Wonderful Logic & Extreme Cruelty

Malkers · Jan 4th, 2006, 13:46

I must have a thousand stories I could tell about logic in India but as this is the freshest and latest, I shall divulge!

Decided last week to have a visit to Bannerghatta Zoo which is on the same road as I live, it was a visit in the hope that conditions may have improved since my visit last year (we'll come back to that).

Surrounding the entrance to the park are all the usual sellers all selling the same stuff as each other, freshly squeezed cane juice, freshly burnt sweetcorn and every flavour of Lays crisps except the edible variety, ie; plain!

As you walk into the park and wait for five minutes for the attendant to find something wrong with the ticket you just purchased 12 seconds previously you are stopped by 'customs'. Five staff at a bench ready to go through your bag with nothing other than the intent of spoiling your day.

They pull out any bottles of water and confiscate them, if you were carrying that in a plastic bag they confiscate that too, then they take any packets of crisps or sweets you may have, open them and decant them carefully into bags that are handmade from newspaper. Fair enough I guess, newspaper is pretty biodegradeable and plastic is indeed a killer to animals so you gotta admire them.

So, after 10 minutes just trying to get in the zoo you walk no more than 10 paces to a fully stocked kiosk selling lays crisps, sweets, spicy snacks, ice creams, canned and bottled drinks all in their original plastic for you to purchase and nibble from whilst wandering round the park

There is another further inside the park too selling the same stuff and I watched a few Indians as always sit on a bench with cornetto ice creams, finished their snack and threw the wrappers on the floor not even an arms length away from a litter bin

why do they do it??

Thats five staff for absolutely nothing, surely better to employ a couple of personnel to do circuits of the park checking for litter and kicking out anyone they catch throwing it on the floor, perhaps put them in a cage for a couple of hours as punishment, crazy

You can't help thinking that the animals might actually be glad of some litter to play with to at least put some sparkle in their day.

Now as for the care of the animals is concerned, unfair is not a word I'd use. Inexcusable cruelty just about sums it up. They are in a terrible state and the frustration of these animals through eye contact is visible to anyone with the remotest form of visibility. The bears have absolutely nothing to do, bare concrete floors with a metal post holding the structure up and thats it, not a piece of wood or any apparatus and they either lay down uninterested or simply pace up and down groaning and looking for sympathy.

Same scenario for the monkeys, whilst they sit and pick bugs out of each other on their concrete floor, wild ones jump around the trees right outside (how f*%$ing annoying must that be?) and in another cage, 1 old monkey with bad conjunctiveitis (sp?) all on his or her own.

The Hyena had to be the worst though, this flea bitten wreck was also on its own and could barely walk, I'm sure I heard a voice say "For goodness sake just bloody shoot me".

Leopards faired a little better with their enclosures as did the zebras and the crocs but I can't help thinking that if they treat all the other animals this way then overall they just don't give a toss about them.

I'm also sorry to say it but most (not all) Indians have absolutely no respect for wildlife as was evident from the crowds I witnessed shouting at the animals and throwing stuff at them, disgraceful

but moreso the fact that nobody does anything to stop them, we even saw a military guy in uniform give a toffee to a monkey in its wrapper

I don't particularly like to see any animal held in captivity but I do appreciate the need for education and preservation of certain species and applaud many of the fantastic zoos and wildlife parks I have visited in many parts of the world including to an extent, Darjeeling.

Bannerghatta however, it should be shut down tomorrow!

Rant Over

Malc

Nick-H · Jan 4th, 2006, 14:33

Good rant. Hopefuly those who read it will, at least, not give their money as visitors. Otherwise, I don't suppose much can be done

Layman · Jan 4th, 2006, 15:00

Well said Malc. I've never been to this particular zoo, but having been to others, I am not surprised at all by your experience.

gopalk · Jan 4th, 2006, 16:42

Agree Malc. The state of the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad is probably a tad better - not much.

The way I normally try to do this is to try and shame people. I pick it up and put it into the dustbin in front of them. Maybe a few will get converted.

-
Gopal

PRIYA · Jan 5th, 2006, 15:41

These stories upset me sooo much. I am totally against any kind of cage.....there isn't a need for them!!! If large areas are not available for animals to roam freely, they shouldn't be caged. Education or no education.........preservation can still be attained in a comfortable environment - a large fenced area maybe, but NOT a cage. Unfortunately, it's not only India.

I must admit that when I was in India, I did have a number of nasty encounters when I witnessed blatant cruelty and couldn't keep quiet. It's very hard to turn a blind eye.

Malkers · Jan 5th, 2006, 15:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRIYA

These stories upset me sooo much. I am totally against any kind of cage.....there isn't a need for them!!! If large areas are not available for animals to roam freely, they shouldn't be caged. Education or no education.........preservation can still be attained in a comfortable environment - a large fenced area maybe, but NOT a cage. Unfortunately, it's not only India.

