First of all, note that there is absolutely no source given for their information, whatsoever. That should set off alarms right away.
From the point of view of someone who has worked in wild animal care (wildlife rehabilitation as well as zoo/aquarium settings) before...
One visitor to Animal Kingdom noted a nocturnal kinkajou trying to sleep in a glass case with blaring lights
First of all, I'm not sure what they mean by glass case. If it was in a vet area, there was probably a good reason why it was in that space. Second of all, kinkajous, as the quote says, are
nocturnal... so they're
supposed to be trying to sleep when it's bright out. Now, if these lights were still shining brightly at night, I'd think it was cause for concern, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Parrots are forced to perform on cue and lizards are carted around in containers at the pseudo-African theme park.
No animal is ever
forced to perform. They are
asked. If they don't want to to a beavior, fine, that's the way it is. But they will not be starved or otherwise mistreated - they just won't receive a reinforcement at that moment. As for the lizards... well, how else are you going to transport one?!
I'm not even going to respond to the next segment, because that's just typical anti-zoo rhetoric.
Disney’s claim of conservation is absurd in a commercialized land of fake “habitats” and real rainforest mahogany souvenirs.
It's not absurd at all. Baba Dioum: "In the end, we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." 'Nuff said.
Those animals that are threatened or endangered rarely breed successfully in captivity, and fewer still will ever be released back into their native habitat.
Not true at all. Many zoos around the world are having great success breeding threatened or endangered species! There are huge programs set up that many, many zoos participate in to help foster genetic variation in endangered species. The California Condor would probably be completely extinct right now, were it not for the work that the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park have done to breed them in captivity and release them. Our Caifornia Wolf Center here in San Diego is doing the same thing wth Mexican Gray Wolves. Places like the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES, based here at the San Diego Wild Animal Park) and the worldwide efforts in the Species Survival Plan (SSP) are very successful in their efforts!
The primary purpose of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, as with all zoos, is to generate money by putting animals on display for human entertainment, not education.
What about all those non-profit zoos out there?
Keeping animals in captivity for our amusement does not teach respect for animals and their habitat.
It fosters a love for the animals, and that love for animals is what inspires people to want to help these animals in the wild!
In 1996, Disney ignored pleas not to produce a live-animal remake of “101 Dalmatians,” because it would lead to an excess of unwanted dogs.
While it's true that that happens, can you really blame Disney for that? Honestly, the people to blame for that are those who carelessly bought a pet without proper research and planning. That's just poor pet ownership.
As you can probably tell, zoo animal welfare is an issue that I get very worked up about. I've seen it from the other side - I know how much zoo keepers care about their animals. I've seen keepers in tears when and animal in their care is gravely ill or has just passed away (for whatever reason). I find it insulting when people insinuate that this kind of animal treatment is commonplace, and I think it shows a distinct lack of knowledge about animal care in general.
And I repeat this quote: "In the end, we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught."
