Listen. It does not matter what kind of student u are. The minute u sit in the back u have no idea whatâs going on and the minute u sit in front u suddenly ask every dumbass question that flits into ur brain. We are ruled by the Seats and it cannot be changed, only overcome.
you know how in martial arts movies they sometimes put powder on the actors and stuff to make the hits more visually impactful?? all iâm sayin is it would probably look cool as hell if two chinchillas started beating each other up
Many "gold-standard" zoos and aquariums worldwide let visitors pet, feed, and take selfies with animals, a new report finds.
I know a lot of people are seeing stuff about this report, and I wanted to provide some context for the apparent politics involved in it for folk to think about while Iâm dissecting the full thing. So Iâm not going to comment on the allegations - Iâm still doing my research, because theyâre classing a huge range of types of training and interactions into a single category of âabuseâ - but thereâs some industry politics / purposeful spins on messaging that itâs worth being aware of.Â
1. WAZA (the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) is not an accreditation body. What that means is that they do not oversee how facilities function, do not inspect member zoos, and donât promulgate standards that must be met. Theyâre a membership group: basically a fancy professional club. Saying a zoo is âaccredited by Xâ tells you a lot more than saying âX zoo is a WAZA member.â The article kinda touches on it, but not in much detail. WAZA literally canât tell member zoos what to do.Â
2. WAZA does not have âindirect membersâ, which is the âcategoryâ World Animal Protection chose that results in such a high number of âassociated facilities.â WAZA has two relevant membership category types to this topic: regional associations and individual facilities. So the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Pan African Association of Zoological Gardens, Aquaria and Botanical Gardens, European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, South East Asian Zoos Association, etc, are all regional associations. These are the groups that are tasked with accrediting / regulating / promulgating standards for zoological facilities in their areas, and the actual organizations are WAZA members in their own right. Individual facilities can join WAZA as members (as long as theyâre also members in good standing with a regional association. But that doesnât mean that if AZA is a member of WAZA, and X zoo is an AZA-accredited facility, that X zoo is a member of WAZA. So when WAP says â75 percent of WAZAâs 1,241 membersâincluding those defined by WAP as âindirectâ members (zoos or aquariums that belong to WAZA-member associations)âoffer at least one animal-visitor interactionâ thatâs just⌠a mess. WAZA actually only has 400 members around the world (WAP says 281 direct facility members), and that includes the regional associations. What this tells us is that WAP isnât just looking to say âman, there are some zoos doing shit they shouldnât, letâs talk about itâ - theyâre directly attempting to target WAZA with this report, because they manipulated the data in order to make a big splashy statement and put pressure on the organization.Â
3. As far as I know, WAZA has never claimed to be the âgold standardâ for zoos. Thatâs language from the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums. WAZA /knows/ that not all facilities accredited by and involved with their regional associations are necessarily the best, but they use the relationship they have with those groups to help increase facility quality and animal care throughout those regions. Again, language has been picked by WAP thatâs /literally just not accurate/ to make WAZA look bad here: thereâs a difference between âa bunch of places associated with X membership group arenât greatâ and âthese facilities associated with a group that purports to be the gold standard arenât living up to it.â WAP has picked the latter messaging strategy, but WAZA hasnât ever claimed to be comprised of âthe best zoos.â (Again, thatâs AZA). WAZA instead says it â promotes cooperation between leading zoos, aquariums, national and regional associations, as well as with leading wildlife experts, academies, and universitiesâ and âprovides support for species-conservation management and husbandry of animals in human care, while encouraging the highest standards in member institutions.â The accurate language I can find is that WAZA sees itself as a âunifying organisation for the worldâs leading zoos and aquariums.â But, remember, âleadingâ is not the same as âgold standard.â If youâve got a zoo in an area with fairly sub-par animal care culture thatâs working really hard to grow above and beyond that, that can reasonably be called a âleadingâ zoo in that region.Â
4. Itâs pretty clear this is a specifically targeted campaign, because when you go to the report page, all the âact nowâ messaging is about contacting the leadership of WAZA and AZA. Now, the report said it identified issues at facilities all over the world - and only /one/ of the facilities âof most concernâ is actually in the US (SW San Antonio), and itâs not even actually a member of WAZA. So why arenât they encouraging people to contact EAZA, or JAZA, or any of the relevant accrediting bodies associated with those other places? Because this is a report targeted at a Western audience and that (so far) messaging about appears to be targeting what American anti-zoo groups care about. For example, the report brings up the fact that captive lions in the South Africa zoological industry are known to be feeding into black market trade - but it doesnât say you should advocate there, no, it want readers to take action by specifically contacting AZA - a group which has very little power to influence the behavior of zoological facilities in other countries.Â
5. This report is based on âdesktop researchâ - a term which is never defined, but which Iâm pretty sure means âwe googled itâ - and 12 site visits. Theyâre alleging animal abuse at 900 zoos around the world because they looked them up on google. Yes, you can find a lot of information on google, but if youâre an international non-profit putting out a report that youâre hoping will influence the shape of animal use and animal care at facilities around the globe⌠it seems like youâd expect a better quality of research. Unless the focus is more sensationalized viral media, and not accurate scientific information.Â
6. Guess what? The report doesnât actually list the facilities and the practices WAP is alleging are abusive. It contains the 12 of âmost concernâ (the ones they actually visited) but past that, thereâs no data to look at. So cool, thereâs around 888 zoos out there that are doing practices this international non-profit thinks are bad enough to contact major media groups about ⌠but theyâre not going to actually tell us which ones, or why. Seems like a really great way to actually advocate for the welfare of the animals at those 800+ facilities, not giving the public any information on which to act.Â
Regardless of your feelings about any specific zoo or aquarium, or any specific animal use practice, itâs really important to be aware of how information is manipulated and misrepresented in order to encourage a specific emotional response or action from you. Iâll update about this whole situation once Iâve had time to fully study the report.Â
Before you get mad at your partner for not doing what you expect them to do, Stop and ask yourself âhave I ever communicated to them that I have this expectation?â If you have not, itâs unfair to expect them to read your mind.
So many arguments are saved by just opening your mouth and saying âhey hun, in the future can youâŚ.â Whether its articulating how you like to be loved, supported, or communicated with, you have to open your mouth. Your soul mate (IMO) isnât the person that just always knows what you need when you need it without you telling them. Your soul mate is the person who hears your needs and thinks âI have no problem doing that because I love this person with my whole heartâ
So check your attitude and open your mouth. Closed mouths donât get fed.
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