I must admit that when I was in India, I did have a number of nasty encounters when I witnessed blatant cruelty and couldn't keep quiet. It's very hard to turn a blind eye.

Thats the other frustrating thing, Bannerghatta is also a national park so not 100 yards away is several thousand acres of lush forest where they have bears, monkeys, tigers, lions etc all roaming free so there really is no point in having the zoo at all.

I shouted at a guy in Varanasi who had 2 monkeys on a leash and dared to ask me for money, I wanted to punch him. And on the streets of Kolkotta there are little temples and shrines with parakeets in cages that are no more than twice their body size, these people should be shot.

Oh and don't get me started on the sacred cow thing and the reasons they won't eat beef. Seeing the way that cattle are treated here I'm sure they'd rather be knocked over the head and served up on a BBQ!

Oh dear, I'm all stressed again now!

Cheers
Malc

rangers · Jan 5th, 2006, 20:11

I feel..Zoo is an institution for animals to study human behaviour.Born free foundation is trying to persuade the world to close down such zoos.

Sama · Jan 5th, 2006, 21:08

there are international animal welfare organizations that monitor zoo conditions. sorry, can't remember the names right now, but maybe what you saw could be reported to such an organization??

hmmmm....now who was it that said a society is judged by the way it treats its animals (among other sentient beings.....)?

Digital Drifter · Jan 6th, 2006, 08:24

PETA is there in Bangalore. And they do some work on these aspects but it rarely leads to change of behaviour. For e.g every year, there' a raid in Russel Market in BLR to free some birds and caged animals. The point is, it's always the same place, so people are really not concerned.

http://www.petaindia.com/index.asp

PeakXV · Jan 6th, 2006, 08:55

Quote:

Bannerghatta is also a national park so not 100 yards away is several thousand acres of lush forest where they have bears, monkeys, tigers, lions etc all roaming free so there really is no point in having the zoo at all.

Ignorance is bliss, Knowledge is stressful .... sometimes! . I went to Bannerghatta about 7 years ago and never knew the zoo part existed ... only did the safari where the animals looked all very healthy and well feed .... perhaps a little bored at worst case!

http://www.indiamike.com/india/attac...1&d=1136517696

lotus blossom · Jan 6th, 2006, 09:37

these are the parts of india that really work me into a twister as well. i went to some place in kashmir on my second india voyage where there were fisheries and one lone guerilla in a cage, all alone and smelling absolutely foul. i really felt for that creature.

i pretty much hate zoos, yet i think that there can be that "educational" component to them. i prefer the wildlife safaris if there must be such places.

it wasn't until this year that i learned why there are cows roaming the streets of india. there is nothing holy about kicking a cow to the curb when they stop producing, though i also understand the logic of it from a financial point of view.

what i really abhor is the poor bears that are made to dance to passing traffic.

they look so exhausted and humiliated.

oh, but this is india, everything that we love and hate about it. exploitation is rampant, just as it is the world over. to paraphrase something that mother teresa said, "we will have no peace until we realize that we belong to each other".

Jan 4th, 2006, 13:46	#1
Malkers Not So Bloody Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chipping Sodbury, UK (was Bangalore) Posts: 411	Wonderful Logic & Extreme Cruelty I must have a thousand stories I could tell about logic in India but as this is the freshest and latest, I shall divulge! Decided last week to have a visit to Bannerghatta Zoo which is on the same road as I live, it was a visit in the hope that conditions may have improved since my visit last year (we'll come back to that). Surrounding the entrance to the park are all the usual sellers all selling the same stuff as each other, freshly squeezed cane juice, freshly burnt sweetcorn and every flavour of Lays crisps except the edible variety, ie; plain! As you walk into the park and wait for five minutes for the attendant to find something wrong with the ticket you just purchased 12 seconds previously you are stopped by 'customs'. Five staff at a bench ready to go through your bag with nothing other than the intent of spoiling your day. They pull out any bottles of water and confiscate them, if you were carrying that in a plastic bag they confiscate that too, then they take any packets of crisps or sweets you may have, open them and decant them carefully into bags that are handmade from newspaper. Fair enough I guess, newspaper is pretty biodegradeable and plastic is indeed a killer to animals so you gotta admire them. So, after 10 minutes just trying to get in the zoo you walk no more than 10 paces to a fully stocked kiosk selling lays crisps, sweets, spicy snacks, ice creams, canned and bottled drinks all in their original plastic for you to purchase and nibble from whilst wandering round the park There is another further inside the park too selling the same stuff and I watched a few Indians as always sit on a bench with cornetto ice creams, finished their snack and threw the wrappers on the floor not even an arms length away from a litter bin why do they do it?? Thats five staff for absolutely nothing, surely better to employ a couple of personnel to do circuits of the park checking for litter and kicking out anyone they catch throwing it on the floor, perhaps put them in a cage for a couple of hours as punishment, crazy You can't help thinking that the animals might actually be glad of some litter to play with to at least put some sparkle in their day. Now as for the care of the animals is concerned, unfair is not a word I'd use. Inexcusable cruelty just about sums it up. They are in a terrible state and the frustration of these animals through eye contact is visible to anyone with the remotest form of visibility. The bears have absolutely nothing to do, bare concrete floors with a metal post holding the structure up and thats it, not a piece of wood or any apparatus and they either lay down uninterested or simply pace up and down groaning and looking for sympathy. Same scenario for the monkeys, whilst they sit and pick bugs out of each other on their concrete floor, wild ones jump around the trees right outside (how f*%$ing annoying must that be?) and in another cage, 1 old monkey with bad conjunctiveitis (sp?) all on his or her own. The Hyena had to be the worst though, this flea bitten wreck was also on its own and could barely walk, I'm sure I heard a voice say "For goodness sake just bloody shoot me". Leopards faired a little better with their enclosures as did the zebras and the crocs but I can't help thinking that if they treat all the other animals this way then overall they just don't give a toss about them. I'm also sorry to say it but most (not all) Indians have absolutely no respect for wildlife as was evident from the crowds I witnessed shouting at the animals and throwing stuff at them, disgraceful but moreso the fact that nobody does anything to stop them, we even saw a military guy in uniform give a toffee to a monkey in its wrapper I don't particularly like to see any animal held in captivity but I do appreciate the need for education and preservation of certain species and applaud many of the fantastic zoos and wildlife parks I have visited in many parts of the world including to an extent, Darjeeling. Bannerghatta however, it should be shut down tomorrow! Rant Over Malc

