Animal Planet Petitioned to Drop Yankee Jungle TV Program
Yankee Jungle Animal Planet TV program
Animal Planet’s new TV program, Yankee Jungle, promotes bad attitudes with respect to keeping exotic animals and supports the discredited private zoos.
Kristina Snyder is petitioning the producers and directors of Animal Planet to drop a new television program called “Yankee Jungle” which features what Kristina describes as a roadside zoo where they breed animals for profit but which is described as a non-profit sanctuary by the zoo itself. It is scheduled to be aired on November 29, which is tomorrow.
I’m talking about the DEW Animal Kingdom & Sanctuary. It is based in Mount Vernon, Maine, USA. It has a wholesome, farm feel about it. This is what may have attracted Animal Planet.
I suppose the owners would argue that their “sanctuary” breeds and sells desirable animals such as a white tiger cub for profit so that they can keep the place going and that there is no net profit in it for them (if what they say on their website is correct). They request donations amongst other contributions such as volunteering and visiting to buy items from the gift shop.
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DEW animal sanctuary Maine
It is argued by the petitioner that the zoo is not a sanctuary because true sanctuaries never breed for profit. I agree with that argument because when you breed desirable tiger cubs and sell them you are perpetuating something that is inherently incorrect, which is treating the animal as a consumer item. You are also having a negative impact upon conservation and quietly promoting an incorrect attitude towards animals while promoting more private zoos – there should be less.
Apparently, one of the Tigers at DEW Animal Kingdom & Sanctuary gave birth to three cubs last summer, one of which was a white tiger cub. The cubs were taken from their mother the day they were born and allegedly handled by people and four weeks later they were placed in other homes out of the state of Maine. The petitioner verifies that this is true.
White tiger cub playing at DEW private zoo
White tiger cubs are probably quite valuable but they are inherently inbred which can impact health. Health appears to be a low priority for exotic animal breeders.
She also verifies that the captive animals of this private zoo are kept in unacceptable conditions. We are told that there are numerous “baby exotic animals” indicating that there is an extensive breeding and selling program.
I have visited the Animal Planet website and they have a introductory video about Yankee Jungle. I presume this video reflects what we can expect to see when the program airs.
The bottom line of Kristina’s argument is that this sort of television supports private zoos of which there are already far too many in America. There is an “exotic animal problem” in America in that too many American citizens like to own exotic animals to the detriment of the animals generally although often they argue they are supporting conservation which is dishonest. They do the opposite.
It is time to do away with all zoos, especially private zoos and focus all that energy on real conservation which means finding ways to let our wild animals live freely in their own habitat and not in cages as prisoners, stressed up.
Hi Michael,
I just wanted to update you that we were successfully able to get his show canceled. Also, this article was done by Mother Jones about the whole affair.
http://www.motherjones.com/media/2016/03/animal-planet-yankee-jungle-reality-canceled
Thanks for the update Kristina and great news. I am very pleased. I’ll check out the link soon and see if I can do a follow up article. This article has proved to be very successful. The debate interests people. There are still many people who “don’t get it”.
Who is Michael Broad??? He posted the article, but is he an conservationist? A zoologist? What are his credentials??? People skills?? Misses the mark almost every time, unless he agrees with you.
Now, as for Yankee Zoo, can’t you give Animal Planet a tiny bit of credit? Aren’t they obligated to report certain signs?? Pens knee deep with manure, animals who cannot turn around, wet, sloppy pasture, horrid smells, etc. They could call in a vet, health inspector, etc. shut down the show???
No, I am not happy to see out exotic and wildlife in any kind of zoo. Where do you start? With the bulldozer that takes down that first tree, the men who capture baby exotics to sell on the black market all over the world, the people who set up “fairs” to sell, the ones who buy, the ones who didn’t know they were going to get that big, bite, destroy, kill pets, etc. Or the sanctuaries who are trying to help, good, and sadly the bad. Of which I am not declaring Yankee Jungle as there are too many conflicting stories.
And no, I have not confused my facts, I have stuck to the story, because it is a much bigger picture than just one place.
Michael Broad is the owner of this website. I am presenting my opinion, no more, no less as I have a right to do. You can disagree with me. That’s fine. I don’t miss the mark. The mark I hit is very subtle and you obviously don’t understand it. I take an enlightened, very long term viewpoint that is solely in the interests of wild animals. You are thinking very narrowly. Who are you?
I love this show I wish I could visit.I wish people would mind their own business and let those people alone.There is much more in this world to be concerned about then this.GO help the homeless the hungry the MOLESTED children the women and men sheltered Really people.If you don’t like it take your money and go take the placed take it over and do better.Grow up
Do you love wild life conservation? Are you concerned about wildlife conservation? Private zoos are models of failure in respect of conservation. Our energies should be directed at real conservation and not being entertained by wild animals in private zoos. Your attitude is why wildlife is being exploited and persecuted on the planet.
All zoo’s are prisons! Certain animals have no other place to go and its well documented how unsafe most wild animals are today (even on reserves). This place may not be perfect (what is?) but at least they’re trying. If the facility was to be shut-down, then where do these animals go? I’ll tell you; another facility. I grew up in San Diego where the zoo is advertised as world class…walking from enclosure to enclosure, I see very little difference between what DEW has set out to do from what larger zoos do (obviously DEW doesn’t receive the support that larger zoos do)? A cage is a cage, but many of these animals are safer (sadly) in that cage than they would be out in the wild (particularly if they’ve been raised at a zoo by humans). DEW is a small facility, if they were to try and keep every animal the conditions would only worsen and they would run out of room to house all these animals. We are their biggest threat in the wild. I’m saddened to say it but…in many cases these animals have a greater chance at a long and SAFE existence in some facilities. TV rarely shows us all (editing) but the animals at the DEW facility seem happy, and genuinely appreciative towards their handlers. It’s a catch 22…no zoo is good enough and our(humans)spot on this rock has put most wildlife’s existence at risk (hunting is not a sport). It isn’t perfect but I think what the people at DEW are doing is commendable. The animals are safe, and loved. Hate all you want but, we wouldn’t be having this conversation if it wasn’t for OUR human existence killing species off! Rather than find ways to persecute this facility why not use this effort to contribute to make it better. When was the last time you fed, loved and cleaned after an exotic animal? Sadly most of these beautiful creatures natural habitats and homes are no longer safe.
I partly agree with you but this facility is a symptom of failure and it perpetuates this model of failure. That is the long term, big picture. Thanks for commenting. Appreciated.
There is no doubt that these people love the animals at DEW. I have watched this show a couple of times and have some concerns about the animal enclosure. There seems to be some much needed work done to this place to keep it safe for the animals and the public. I myself was very surprised at the amount of births they have going on. There should not be breeding of any exotic animals in captivity ever. Like I said, I do believe they love these animals and I don’t think they do it to make profit. But they need to be responsible zoo owners and not allow breeding. So that one day, we want need zoos for these exotic animals, they belong in the wild and not in cages. Why the government would allow people to have these animals in the first place is idiotic and immoral. But instead of fighting Animal Planet to stop the show , we need to come together and find a good solution that will fix the zoo’s much needed update to fix its facilities . And set up a board of members to set long term goals for the animals care and non reproduction of offspring. We can do this tog for the greater good of everyone.
Thanks Kristie. I agree with some of what you say. The bigger issue is that there should be no zoos anywhere as they are a symptom of failure in wildlife conservation. We need to find a better way of life for ourselves and wildlife.
There are some horrific side of the road zoos in this country, like 30 thousand or so and they are the known ones, and the conditions and abuses are inhuman, Dew is not one of them. The idiots that are complaining and protesting them are just that idiots, they don’t participate in any kind of coservitive action other than complaining about some good people in Dew, that is the extent of there conservatism, your all a joke do somthing other than running your mouth and making your self feel special in the process, I’m sure theres a terrible side of the road attraction close to you that is abusing animals focus your attention there and actually do somthing other than running your mouths
Richard, it you could write half decent English then I would be able to understand what you’re trying to say but sadly your comment is unintelligible. I don’t think you understand the concept raised in the article. It goes well beyond something that you would normally think about. I am looking at the big picture of global conservation and how it should be tackled. Private zoos like this are a symptom of failure. They tell the world that humans have failed in protecting and conserving wild species and in working out a way to live harmoniously with them. I don’t think you will understand that.
My vote is to let this whole issue go, Michael.
Any supporters are ignorant of true big cat needs.
The business owners are profit oriented and not interested in the supporting of big cat needs IN THE WILD. Otherwise, they would be geared up, throwing raw meat, and providing every thing necessary.
Sick of hearing supporters of this criminal activity.
