I am currently lucky enough to be temporary possession of a sattelite box (on loan from GM whilst he is in South Africa for Christmas) and I'm watching my most favourite channel ever - Animal Planet! There is a marathon on of a show called Wildlife SOS International, in which a vet from Surrey, UK has travelled to Australia and Thailand to check out the 'plight' of some species. This show has elicited some discussion between myself and MP.
It appears that the tourist trade in Thailand has resulted in a black market trade in wild animals such as tigers, elephants and some primate species for both use in the tourist and pet trade. There were images of elephants being restrained in a crush, unable to move, beaten by their 'trainers' and sleep deprived. The aim of which was to produce a very subdued, docile animal that could be taking into the heart of Bangkok (sold for up to $10,000 US mind you), so that these animals could be fed and ridden by tourists. And another of a zoo on the 6th or 7th floor of a high rise building that housed gorillas and such, in cement pens, fed on sweets and junk food by the tourists. Not to mention the Buddhist sanctuary where you are able to have your photo taken with one of the tame tigers - what they don't show is how these tigers are treated; tiger urine squirted in their faces, beaten, constantly chained... I frankly, was horrified and wanted to change the channel.
MP and I started discussing this and really, both us would love the chance to pat an elephant and ride on its back - who wouldn't! What an experience that would be (I know couple of people who have actually done this). But I am now more wary of anything touristy involving animals and not because of this show. After our trip to Jordan, and Petra in particular, I saw first hand the treatment of the horses and donkeys used, not to mention the council worker who picked up a pup by its hind leg... MP brought up the point however, that tourists often go to these places to experience the animals and what is that old saying 'supply and demand'... I don't think there will ever be a point in time when humans will completely cease all 'use' of animals. So, with this thought in mind, what I would like to see if a change in animal welfare - if the animal is treated well behind the scenes, well fed, good living conditions, no abuse and maybe even some love - then swallowing the pill of animals in the tourist industry will be much easier to swallow.
When the show moved to Australia however, I believe the story portrayed was extremely narrow. The host focused on the dingoes of Fraser Island and the culling of kangaroos near Broken Hill.
As Australian's we all know the difficulties that have sprung up between humans and dingoes and the attempts to reduce interactions between the two. I personally don't agree with the fence that has been erected, to me that is more about protecting the tourist industry from themselves then for consideration of the welfare of the animals. Seriously, when are people (aka tourists) going to take responsibility for themselves? Don't feed the animals, you have been warned, but you go and feed them anyway, you get bitten, blame the animal for doing what a wild animal does and now because of that, they are fenced in!! Hmmm.... There is something just not quite right about this.
Kangaroo's are another controversial issue. One the one hand they are iconic to Australia, on the other, they can be quite a pest. It is the lack of information, or maybe the better word is 'misinformation', that floats around regarding population numbers and numbers culled. Having actually lived in a couple of roo shooter towns, I have had a little experience with these people and really, they are just like the rest of us trying to make a living, although their industry is heavily regulated (as it should be, we are talking about native wildlife) and there are many ups and downs, closing of meatworks, loosing of major contracts by the Australian Government...
From the opposite end of the scale, one conservationist felt that a more wise use of these animals would be to create an tourist industry centred around them. One major flaw with this argument however - Australia is a very long way from most other countries, costing several thousand to fly here and then to travel into these outback places, a lot of tourists don't actually realise the vast distances they would have to travel.
So I realise this is a slightly different post to what I usually write, but since living overseas and experiencing different views on places in the world, including my home country. I think that it has opened my eyes somewhat, especially to the huge variations in some many areas - animal welfare and the value of humans, for example - and I hope that it makes me a more open minded person.
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