Jan 4th, 2006, 14:33	#2
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 26,820	Good rant. Hopefuly those who read it will, at least, not give their money as visitors. Otherwise, I don't suppose much can be done __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Jan 5th, 2006, 15:41	#5
PRIYA Discombobulated Elsewherean! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: nether regions Posts: 1,125	These stories upset me sooo much. I am totally against any kind of cage.....there isn't a need for them!!! If large areas are not available for animals to roam freely, they shouldn't be caged. Education or no education.........preservation can still be attained in a comfortable environment - a large fenced area maybe, but NOT a cage. Unfortunately, it's not only India. I must admit that when I was in India, I did have a number of nasty encounters when I witnessed blatant cruelty and couldn't keep quiet. It's very hard to turn a blind eye. __________________ Happiness is for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched and those who have tried. For only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. (Anon.)

Jan 5th, 2006, 21:08	#8
Sama a pain in the asana Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: the India inside my heart Posts: 5,354	there are international animal welfare organizations that monitor zoo conditions. sorry, can't remember the names right now, but maybe what you saw could be reported to such an organization?? hmmmm....now who was it that said a society is judged by the way it treats its animals (among other sentient beings.....)? __________________ *My India, 2005-2008* BE THE REVOLUTION

Jan 6th, 2006, 08:24	#9
Digital Drifter bang a whore? Bangalore Dammit! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,878	PETA is there in Bangalore. And they do some work on these aspects but it rarely leads to change of behaviour. For e.g every year, there' a raid in Russel Market in BLR to free some birds and caged animals. The point is, it's always the same place, so people are really not concerned. http://www.petaindia.com/index.asp __________________ Click here for the Indiamike train guide in PDF

Jan 4th, 2006, 15:00	#3
Layman Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Bendakaalooru, KA Posts: 128	Well said Malc. I've never been to this particular zoo, but having been to others, I am not surprised at all by your experience.

Jan 4th, 2006, 16:42	#4
gopalk Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 242	Agree Malc. The state of the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad is probably a tad better - not much. The way I normally try to do this is to try and shame people. I pick it up and put it into the dustbin in front of them. Maybe a few will get converted. - Gopal

Jan 5th, 2006, 20:11	#7
rangers Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: India Posts: 450	I feel..Zoo is an institution for animals to study human behaviour.Born free foundation is trying to persuade the world to close down such zoos.

Jan 6th, 2006, 09:37	#11
lotus blossom re-member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: revolving around the sun standing still Posts: 1,890	these are the parts of india that really work me into a twister as well. i went to some place in kashmir on my second india voyage where there were fisheries and one lone guerilla in a cage, all alone and smelling absolutely foul. i really felt for that creature. i pretty much hate zoos, yet i think that there can be that "educational" component to them. i prefer the wildlife safaris if there must be such places. it wasn't until this year that i learned why there are cows roaming the streets of india. there is nothing holy about kicking a cow to the curb when they stop producing, though i also understand the logic of it from a financial point of view. what i really abhor is the poor bears that are made to dance to passing traffic. they look so exhausted and humiliated. oh, but this is india, everything that we love and hate about it. exploitation is rampant, just as it is the world over. to paraphrase something that mother teresa said, "we will have no peace until we realize that we belong to each other". __________________ Not all who wander are lost

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