I am a veterinarian, and ive helped so many different breeds of animals. I’ve volunteered lots of my time to help out many establishments like you see in the show Yankee Jungle. I think people are forgetting the risks these people make by taking in all these different exotic animals. Do you not understand how much it costs to get a exotic animal that was beaten, malnourished, and who knows what other terrible things their owner did to them. Then these people go to great lengths to get them healthy again. 95% of exotic animals are born in captivity and regular everyday people should not have exotic animals as pets. I think a place like Yankee Jungle is wonderful. Only thing I don’t agree with is breeding them, but if the babies are going to places where they are going to be taken well care of, and not abused in any way shape or form well then I’m ok with that. Does it really stink that they are in captivity, and not able to roam around the earth freely, yes it does, BUT I think in a way it’s helping keep the species alive….thriving. Look at how it is in Africa. Pay a local some money, and they can guarantee you to be able to hunt and kill a wild exotic animal like a lion, tiger, elephant, etc. We are losing so many animals because of poaching it’s sickening! I think time should be focused on trying to ban and get rid of poachers, poaching, and exotic animal hunters who do it for fun and do it period everywhere in the world, rather than trying to take down a place like Yankee Jungle, that is trying to help by saving many species of animals. You can tell that these animals love them. It’s obvious. People need to start with the big things like fighting against poaching, rather than wasting time going after people who are trying to save these animals.
Let me rephrase the breeding comment. What I meant there was that no regular joe, or person should have an exotic animal. A zoo or some sanctuary that is a great place, won’t abuse the anmals in any way shape or form, that will give them a great happy life I’m all for that but not a regular person living in a city having a exotic pet, NO WAY!
Thanks Sunny. Your comment is published.
Thank you for commenting, Sunny. In many ways I agree with you. What you’re saying essentially is that these sorts of places are practical. They keep animals alive and rescue them et cetera although I agree with you that they should not breed them.
However, the very existence of this sort of place indicates a failure in conservation of wild species living in the wild. All the energy expended in maintaining these sorts of places of which there are very many in the USA and in other parts of the world should instead be expended on proper conservation, namely, providing a habitat that wild species require to thrive rather than cutting it down and killing the prey of wild species.
These sorts of establishments-private zoos-are a model of failure in the world. They lead the way in failure. They say that the human is failing to conserve and protect wild species. I don’t think we should be sending out that sort of signal at this stage because there is still some chance that we can engage in proper conservation if we get our act together.
Kristina Snyder wrote….I finally received the results of an inspection from my complaint to the USDA. Although I question why the inspector gave DEW a pass on so many obvious citations…..
She continued on with her personal opinions, which without documentation they are nothing but her personal opinions.
Michael asked for the report, which is is perfectly legal for her to attach and post. Instead she avoided the question and posted this
Kristina Snyder on April 8, 2015 at 3:32 pm said:
Michael,
I had to file an FOIA to get the results. This was from the report.
“The licensee states that the three tiger cubs born about 6/8/14 were being hand reared because their mother would not care for them. As of this date, one had been donated to another USDA facility,……….
Michael wrote….Michael Broad on April 8, 2015 at 6:28 am said:
Thanks a lot Kristina for the update and your continued pressure. Can you disclose the results of the inspection or have you done so already? If so I apologize for missing it. Perhaps you can’t disclose it. Is there a link to a website?….
Kristina you were asked to post the actual document issued by the USDA , instead you typed a couple lines you claim to be from the report, followed by nothing more than your personal opinions. Michael did not ask how you obtained your inf. he asked you to publish the actual report ,being the actual document issued by the USDA, you respond with “I had to file an FOIA to get the results. This was from the report……”
Which is not worth the time it took you decide how to avoid attaching the document.Which leads me to believe you never requested the inf. nor filed a Freedom Of Information Act request to obtain the official facts.
you wrote
“I finally received the results of an inspection from my complaint to the USDA. Although I question why the inspector gave DEW a pass on so many obvious citations, there is one thing that could not be hidden.”
They purposely acquired a white tiger in the hopes of her mating and having white tiger cubs. White tigers are inherently all inbred and indeed this was the case here.
you state “They purposely acquired a white tiger in the hopes of her mating and having white tiger cubs. White tigers are inherently all inbred and indeed this was the case here.”……….
You are stating the USDA replied with the above non professional statement. Try again the USDA will never use such unprofessional terminology as in the above statement.
you post a photo as proof……
The photo you posted was a wire cage , unoccupied. Useless as evidence,could have been a old chicken coop in a back yard.
the statement you made……..
“The Miners are required to give tours to keep their non-profit status and make money. ” ….
You should read the conditions /rules of both the USDA and the Internal Revenue 501 C 3 rules before making such a statement. The text you quoted does NOT exist.
Who am I ? I gather documents , photos, all types of proof , submit to the proper agencies , and put “bad rescues” and scammers out of business, If you want to be taken seriously gather your facts and submit documentation to prove the accusations .
I am not saying your opinions are not correct , I am trying to explain the difference between hearsay and facts.
Another thought I have is…. Animal Planet has a full staff of professionals with degrees in the field of animal science , personally I do not believe they would use these people , their animals, or promote their efforts if indeed it was a unfit place, the attorneys and broadcasting companies would question before it got off the ground, but this is my opinion , only my personal opinion which means nothing.
hope this helps. thanks TW
You guys have your heads stuck so far up your @$$ u can’t smell your BS. For every animal sold they save ten and if people like u won’t help support then how can they save the others? Not to mention alot of these animals are on the endangered list and your complaining about breeding? So its wrong to send a people friendly animal to a good home for money to feed the other animals? These people work around the clock to save exotic lives. Those animals are no more a prisoner being pampered their then being potched n their natural habitat. This is also not to mention that the US has more tigers in zoos then there are in the wild only because of breeding! So we should stop the breeding and let them die off n 20years? God bless Yankee jungle and I hope they prosper in front of all you liberal pricks
Russty, you are completely wrong. Sorry to say that but it is true. All you are saying is that people should perpetuate what they’re doing at the moment which is clearly failing. The tiger is becoming extinct in the wild as are most other wild cat species. Do you want the world to be looking at tigers in cages for the next hundred years until they die out in their cages because of inbreeding. This sort of operation, referred to in the article, does not help in conservation. It actually harms conservation because it perpetuates failure. It perpetuates what has happened before and which is clearly failing. You ask experts about wild cats in zoos and you will find out that inbreeding is a major problem. Private zoos are there just for the entertainment of the private zoo owner. This operation may look, on the face of it, a success but in the long term it will be a failure and it does not enhance conservation for the points raised in the article. Please do some more work on this and do some more research. You’ll find out that what I say is true.
Negativism ‘sells’ & anger abounds for Michael, but
Thomas understands life & love; when did Michael rescue, feed, shelter & LOVE an animal wilder than a cat or dog? Sickening to know people such as Michael
only want attention by denouncing the good behaviors they never understand or want to associate with.
Thank you for commenting. I don’t think you understand the argument that I have made in the article. Perhaps you have not read the article fully. In summary, what I’m saying is that private zoos are in the long term detrimental to conservation. At the end of the day they undermine conservation and their existence drives the world towards the time when we will only see wild animals as captive animals. The article not about saving animals. I am looking at the wider picture. It is fine to save animals but I’m thinking long term and looking at the wider picture as mentioned. Efforts should be focused on true conservation not what I would consider to be pseudo-conservation while making some money on the side.
I have no desire to attract attention to myself. I don’t write articles to attract attention. I don’t like denouncing people or criticising people. I like to praise and and look for good. I’m surprised that you wrote that because you don’t know me. You have no idea of my thinking and I believe that you been a bit rash in criticising me like that. My intentions are always altruistic but of course I have to make the website work but it is never in the manner in which you describe.
NEGATIVISM IS easy & Michael Broad wallows in it. I agree with Thomas- when did Michael rescue long term
any animal & provide food, love & shelter? Find out the true meaning of life & love by abandoning your angry, self-serving tirades! ML
Well, whoever you are, you got me wrong. You don’t understand me. If you take the website as a whole, 90% of it is positive but there is of course some criticism when deserved in my opinion. You ask whether I have rescued any animal long-term. I have. In fact all my cat companions that I have looked after over the years have been rescue cats. I provided for them unstintingly and without any desire for any reward from it. I hope that answers your question but no doubt it is an answer that you did not wish to hear.
The person that just did that whole thing was right bring the cubs back to there mother they don’t deserve to that cub napping cubs is wrong the people they did the zoo just wants the money you people are stupid and I’m talking about the people that made the zoo
That comment was from my disappointed 8 year old. We live up the rd from so called zoo and will be scratching that visit off the summers buckit list! Try for the read!
Cheers
Disappointed Mainah
Thanks for commenting. You comment has been published.
There’s nothing I can add to what has been said from education, wisdom, caring and compassion. Delusion is serious, and a form of mental illness. It can create “cognitive dissonance”, which is what I think the Minors, and other people with this affliction, share. They do believe in what they’re doing, which includes everything that’s been mentioned. Although education could help, these people don’t feel the need for it. Those who defend them are also delusional, and attached to their perceptions. I seriously doubt that anyone will reverse their position, in spite of the facts that stand on their own. Blind emotion is more powerful than reason. Look at the people who have babies who cannot even take care of themselves, and how those children suffer on all levels, and grow up to continue the patterns of their parents, and those before them. Once in awhile, someone can break the pattern, and begin a new healthier life. The Minors are passing on their dysfunctional patterns to their children, but maybe someone in that family will have the eyes to see, and the heart to feel, and the willingness to create a new path of true healing for themselves and the animals.
