonstrating the need for more animal rescue facilities. Rarely was an animal turn down. Not all animals stay at the GuZoo however, many are re-homed when available homing opportunities presented themselves. But indeed, GuZoo houses, feeds and generally cares for them all in the meantime. "

http://www.guzooforever.com/home/animalsanctuary.html

I feel bad that this guy is being portrayed as a monster. He needs help, not condemnation.

[Bertuzzied]

This comment doesn't help him at all.

Gustafson says if he is forced to give up his animals, they will never go anywhere else.
"That lion is worth $10,000 to taxidermy, and if that's what these people want -- that's what they'll get," he said.

[MacGruber]

maybe i should just go ahead and read the article before running my big trap.