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.
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 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.
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