I’m glad the petition helped. I didn’t know about it before this.
I have not seen Yankee jungle, nor do I even get satellite. Human ignorance is what perpetuates the continuing of breeding and inbreeding of wild animals in captivity. Breeding in captivity is what does cause the continued problem of there even being a need for animal sanctuaries. Although I believe the owners of DEW Haven mean well, they are obviously not able to provide basic needs of adequate space, food, habitat, and animal interaction for all of their animals. Plain and simple, a true animal sanctuary does not allow breeding of any kind, even to stop extinction. As stated clearly above somewhere, breeding in a “sanctuary” of “wild” exotic animals is one of the main contributing factors to needing sanctuaries to begin with! Those “wild” animals born in captivity, exploited for human entertainment in some form or other, grow up in cruel conditions, needing to be housed in a sanctuary at some point in their lives when they get too big and unmanageable by their human owners/handlers. It would be one thing if the Miners ran their “sanctuary” with no possible breeding occurring on site, but it is quite another for there to be active breeding going on, knowingly, which is completely perpetuating the very problem, which the Miners claim to be trying to help alleviate (a need for wild exotic animals to be housed in a safe haven because they are discarded and unmanageable by their current human owners).
Kristina and Michael, thank you both for your continued calm, steadfast, thoughtful, intelligent responses on this blog. Intelligent discussion is what it will take to inform and change minds and help create a movement for these animals (especially the innocent animals born into captivity) who have no voice. Those who do not see what both Kristina and Michael are so eloquently and calmly stating in this post, are truly showing their ignorance in this matter, and ultimately, YOU are helping perpetuate the need for animal sanctuaries by advocating for owners of any animal “sanctuary” havens, who allow, and promote breeding of captive exotics. Your scope of knowledge on the topic is severely limited by observing human emotion exhibited by the well intentioned Miners. No doubt the Miners have great love of the animals they house on their property. But that in no way excuses them from running a responsible business, in dealing with exotic, wild, instinct driven animals. A true animal sanctuary does not allow breeding of any kind, ever, for any reason. At DEW Haven, it sounds as if breeding is not only occurring, but that it is being promoted, to the detriment of the poor animals being born into a very inhumane life of captivity for exploitive entertainment by humans. Those who are so blind to this practice, you really, truly are ignorant, and I implore you to take a little time and research what is really happening at any said sanctuary which breeds animals in captivity. Don’t defend actions off of emotions, empower yourself by educating yourself with facts of what is actually happing at “sanctuaries” like DEW. Knowledge is power. DEW, by no means, is a true sanctuary, because they breed animals (doesn’t matter if it is for profit, or not). Period. End of story. The animals there are used and exploited, for human entertainment. In addition, it sounds as if the animals there do not have nearly enough space, and certainly many are exposed to harsh weather extremes unnatural to their “natural” environments. A sanctuary allows animals to live out the rest of their days in peace, sans exploitation for human entertainment, with no means by which to propogate a continued problem of even having a need for sanctuaries by allowing breeding to continue. Here is an example of a true sanctuary:http://www.blackbeautyranch.org/about/?credit=web
Thanks for your substantial and excellent comment. Yes, I completely agree with you, as you know, that breeding wild animals in captivity perpetuates and creates new norms in respect of our relationship with wild animal species and that norm is that they should be in captivity under our control rather than focusing all our efforts on how to preserve their wild habitat to allow them to live their lives naturally in the wild. In general, you must do not have a great relationship with nature and the wild animal species living in it. It gets in the way of economic growth and the basis for human survival is economic growth which destroys the planet ultimately. It has to because human population is expanding at a rapid rate. We are, as a well-known zoologist stated, a sort of disease on the planet.
Yet, the people who are involved with these sorts of so-called sanctuaries and private zoos say there are involved in conservation. They are, as far as I’m concerned, deluded or in denial or ignorant or all three. That is not to say that there are some genuine sanctuaries out there, as you state. There are some genuine rescue organizations who rescue wild cat species, often from these private zoos.
Captive breeding and zoos, and any kind of control over wild animal species in confined spaces, is a symptom of our failure to relate to nature properly as far as I’m concerned.
BS – this show does NOTHING BUT SHOW Human kindness, concern, compassion; NOTHING BUT PURE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE for these animals & respect for God’s Kingdom. I challenge U to try even to do a fraction of what these folks do in a daily basis! U people wh post such negative comments instead of seeing the positive goodness these people have done! U shud be ashamed of yourselves!!!
Thanks for contributing Lilian. I disagree with you.
I finally received the results of an inspection from my complaint to the USDA. Although I question why the inspector gave DEW a pass on so many obvious citations, there is one thing that could not be hidden.
They purposely acquired a white tiger in the hopes of her mating and having white tiger cubs. White tigers are inherently all inbred and indeed this was the case here. The white tiger cub that was born there had to be euthanized due to a “congenital neurological condition”. They tried to hide this from the world as they would not answer where the cubs went and never disclosed the white tiger cub’s death.
This is not a facility that should be highlighted on Animal Planet, it should not even be allowed to exist in my opinion. They breed every animal there and in fact mention that a mountain lion had an emergency c-section soon after the white tiger cub’s death. They are not equipped to handle what they produce and sadly, so many of these animals just “disappear” and DEW does not disclose where they go, or if they are even still alive.
DEW has changed its name to DEW Haven now, perhaps trying to hide from all of the abuse that has been documented. We are not fooled. Please sign and share the petition if you have not already and speak up for the animals there. They deserve a better life and also not to be “baby machines” for the Miners.
Thank you
Thanks a lot Kristina for the update and your continued pressure. Can you disclose the results of the inspection or have you done so already? If so I apologize for missing it. Perhaps you can’t disclose it. Is there a link to a website?
Michael,
I had to file an FOIA to get the results. This was from the report.
“The licensee states that the three tiger cubs born about 6/8/14 were being hand reared because their mother would not care for them. As of this date, one had been donated to another USDA facility, one had been euthanized because of a congenital neurological condition according to medical records and the third, which appeared well and healthy was still being cared for at the facility”
There were two white tiger cubs. Those cubs are quick to be snatched up because they bring in more money. One was already gone that morning when I went there. I saw the one white cub left and the orange one. They were supposed to be leaving that night. They put down the white one and the orange one they had trouble finding a buyer. The one that was lined up backed out. See, in purposely breeding for white tigers there is a surplus of orange cubs born. Eventually though, she did go somewhere. Of course they NEVER tell us where they went. What is the secret?
We know what’s up. It is a business.
Interesting too how at DEW the animal mothers never care for their young and the Miners have to take them to acclimate to humans and have photo ops. How convenient!
This is such sad reading. It’s a disgrace that they are allowed to continue breeding animals for profit, whilst masquerading as some kind of sanctuary.
No genuine rescue organisation would or should, ever breed animals. They are meant to help animals in need, not add to their numbers.
It seems rather simple doesn’t it? By that I mean so obvious that they are saying one thing and doing another. Yet I am amazed at how many people defend them and say how much they love their animals. Last I checked love does not entail taking young from their mothers and shipping them out to the highest bidder!
Very sad all around… 🙁
I watched an episode of Yankee Jungle last night and thought it was very questionable that they were surprised when one of the animals gave birth. They claimed they had no idea she was pregnant, which would seem to me to be either dishonest or very ignorant.
Thanks for sharing your views Martha.
I think this petition is ridiculous. Did anyone not hear anything that these owners said during the 3 episodes that were aired??? They take in animals that have to be rehabilitated, bounced around from zoo to zoo, or zoos that are closing.
DEW is no longer “DEW Sanctuary” but “DEW Haven” and I 100% support the responsible breeding of the animals because ,again, they are not being sold for profit. Can you imagine being told that you cant mate/reproduce for your entire life just because you ended up in captivity? Not allowing animals to mate and experience a “normal” life in captivity is completely unfair.
As for the baby tigers: They were DONATED to USDA licensed facilities. They do not sell ANY exotic animals because they don’t believe that wild animals should be pets.
They have been rescuing and taking care of animals for the past 30 years so obviously they are not harming any of the animals. Maine is #2 in the US when it comes to strict animal welfare laws, so to say that these animals are not living in good conditions is wrong and unfair.
It’s not like they went out in the jungle and captured these animals to bring home to Maine. Once again, they were rescued. In a perfect world zoo’s and any type of animal facilities wouldn’t exist but unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world. Luckily for us, there are people like this kind family in Maine who are around to help these poor animals when times get rough.
I visit this place multiple times every summer and have nothing but good things to say. All of the animals are very well taken care of and the love and affection that this family has for their animals (and the love the animals have for them in return) is very apparent the minute you step through that front gate.
Thanks Maegan for commenting.
The white tiger cub was euthanized, did you know that Maegan? Also, can you help us to understand why the Miners do not disclose where these baby animals go? What is the secret if these animals are for educating the pubic?
Again, a captive human is in prison as a punishment but when animals are born to be just behind bars their whole lives for human wants it is a good thing? How is an animal purposely born a rescue? It’s not!
