Zoo Stories
A male tiger at the Natal Zoological Gardens spends its life in abject boredom, in an unnatural, featureless cage. He and his fellow inmates are imprisoned for the sole purpose of attracting members of the public to gawk at them in naïve fascination. During frequent visits to the zoo by Justice for Animals members the tigers were seen to pace aimlessly around their enclosure, and on more than one occasion tigers interacted very aggressively with one another. When a zoo official was asked about a nasty wound on the back of one female tiger, he nonchalantly replied, “Oh, they often scrap a bit during feeding time”.
This Black Bear was photographed in his sleeping quarters at the Natal Zoological Gardens. His incarceration has prompted dozens of visitors to the zoo to contact Justice for Animals and express their disgust at the conditions in which this bear is living alone. His plight is similar to that of wild animals in zoos throughout the world, and will only be alleviated when people stop believing that they have a right to see caged wild animals for their own entertainment.
This tiger cub peers forlornly through the bars of a zoo in Britain. Right now he is a “popular” attraction as he frolics playfully with the zookeeper, to the “oohs” and “aahs” of the visitors. He is “cute, cuddly and adorable”, but as he grows he becomes less “cute” and has to be replaced by another “baby “ tiger. What happens to him then?
Some are sold to, or exchanged with, other zoos. However, zoos usually have tigers of their own, so most excess tigers, like excess lions and other cats who breed easily in captivity, are killed by the zoo or sold to hunting outfits to be shot as trophies during “canned” hunts.