Love is subjective and if that is how the Miners show love, I cannot even fathom the other extreme!
Did you not know that the tiger had to be euthanized due to health issues that had nothing to do with the Miners, Kristina? No, you probably didn’t do that much research into it. So what you’re telling me if you’re against a place that takes care of animals that have already been in captivity, but you would rather have a baby animal suffer for whatever time it has left rather than euthanizing it??? I’m sure you or anyone in your family NEVER had to euthanize a dog, cat, etc at the end of their life when the quality of life no longer existed. It’s people like you who don’t get the big picture — the problem in this world are zoo’s, circus’, and selfish uneducated Americans who buy these exotic animals as pets to live in their homes. As I’ve said before, the miners are here to HELP these animals when things go wrong at their original “homes”. And if I were them I wouldn’t disclose that about the cub either! It is not something to brag about and they are probably very devistated by the loss.
There is a hue difference between a jail for people and DEW Haven — so your argument is invalid. Yes there are bars to keep the animals enclosed in safe — but I’ll repeaf my self again– these animals have been in captivity their ENTIRE life before getting to DEW. So setting them free into the wild is an absolute death sentence. They would be killed and/or starve to death because they wouldn’t be able to fend for themselves In the wild.
So why are you picking on DEW who is trying to clean up other people’s messes instead of going after where this all started? Go after zoos who capture animals from the wild (healthy animals) and then never released them again? Why not go after circus’ who physically abuse their animals? Go after law makers who allow exotic animals as pets inside people’s homes and have no education on how to care for them?
Maybe you should look at the bigger picture before you start pointing fingers and making accusations. I just don’t get how you are so FOCUSED on this tiny haven in Maine. Are you even from Maine? Have you ever been there???? Probably not
Maegan,
I suggest that you do research on white tigers. The AZA itself has written their stance on their breeding and is completely against it. Of course they had to euthanize the cub because it had an abnormality! That is the whole point! They are breeding animals that are inherently “defective” purely for personal gain. They did not disclose the death of the cub for exactly the reason that any legit organization is against white tiger breeding. They would have proven them right.
You do not seem to grasp that they breed constantly all the time. One cannot rescue animals and then breed more to put out into the world. Also, can you point out anywhere that I suggest they be released into the wild? No, you can’t. Again, though that is exactly the point. What they are doing does absolutely nothing for the animals that are in the wild.
Baby animals bring in money, adults do not. The Miners are reckless and selfish by breeding animals for photo ops and to be in animal prison for their whole lives.
Also, along the research line, if you had done any you would know that of course I have been there! What? You think I just randomly woke up one day and decided to campaign against DEW knowing nothing about it?! There have been a lot of animal deaths up there and it is time the Miners look for a new line of work other than pimping out animals for a few bucks. Which is exactly what it is like when they charge $50 for a photo op with cubs. Hey, at least they got a few bucks out of the white cub before they had to kill it right? Sick and selfish people, and apparently you are buying their bunk, hook-line and sinker!
Kristina, I have done a lot of research (thanks for your concern) and I still believe that you are in the wrong. I have also done my research on you to know that you are an animal activist (which is great) but an erratic one at that (not so great). It’s people like you who start name calling in online forums that give people fighting for animal rights a bad rep. Anything to get a new picture to put up online! I cant believe you have been there! You mustn’t have taken the tour or listened to anything that was said along the way. Your opinion on everything was probably already made before you even stepped foot inside their parking lot, so even if you did hear what they had to say it probably fell on deaf ears.
WHY SHOULDN’T THEY BREED?!?! The animal shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce and go with mother nature because of the situation they were in?!?! For someone who is all about animal welfare, breeding is a HUGE part of animal welfare and normality….but you mustn’t have done your research on that….
And it’s HILARIOUS that you call me selfish — didn’t know this turned into a name calling game???? I was just here to voice my opinion, just like you. We can agree to disagree but try to be a little more classy about it. Leave the name calling at home. Thanks
You do not know anything about me Maegan. I gave DEW the benefit of the doubt, that is why I went there in the first place. I WANTED the place to be what they claim it to be. A sanctuary and a haven for animals. Unfortunately that was not the case. See, I have been to legit accredited sanctuaries and the difference is astounding! These legit sanctuaries do not have to breed for profit and they have amazing habitats and enrichment for their animals. The Miner’s business model is not working. They beg for money yet still breed and bring more animals into the system that requires more money. If you want to talk about natural, how is it natural for animals to be born in captivity in the first place? They are naturally supposed to be in the wild are they not?
When I was there at the time there was not a tour being shown and I did not see an employee in sight on the grounds! The Miners are required to give tours to keep their non-profit status and make money. They are not stupid people. The proof is in the actual life these animals have and the pathetic conditions they live in.
I talked to the daughter a the ticket booth and asked very pointed questions to get the truth. She told me everything and yes I stand by that she told me they breed to make money. It is a business.
I do get heated because I am a voice for animals. I saw mistreatment and cruelty and I will not be quiet about it. I am not here to make friends and if people continue to show ignorance and blindly stand by the Miners when all facts and evidence point to abuse, I will call out their selfishness. That is just how it is. These animals don’t have time for polite debate when there is such obvious blindsight.
I would urge you to really think about the things that I have said.
Thank you.
I think people need to mind there own business & leave Yankee jungle alone ! The miners who run Yankee jungle are doing what they have too what do people want these animals to die because that’s what would happen ! Leave this alone let people do what is nessasary
Thanks for your contribution.
Cade -Thank you for succinctly putting all your observations of the show into words. After watching 3 episodes today, I was really concerned about the way Mrs. Minor took away the baby lemurs and wallaby from their mom. I thought she only did it to assuage her own selfish need to a) mother animals, and b) draw attention to herself when out in public with these animals.
Tonight I scoured the Internet to see if I wasn’t the only one feeling this way and thankfully found like-minded souls. I’ve signed the petition. Hope it makes an impact.
Thanks for adding your voice, Darla.
Wondered why this taken off animal planet so fast. If there selling exotics and habitat’s not clean they need charged with abuse. Any type of zoo is insufferable, particularly if dirty. There are decent wildlife sanctuaries but this don’t sound like one. Wildlife rehabber for 7 years so I know a little of what I’m talking about. Good for animal planet for dumping them. Is anyone going to call DNR in Maine to report?
Thanks for the update Karen. To be honest I was not aware that Animal Planet had dumped the program. Thanks for telling me. It seems the petition worked.
Hi Michael,
If I could clarify, AP agreed to three episodes. My original goal was to try and stop those from airing and created an event to also boycott the show so that the ratings would be low. Unfortunately those three episodes have aired but DEW has always been wanting this to be a regular series and is still pushing that to happen. At this point AP appears to have distanced itself from this roadside, breeding zoo and Yankee Jungle can not be found on its website. This is great news and leads me to believe that hopefully the petition numbers plus the criticism of the show has worked and common sense has prevailed. Many people who did watch the show saw right through it. The Facebook pages and the petition itself are still active. It is imperative that this breeding facility does not get positive national attention. Also, on a local level efforts will continue to bring awareness and pressure on the USDA and other departments to investigate DEW and hopefully stop this breeding, roadside animal prison that I witnessed in July.
Thanks for all of the support!
Kristina
Hi Kristina. Thanks for the update. I am pleased. I also checked out the AP website and searched high and low for information about the program but found nothing which made me believe it had been dropped. I sense you have achieved a result and if so very well done. I am very impressed with your effort.
Thank you Michael!
I am cautiously optimistic at this point but we shall see what happens. The work to bring awareness to the plight of animals in captivity continues and with that again I want to say thank you. You and many of the commenters here are giving common sense and compassionate voices for captive animals. I am so glad that I have made your acquaintance as well as the other wonderful people that have sense and awareness to this forum. As or the others, I just hope they eventually come to understand that captive prisons, especially breeding ones are not what is best for animals, plus that the words “rescue” and “sanctuary” can be very easily used and abused.
Happy New Year! 🙂
Kristina
It is my pleasure. There is a lot if ignorance about captive animals. The human species still has this terribly dominant role and belief that animals are “dumb”. It is pure human arrogance + ignorance. Private zoos are a reflection of this misguided human belief and a failure for animals. They are almost always an exploitation. They work against conservation. I’d like to see them all closed but the captive wild animal will sadly be more commonplace over the next century. As guardians of the planet humankind is a gross failure.
I hope you and your family have a good 2015. I pray for some progress on noticeable animal welfare anywhere.
I agree … you two seriously need to get a room.
Thanks for commenting but I have no idea what you mean, sorry.
I only became aware of the petition (which I happily signed) this morning. I found this article via a Google search, looking for discussions on the problems with this show. Glad I found this.
While I currently am not active in animal resuce, I do have experience with animal sanctuaries and the exotic pet trade, including primates and big cats, and have had past training at the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Texas. I watched both episodes of Yankee Jungle, and was deeply troubled by a number of things I saw.
— an elderly gibbon that apparently have been living without the company of other gibbons for a very long time and no concern displayed about this. Audience was apparently expected to be happy that he’s 30 years old. How many of those years has he been alone?
— very casual interactions with a spider monkey that is known to be aggressive with humans. This monkey also apparently had been denied access its outdoor enclosure for undisclosed amount of time due to it needing repairs and its indoor enclosure appears (from show footage) to be inadequate in size, not doubt causing the monkey stress
— nursing baby lemurs, which are primates and thus at risk of contracting varous human illnesses, and a baby marsupial (a wallaby IIRC) taken out in public and shown off in a restaurant
— a female ring-tailed lemur that was known to not be able to care for newborns that was allowed to breed
— owners claiming that their allowing animal to breed contributes to a more natural environment for the animals, yet there’s nothing natural about routinely removing newborns from mothers to hand-raise them in a human household like pets. For many social animals, including big cats and primates, this can actually be traumatic for the mother animals.
–the black man from Boston described as “Bob’s best friend” and the goofy New Englander handyman are both clearly actors hired for entertainment value and I fear future episodes will include more staged “crises” involving these actors that directly put more animals in stress, as was the case the supposedly stray peacock and the red deer that escaped due the handyman’s supposed mistake. Both of these with so obviously staged, especially if you’ve seen any of Animal Planet’s alledged “reality” shows. One wonders how much stress the animals involved in these stunts were put through to get the footge the show wanted.
–the breeding of the animals at a faculty where the two owners are both in their 70s. If they are not selling these animals, where are all these animals going and why are two elderly caretakers encouraging animals to breed babies that will long outlive them?
–indicators that the zoo is on verge of a serious financial crisis: little evidence that they buy any meat for their large carnivores while the show played up how they do the community a service by feeding the cats roadkill and stillborn calves from area farms neither of which are adequate sources. Enclosures that are secured with insufficent locks/gates, built from substandard materials and suffering from repairs upon repairs. Owners very obsessed with opening up for the public, while they’re juggling newborn animals and complaining of never getting any sleep. While it’s not unusual for people working with exotic animals to feel overwhelmed by their duties, the DEW owners do not exhibit a very healthy or grasp of how overhwelmed they apparently are–they’re too focused on money, which is probably why they signed up with Animal Planet.
–the owners’ admission of a previous serious incident with a big cat that nearly killed one of them.
About the tiger cubs: I only recently learned of the three tiger cubs born at the DEW zoo this summer. That is another serious concern. This local new article not only confirms their birth, but mentions how they were being hand-raised because the female tiger was “very confused” at being a fist time mother (note the owners used a “bad mother” excuse to remove the baby lemurs from their mother in one of the episodes too), but they also CHARGED MONEY for people to have up-close visitations with the cubs.
http://bangordailynews.com/2014/06/19/outdoors/maine-zoo-surprised-by-birth-of-tiger-triplets/
The article also quotes one of the owners saying these cubs would go to organizations that participate in breeding programs. That is a huge red flag as captive-bred white tigers are inbred and thus at very high risk of serious health problems (mostly commonly eye, teeth and bone problems, including severe deformities), and they and their offspring cannot contribute to legit conservation breeding programs. That means as breeding animals, they can only go to places that breed for exploitation (including breeders who breed white tigers to sell to zoos looking for a big-ticket attraction–and yes, some of thee breeders are zoos themselves). No legit conservation organization would breed white tigers or their offspring for any reason, as their bloodlines have no conservation value.
More tragically, for-profit breeders normally would cull any non-white cubs of white parents as they have the same high risk of health problems as white tigers but because they lack a white coat, they are deemed as surplus and essentially worthless. This practice among for-profit breeders as well as the known health risks of cubs from white tiger bloodlines raise real concerns about what actually happened to the cubs, whether they were actually placed anywhere and if they are still alive, their current welfare. If these cubs had been placed in sanctuaries dedicated to education and not exploitation, I see no reason why they would not disclose that, either on the show or in response to the petition.
So yeah, spare me the defense that this is feel-god TV. I did not feel good seeing that lonely gibbon, or that jerk handyman taunting the spider money, or a red deer stressing amid a staged “crisis” or the owner trotting baby lemurs about in public like surrogate human babies, while spewing her delusional “philosophy” about how this is responsible animal care. And I really don’t care how emotional the DEW owners appeared to be on-screen over a dead bobcat cub or a distressed sheep. My experience with the big cat trade tells me those two non-white cubs likely ended up in a trash bin, while their white sibling went off to a for-profit breeder. Think on that, fans of the show, and tell me how good you feel.
Hi Cade. Fabulous comment. One of the biggest I have seen. It is too good to just be here. I’ll turn it into an article and link back to this article with an introduction. Your comment needs to be read by as many visitors as possible. Thanks for the comment.
Wonderful comment, Cade.
At least these people and their place have been exposed now. QAnimal Planet execs need to be ashamed.
Fantastic comment Cade.
I was not asked by anyone. I live in a small Western PA town and have not only never been to Maine, Ive never been farther north than Buffalo. Let me add this to my comment tho. Having never been there, and if what we see on tv is the real deal (which we all no we only see what they want us to), i would support what they do. Yes it may not be ideal, but its better than euthanizing or returning them to the wild after being domesticated. I believe you should focus your attention on how the animals got there in the first place, be it an over grown pet or illegal sales or whatever. Thats just my opinion tho, not meant to anger anyone.
Its a great show with compassionate owners. For profit or not, they do a good job and work wonders with the animals.
Thanks for commenting, Dave. I hope you weren’t put up to commenting by the owner.
I believe this show was great. It shows a family feel for this place. When I went I could see these animals were just loved. They were happy and responsive and couldn’t wait to see their owners. I loved it and we get to see the babies and the babies were all happy and healthy. The zoo staff told my family that the babies are taken away fro there mother because the mother wod kill them since the animals were hand raised. Which when I ask other zoo owners and researched came out to be true. I don’t believe in breeding animals but if that’s what they have to do to keep there zoo alive when if they didn’t these animals would be killed and abused (which is how many zoo owners treat the animals) then so be it. I would love to watch the show on Animal Planet more. You can visually see they do all they can do for these animals and they do love the animals unconditionally. If any one has a problem with the show they are more than welcomed to turn it off. You don’t have to watch the show nor do you have to comment on it. All these petitions are doing is giving this show more publicity.
Thanks for commenting RaeAnn. Any further comments you make will be published immediately.
RaeAnn, I’m confused by your comment “I don’t believe in breeding animals but if that’s what they have to do to keep there zoo alive”.
Does this mean that visitors numbers increase when there are baby animals on display, or that they breed in order to replenish their stock? I bet they’re not on any legitimate registered zoo breeding programme.
If this were truly a sanctuary for rescued animals they would not be breeding them. Instead they would be offering them a final resting place to live out their days in less cramped conditions.
Wow. Try being part of the solution instead of the problem. Exploitation, seriously? You are petitioning an older couple who try to help out animal in need? Why not try to help educate them? Why hurt the animals, and the people involved. Less attention equals less money. Maybe the money from the show could be used to fix up the sanctuary.
I do not agree with their practices entirely, but I feel like their heart is in the right place! They saved animals that would have most likely been put down. They shouldn’t breed the animals, but I am sure they did it to develop more interest in both the show, and the sanctuary. All was for the animals I am sure. The people are far from rich!
Exploitation, why not petition fur farmers and leather farmers which exploit hundreds of thousands of animals for fashion. Most are literally skinned alive? Those are animals that are truly in need of justice!
I understand your point but I don’t think you get the point which is that there are many forms of animal exploitation and this is one example and the article is about this one example. There are other petitions and articles on this site about the fur trade and countless other examples of animal abuse. The animals are in need but this private helps to create the situation where animals are in need. Private zoos are part of the problem. So why support it? Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Wow, I started tearing up watching this show and that’s what led me here. I feel these people are hoarders and think the animals can’t survive without them. Their hearts are in the right place but the animals deserve a much better life. The place is a dump. Reminds me of Space Farms Zoo in Sussex NJ. They’re proud of the fact that their grandfather was a big game hunter and started zoo. Disgusting! They have the worlds’ largest bear (stuffed) in the lobby that lived 24+ years there in captivity and they act like that was a good thing. Crazy!!!!
No zoo should breed animals.
Thanks, Mary Jo, for adding to the page. You have provided useful information.
I would like to say that D.E.W. is not a roadside zoo nor do they sell baby animals for profit. Kristina has made many unfounded claims about D.E.W. and I believe that she has misled people about D.E.W. to promote her agenda. I went to her Facebook page and challenged each of her postings about D.E.W. with FACTS and guess what? She remove all of my comments and photos and said I was trolling her page. I am just someone that believes in what the Miners are doing and I am at that farm almost every weekend and not just to do some negative recon to bring them down. Her facts are wrong and unfortunately people signing her petition do not know this. She post many photos of the tiger cubs born this in June (1st tiger cubs ever born in Maine)which were born AFTER Yankee Jungle was shot and will not be on the show. The cubs are no longer at D.E.W. and they were not sold for a profit. She claims she got inside info from employees but the only actual employees that D.E.W. has are their children. If people have an issue with D.E.W. they should visit the farm themselves and form their own opinion instead of being given one by a malicious person attacking a Vietnam Vet with a 34 year history of helping animals not hurting them. She should be ashamed as well as others who have pre-judged D.E.W. without having the facts. She should advocate for animals in danger and not animals that are being cared for and loved. By the way D.E.W. has had tigers for almost twenty years and the first cubs born there were in June 2014. That really sounds like an active breeding program NOT!. Thank you to those that know the truth and not making up their own.
Thanks Jordan for visiting and having your say. It is appreciated. Your photo was too big to upload. You can try again if you wish. There are simple instructions below the comment box.
I stand 100% behind everything that I have posted and said. The reason Stephen was removed was because he was spamming the page ad nauseum and clearly thinks breeding is okay. Defending the indefensible with just emotion because this place is close to him. Despite the fact that the tiger cubs were born after the show, it makes no difference since it is the same facility featured in the show. They have bred African lion and mountain lion cubs in the past before the show and that is no secret.
I do believe the employee that I talked to was the daughter that is featured in the show, I do know that halfway through the conversation Mr. Miner walked in behind her and did not correct anything she was saying. I have been fortunate to have been to GFAS accredited sanctuaries that have hundreds of acres for their animals and do not breed. The difference is astounding! If the Miner’s have been running this facility for 30 plus years and the conditions I saw where the best that could be accomplished in that time, I don’t really know if that is something they should be advertising.
The show Yankee Jungle has already featured baby animals and purposeful breeding (it doesn’t have to be just tigers) and many of the people who signed the petition did so only after viewing the show and seeing for themselves. Although D.E.W. has denied selling cubs, they have offered no proof. They mysteriously will not disclose the location of where these cubs went. Considering one was gone the morning I was there, the other two were supposed to leave that night yet did not actually go until sometime later, would lead any person to believe they did not even go to the same location.
I repeat, I was told they breed to save and since the place costs money to run they have to sell. I was not alone and have another person to vouch that was what was told to us. There was quite a lot of information I found out from her, including how until Maine passed a law they used to bring their animals to Sportsmans clubs. If these cubs were donated to another place without even one dollar as a gifted donation in return, I will stand corrected.
Yet even so it is no secret they used the cubs for profit by offering the public to pay to have pictures taken with them at just 1-4 weeks old! Also, if these cubs went to another roadside zoo all that is happening is the crisis of exotics and breeding in captivity is being perpetuated and broadening deeper across America. Legit rescues and sanctuaries do not breed, take cubs away at birth, and ship them out at four weeks old. It just is nonsensical and contradictory to be a rescue and add to the problem.
Thank you
I have added a photo of one of the habitats as an example of why this zoo is not a wonderful place for its animals, very sad indeed.
Thank you Kristina for taking the time to write your excellent comment. Do you believe that Jordan is blind to what he is doing (because culturally his standards and ideas about animals are poor) or he is being a cynical businessman exploiting animals? Perhaps it is a bit of both. There is no doubt that many people don’t see anything wrong with exploiting animals because they see animals as creatures to serve humans.
I despise all zoos like this. In fact I hate all zoos period. They are a symptom of a human failure to manage the planet properly.
Thank you Michael,
I really think that the Miners and people like Stephen Jordan cannot see beyond D.E.W. and their personal stakes in the facility. For the Miners it is egoism, a business, and exploitation under the guise of conservation and rescue, and for Stephen he feels some “disturbed” personal connection with the facility, people, and animals there almost to the point of obsession. So much so that he cannot understand that they are living in squalor and being bred to keep adding more innocent lives to live in more animal prisons.
It is an interesting point that you bring up about the exploitation of animals. There are people that have quoted scripture to me that animals are put here to be of service to humans, by whatever means necessary. I suppose to many that means using them to make money like through circuses, breeding, roadside zoos, and for their parts. It is also interesting how humans are put in prisons for punishment for crimes, yet people who claim to love animals see absolutely nothing wrong with keeping them in “cells” for their whole lives. In fact places like D.E.W. celebrate new births! If someone really truly loved and appreciated exotic species unselfishly, they would be doing everything they could for the wild ones that are still left; not spending time and energy to breed and imprison them for life.
It is just sad all around.
Thanks
Kristina
The key human problem is that humans possess the arrogance to believe that they are superior to all animals and that animals are on the planet at their service all ways. That underpins all the problems between human and animal and it is gradually killing all wild species. Mr Jordan is possibly blind to what he is doing. He is probably not educated well enough to understand that in a truly civilised human society we have a duty to find ways to live in harmony with animals who live side by side with us trying to survive. As you say imprisoning them is clearly a massive failure.
You’re are doing good work. Good luck.
Why don’t u and Kristina get a room already?? Of course it would be better if wildlife stayed in their native habitats it would also be better if terrorists didn’t blow up children and kill millions but we do not live in that world. I watched the show and could tell that the miners really care for their animals. That man is like 70yrs old and still busting his butt to take care of those animals and I think its pathetic that you all are attacking them for trying to make the best of their situation. They take animals that would probably be killed if they didn’t and do the best they can. I mean really at least they are trying 90% of people dont even try. The miners have dedicated their lives to these animals. I mean really how can you people sleep at night picking on these people its RIDICULOUS! LEAVE THEM ALONE! I applaud the minors for dedicating their lives to helping unwanted animals..
Sorry Ashlee, you have missed the point as stated in the article. What they are doing perpetuates the problems that we have with wild species. What they do makes things worse in the long run.
You are thinking reactively and in the short term. I am think bigger, better, proactively and in the long term.
If there were no private zoos there would be better wild species conservation because the focus would be on what is happening in the wild.
Private zoos are a pathetic, commercial reaction to a failure in wildlife conservation.
You have failed to understand that. All efforts should be on preserving the habitat of wild species and preventing commercial exploitation of these animals.
Private zoos are just another version of animal exploitation.
Oh come on now. They make things worse in the long run makes me mad. They are making things better for the animals that previously had it worse. Negative comments and ZERO visual evidence and only verbal evidence is nothing. If there us a huge concern then get VISUAL evidence and make sure the evidence you get ius 100% truth not 99% truth because 99% is not good enough. Sorry if I snap here and rant, but VISUAL evidence people can see is always to me the only evidence I will believe in. This verbal evidence means nothing to me because anyone can say anything and make it sound like it us the truth, but is it? Just like the saying goes: You can talk the talk, but you can’t walk the walk. You should read and remember the saying I just said and GI with that saying. That saying means everything.
Carl, you are missing the point in my opinion. Yes, they make things better for individual animals (who should not be there in the first place) but these sorts of zoos make things worse generally for wild animals living in their own habitat. They are a model of failure. Open your mind to the possibility that in a better world humans should be sharing the planet with wild animals in reasonable harmony which means the animals are living in their own habitat not in cages. That I believe is common sense. The focus of humanity should be on proper conservation not this sort of pseudo-conservation/exploitation.
Kristina is very misleading and I would like to point out this is not a picture of their complete enclosure. If you look at the board on the left hand side there is an opening that allows them into an extended enclosure. Stephen Jordan is 100% correct about her. Be careful what you defend, especially when it comes to her pictures. She should be ashamed of herself. If you are interested in legitimate pictures of this place please feel free to contact me and I will get some of their full enclosures as I will be going there next week end.
Thanks Tammy for your input. The truth is always welcome.
Please show photos, Tammy.
Send them to Michael.
While I have never visited this place I did watch the show in 2014. I became increasingly disturbed by the different babies born and immediately taken away from their mothers to be bottle fed. Why?? It was never explained on camera even with an excuse like the baby’s life was in danger or the mother rejected it or the mother died. Even Mrs. Miner made a big deal about carrying a baby around in public in a pouch. Again, why?? Too many exotic animals are being raised for canned trophy hunts. While I’m not saying this is being done at DEW, it is a fact that zoos are selling excess animals for those purposes. DEW’s breeding is an indirect contributor. I noticed the show was back on for a holiday special in December 2015. As is my choice & right, I will not be watching.
Thanks Puggs for your welcome contribution. Happy Christmas.
I couldn’t have said it any better, than the above comment. I know these people, they are providing a safe place for these animals. Unfortunatly we are a place in need of people like this. Because of people buying these animals, then can’t keep them. I watched the show, and I saw complete passion and felt their passion, in what they do for their animals. HATERS go away!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for commenting Tami.
A safe place for these animals? You mean the ones that were born there? Tami have you ever been to an accredited GFAS sanctuary, yes or no?
Hey Stephen.. Agreed!! Im from mass an I’m always in Maine an N.H. This is what people enjoy.. An guess what people animals enjoy companionship also.. I Plan on going this summer.. Love the show.. Only reason I found this site was because I didn’t know they were only doing 3 episodes for now so I thought maybe it was cancelled due to ratings so I googled it an then found this idiot Cristina or w.e. her name is.. So concerned about this animals in a “backyard zoo” getting all this love an care.. Come on people
I understand what you are saying but you are missing the bigger picture – the wider issues and the long term issues. In the long term these places are failures for wildlife. Yes, they entertain us but that is not the point. The point is conservation. If people use animals to entertain themselves eventually there will be few wild animals left in the wild. I guess you miss these points or don’t care. Thanks for visiting and commenting though.
Revolting.
That’s the shortest comment you’ve ever made 😉
it is a good show and they are doing a great job keeping the sanctuary running
Thanks for commenting.
I totally agree!! I think everybody on here complaining is trying to act like their perfect.. These people arnt intentionally trying to hurt these animals.. If u actually watch the show u see the environments these animals are living in an they all look pretty happy to me… These animals are there because they were rescued or not wanted.. U guys take one story on a baby cub an make a big deal out of it.. Do something better with your time.. Or how about this CHANGE THE CHANNEL ?
These places are a model of failure with regard to conservation. They should not be celebrated on TV.
I’m originally from Maine and have been to that place..It’s just a cover for breeding and perpetuating ownership of exotics without education. Maine is not a place exotic animals should be kept, for many reasons..one being it gets real cold and this place does not have appropriate habitats. All their animals need to be taken down to the Grey Animal sanctuary or brought out to the Wildlife refuge here in Colorado which has over 700 acres of land and amazing conditions and NO BREEDING or visitor contact with the animals.
Animal Planet is getting really bad. It’s so sad.
Thank you Waid for adding your first hand knowledge about this place. Good comment which adds to the page.
I was unaware that this show had such a negative effect on the viewers and their biased opinions. Be that as it may they are at very least saving some unwanted animals even if it is for some profit, Feed for these animals is not inexpensive. What is it with you haters out there in the world. Love all animals Have any of you rescued an animal in need, within your sorry lives.
Thomas, I think you have missed the point. We are lovers of animals not haters and look at the wide picture. This sort of private zoo is bad for animals in the long term. Yes, it may save some but it proliferates the idea that these zoos are okay. They are a symptom of failure of the human/animal relationship and harm conservation.
Thomas Hennessey One thing you got wrong is when you say it is not expensive to feed the animals. It is very expensive. Have you ever bought or seen what someone spent on food for a large group of animals? I did. My family had various animals since I was born ranging from cows, pheasants, brown turkeys, white turkeys, dogs, goat, sheep, ferrets, chickens, quail, horse and do not say it is not expensive to fed animals when you don’t know. It is costly. I know my family did not have the amount of animals that DEW Heaven has, but at one time we had 7 or 8 cows, 4-5 turkeys, 1 dig, 2 ferrets and my dad had to spend a lot of money to have enough square bales of hayto last from fall until spring and back then a bale of hay was $1.00/bale. I am not sure what you mean by have any of you rescued an animal in need with your sorry lives? What do you mean with your sorry lives? My dad, mom, sis and me rescued a wild baby rabbit that my dad and sis found in the woods near them when they were cutting trees out back of the house. They looked to see where the mother was and no mother to be found. Long story short we hand fed the rabbit powdered mothers milk until akk the mothers milk was gone then released the rabbit back in the wild like we intended to in the first place. My dad and sis didn’t want to abandoned the rabbit because being so small and no mother around the rabbit might not of made it. It was expensive to feed the rabbit(cannot remember how much).
Carl, I would like you to open your mind to the possibility of a better world for the wild species living in the wild. You seem to believe that there is an automatic place for the zoos on this planet. Zoos should not exist if humankind was more concerned about wild animal conservation. Ultimately, zoos are the exploitation of animals for human entertainment and financial profit at the expense of the welfare of the animals concerned. Stopping this should be the starting point in a much better world, if you have the vision for it. There should be no zoos but proper conservation of animals in the wild. There should be a lower population of humans on the planet and far less exploitation of the planet’s reserves and resources to allow animals to live in their own habitat successfully.
Thank you Michael for this write-up in regards to this roadside zoo in Maine that I visited in July. Yes, the day I was there was exactly four weeks from the day those cubs were born and one was already gone and the other two were due to be taken that night to an “undisclosed location”. The picture at the top of the petition is one I took of the white tiger cub. Both cubs were in cribs with an additional bobcat kitten in another crib as well. The conditions that I saw there were just simply depressing. I have been to another actual acccredited, non-profit sanctuary which does not breed and the conditions between the two are like night and day. This quote is from an article written about the “surprise” birth of these cubs in June,
“DEW is offering $50 “tiger encounters” for people over 18 years of age to hold and feed the cubs. Reservations can be made via email at de**************@ya***.com. On June 19, the sanctuary had 148 people on the waiting list for a tiger encounter.” – BDN 6/8/14
That is using animals for profit. D.E.W. is a “pseudo” sanctuary at best and if there are other sanctuaries that have much better habitats, quality of life for their animals, and actual accreditation without having to breed; then it proves it can be done. Animals can come first and at this roadside zoo, despite the claims of love and hardship, the animals I saw were far removed from their welfare being a top priority.
Thank you
Dee pointed it out to me. My pleasure. I hate private zoos. There are far too many and all except true sanctuaries are bad for the cats. In a better world there would be no need for wild animal sanctuaries. We’d have sorted out conservation. The best way to make progress in wild cat/animal conservation is for people to stop breeding and for businesses to stop growing and expanding etc..Never happen 🙁
I don’t believe that place should breed any animals but rescueing them is different. Probably a lot of those animals would have wound up dead since they seem to be throw aways from some where else. Not all the cats are able to go to those large sanctuaries because of space. Would be great to have no need for any of these places. However with the lost of habitat and asian countries paying poachers zoos maybe the only way people can see any of these animals because they will be gone in the wild.
I understand your argument Denise but in the long run these private zoos damage conservation as they perpetuate the failure of true conservation namely protecting wildlife in the wild, in their natural habitat. They devalue wildlife. They stress the animals because of confinement. They are used to entertain us (exploited). The owners say they assist conservation – wrong. It is about making money; that’s all. The trade and exploitation of wildlife is a massive business. One day it won’t be because wildife will all be used up by humankind.
That’s true, or it would be if it weren’t for the fact that without zoos *private or corporate* unfortunately many of the animals we see today would disappear completely. I’ve worked for several private zoos and volunteered at even more. The owners of dew animal sanctuary love and take care of their animals far better than many larger zoos *i.e Miami metro zoo*. They’ve said before that they allow some breeding with supervision. You’re right. Wildlife conservation SHOULD mean preserving their natural habitat and keeping these animals in the wild. And in a perfect world that’s exactly what would happen. Unfortunately for you me and the rest of society that’s just not possible. Between poaching and taking their land to build fucking super malls and shopping centers and housing development, there’s no where left for many of these beautiful creatures to go. Under the circumstances the world is currently in, these animals are better off at dew. At least at dew they are being fed and taken care of and they aren’t being killed for their fur.
That could be true to a certain extent because the situation is so dire but zoos are part of the problem. They take focus away from real conservation and they even have to import animals from the wild to widen the gene pool. Zoos are there for commercial reasons or to entertain someone. Zoos do not improve conservation.
Zoos also reflect our defective relationship with wild species. They are inherently immoral as far as I am concerned. Caging lions and other big cats in small enclosures when their natural range is hundreds of square kilometres is inhumane to say the least. There are countless examples of private zoo owners who have neglected their animals and they have had to be rescued. Wild cat species do badly in zoos. They are stressed and most fail to breed. It is a recipe for failure.
No more than a zoo for profit in disguise.
They make me sick.
Why have we, as a country that reveres animals in the wild, spends billions yearly on our companion animals, are not willing to see that “Yankee jungle” exploits the very animals that we say we want to protect…we are hypocrites if we allow this to continue. And why does our government grant licenses to these businesses and not oversee their actions. If there is a licensing agency, that same agency should be held accountable for these abuses
We said Jo. These sorts of businesses present something that they are not. They pretend to be in conservation when they are in exploitation. It is the same the world over to a lesser or greater extent. America does have more tigers than anywhere else in the world. There are more tigers in private zoos in the US than in the wild on the entire planet. That tells us a lot about the human condition and attitude to nature.
These people are trying to do good for animals that are being neglected by other people who couldn’t do their part for them. Most animals usually wind up abandoned left to starve or become problem animals. When left out in the wild they can become scavengers. At least the few that get adopted by the Yankee Jungle people are cared for and fed. Eliminating any of these Predators/Prey from becoming problems in our (Human) societies. If anyone out there think they are making money off these animals for their own gain; I think you had better think again. Have you ever fed any kind of animals out of your own pocket? If you have you would know that it takes tons of money/food/and time with loads of hard labor. I hope that you keep this show on TV and hope they cancel a few of the Idiot show’s like the Alaskan Bush people and others like them. Lord knows You City people need an Eye opener. Do you realize our cities, Town’s, and country sides ore full of people who are keeping feral and Exotic animals, birds, reptiles that are hazardous to us all should they escape. Lets say that if in your community a male Cobra snake and a Female Cobra snake escaped and went unreported whats going to happen (Baby Cobras). Baby cobras grow up and bites You/you die without help. You had better get it. We need lots more caring people out there volentaring. So lets all band together and help these people out there that are at least trying to do something to help. Havent You ever heard of The Little Zoo That Could. Keep the show On TV so we people will know What others are doing to create these sort of problems in the first place. Thanks Yankee Jungle People Keep up the good work.
Hi Jessica. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I don’t believe it is as straightforward as you suggest. Ultimately this sort of organisation is bad for conservation of wild species in the long term. That is my personal view.
People who basically rag on DEW Heaven and what Bob and Julie Miner does is all wrong. I am born and live in Maine in the country with 35+ acres and wildlife all around me. Without the people like Bob and Julie Miner then the animals would have a bad life, so now the animals being at DEW Heaven have a better life. Bob and Julie Miner are very knowledgeable about the animals they have there and treat them with respect and not mean like some zoos around the world do. About Bob and Julie Miner keeping the animals in pens and how it is wrong. Wrong? No! Because the animals have more than enough room to move around and tellmeone thing. Do Bob and Julie Miner keep the pens filthy? No! If the animals were in that bad of position being at DEW Haven then the state and other appropriate officials would of been there doing a investigation and go from there, but Bob and Julie Miner must be doing something right. Also as for having the show Yankee Jungle is in no way bad. It is a good thing. It teaches people about exotic animals that they would not heard oif or learned about. Also Yankee Jungle shows the daily life of taking care of the animals. I do not understand why this petition was ever started in the first place. There is many other places around the world that has animals in tiny cages and the animals live in horrible, filthy conditions and the animals are horribly abused, so stop singling out this show just because Bob and Julie Miner have exotic animals in Maine and the perception is that places like DEW Heaven that has exotic animals are either not trained in the animals they have, not knowledgeable about the animals or that the animals might or will be abused, live in cramped and filth and that they live in pens. While I am not certain about what I am about to say, but maybe a little has to do with that Bob and Julie Miner do not look like the type of people to have exotic animals and that Maine and exotic animals do not mix because some exotic animals do not live in cold winter conditions. Why not concentrate on the other sanctuaries or places that have exotic animals around the world especially China. Stop ragging on people who do good for the animals and focus on finding places around the world that has exotic or any animals that they treat like garbage keeping them in small cages, abuse the animals and basically to no good to and for the animals. While this petition is around there is abused animals that live in terrible conditions that needs to be focused on and not the hard working, knowledgeable people at DEW Heaven that does not abuse the animals and always does the right thing for the animals. I would hate to see DEW Heaven shut down. The animals would not get the love and care that they got at DEW Heaven. Would the person who started the petition rather we akk exotic animals returned back to their native habitat? Sounds good, but some if not most of those animals would not make it in the wild since being out of the wild for silong, so I do not believe that DEW Heaven is avoid place four these animals and the people are dedicated to the animals especially Bob and Julie Miner. I wonder if Bob and Julie Miner knows about this petition. If they know about it then how do they feel about the petition? I can bet that Bob and Julie Miner are not happy about the petition and I don’t blame them one bit for them getting angry(if they did get angry) because they did nothing wrong and are only making a better life for the exotic animals. Sure they have tours, but that is to educate people about the exotic animals and sure the money from the tours goes back into the DEW Heaven to feed the animals and to kept the place going. That is just part if the ways they get revenue to keep DEW Heaven going. All the ways DEW Heaven gets their revenue is not in a bad way. Yes they are a non profit organization and I do not see them doing things that is not how should I say against being a non profit organization. Also I just thought that while the person who started this petition obviously has a problem with DEW Heaven. Heck why don’t the person who started this petition start another petition to close all places in Maine that has wild animals or other animals for people to go and see just like DEW Heaven. What is the person who started this petition trying to do? I know to shut down DEW Heaven, but you got to realize that the animals are better off st DEW Heaven and having x amount of petitions needed is not always going to get the government to do something. There has to be actual truthful evidence that what is being said that is in the petition is really true and if there isn’t any factual evidence then the person who started this petition might as well give up and start a petition on something that us guarantee to make a difference and that is far more importance than this. I just watched tonight the season finally of Yankee Jungle. It hasn’t been on long this year and now the last show. I am not sure if this is the last show for good or what, but if it us the last show for good it has me wondering if the petition has something to do with it. If it does then it us a shame. I will not stop liking the show, the people on the show and will still follow them in fb.
Yes, the reason why the animals would have a bad life is because of humans and human behaviour. It would be far more sensible to stop human behaviour which causes these animals have a bad life in the first place. Did you think about that? A lot of these animals in zoos, when living in the wild, would range over many, many square miles. Their natural home range is anything up to hundred square miles and more so how do you think it feels to live in a cage or even an enclosure of 30 ft.² or something like that? It’s a complete failure. It is the human misunderstanding animals and misunderstanding what can be done. The zoo is a model of failure. It is a failure. It is telling the world that we have failed in the conservation of wild species. It is an advertisement of how humans have failed in living with wild species on this planet. And no matter how you cut it, zoos are an exploitation of animals for financial profit.
Im reading all these comments about dew sanctuary and how they need to close them down well I hope they dont and as far as the show please keep it on I and a ton of other people love it. To the so called petitioner tell me where do think these animals are supposed to go I’ll tell you another zoo thats where, and the move could cause harm. You people out there who just love to go on these witch hunts you make me sick what about the farms that raise animals for fur, food, dog fighting cock fighting and to just pay to go and take an animal like tigers have them in a cage take them to a field open the door of the cage and shoot the tiger as it runs out so you cant tell me that dew haven is bad place they definitely dont look like they are raking it in find a somebody else to do a witch hunt on I hope to god they dont touch dew sanctuary they absolutely love every animal and would do anything for them so you the petitioner stop being such a petty ass witch. On a witch hunt
Personally I am not on a witch hunt. I am just looking at the wider picture and the long term aspects of these private zoos. They are for humankind’s delectation not for the benefit of animals.
I agree with you whole heartly….I have two horses and the feed for them is crazy. Try feeding all of the animals they are feeding and caring for.
Exactly! Without some sort of government grant, how are they caring for them properly.
You all are fucking idiots, they are keeping animals alive…everybody that does not agree should go jump off a bridge head first 🙂
Greg, I afraid you are uneducated and you take a simplistic view. You are a simpleton and you don’t understand the more complex issues surrounding this topic. Sorry to be rude but you opened the door to it in being rude yourself.
These are homeless animals that can’t be let go in the wild….money needs to be made…they have to eat…these people have been doing it for years for love of animals…I agree with Greg…and I am not a simpleton
I take your point but it is human-centric by which I mean it is centred on humans and not on the welfare of wild animals on the planet for the long term. You are not thinking in an enlightened way but a conventional way, dogmatically.
You know what needs to happen here all of you tree hugging hippies need to stop bothering someone that defended the freedom for you to act stupid. That is right I am talking about Bob Miner. He is a Marine Veteran. I for one would like to see the show stay on for the simple fact that they are saving animals. As for all you others you can kiss my veteran butt and yes I am a veteran so I stand next to Bob on this.
Hi Anthony. Thanks for commenting. Please try and be a bit more polite next time – if there is a next time! I am not a “tree hugging hippie”. I simply expressing my viewpoint and I take a very wide, long term viewpoint in the best interests of animals. Zoos of all kinds are models of failure. Your viewpoint is very conservative, narrow and reactionary. I suppose that is what we would expect from a veteran.
Your dirogetory remarks about veterans was very uncalled for unless you have faught for this country I would suggest you keep your low grade opinions to yourself and as far as your witch hunt against dew haven is concerned that is all this is you and your group of people need to look harder at the overall picture and stop being so narrow minded.
Being a vet just means you have done your job. That’s what they sign up for and get paid for. And what sort of vet is he? Where did he fight? Did he fight? If he fought in Vietnam that was madness. If he fought in Iraq, that was a complete failure and not fighting for your country as you state. If he fought in Afghanistan, that was a complete waste of time and not fighting for your country. So please spare me the preaching. My opinions are high grade and thoughtful. I don’t think yours are.
I am not engaged in a witch hunt. I am simply expressing an opinion. You really are stupid, ignorant and reactionary.
Your need to call people names is extremely low grade how anyone can take anything you say seriously is beyond me you seem like an intelligent man but when you stoop to calling people names it is a very childish thing to do.i still say look a bit harder at the overall picture.
This “vet” insulted me. Do you recognise that? I don’t take kindly to that. Surprised?
I see that his reply was rude I don’t debate that my remark was due to what u said about all veterans and what is going on with Dew Haven I don’t feel it is necessary to call people names we are all adults we should act that way if we want people to take us seriously I am sorry I do not agree with your opinions and I still think everyone involved in this needs to look harder at the overall picture.
You can disagree with me. That is fine. As for being rude to him, I don’t care because I am at an age where I don’t care anymore and if someone insults me he’ll get it back. I don’t take insults anymore. Anyway what I wrote was factually correct.
Mr. Broad, may I suggest you restate your answer. You should care @ any age what people say or think about you. If they insult you so what, it is nothing to get upset about. Look at how people treated the creator of everything that makes up the world and the universe. The Man/God Jesus Christ.
Thanks Linda. I don’t care what people think about me. I really don’t. I am happy about myself and my behavior and character.