And I used to rail against that line of logic, but now it’s like you, you can create a good gorilla exhibit that is not, that is great for the animals, but doesn’t cost a fortune to create some stage set of the wild. I think it’s, and, and and… Read More
And let’s follow up. When a zoo spends multimillion dollars on a gorilla or elephant or a tiger exhibit and critics ask why this money is not used to help animals in the wild. Read More
You say what?… Read More
You know, would, would that money not be better spent protecting gorilla in the wild?… Read More
Are are, are there issues that elucidated some of them, are there other issues that you’d like to see zoos address in the future?… Read More
I think, I mean, I think the, the, probably the biggest one is that zoos, many zoos get, they talk up their, their contribution to conservation in, in whatever capacity, be it in, you know, breeding programs or, you know, funding research, field research or, you know, supporting a, a… Read More
I think the figures are obscene. I mean, and this is something that the, the anti zoo group have, have, have come up with that, you know, well you’re paying, you know, $10 million, which even these days is a, a minimal amount for a new gorilla exhibit. Read More
But now we have a situation where we are looking seriously at, okay, now, you know, the, I bought a book recently about dealing with geriatric zoo animals and it’s like we’re going backwards. Making every effort to keep old animals alive is actually contradictory to managing healthy populations of… Read More
And certainly the way I perceive old animals, I don’t see it as a good thing. I hope I’ve answered that question properly. Read More
Now we, you know, more recently where okay, right, is the welfare of the animals, is the environment they’re being kept in, is it challenging enough for the species concerned?… Read More
That was the, the real measuring stick. Read More
I think, I mean the, the one that I think initially caused me the most concern was that historically keepers were never listened to. You know, you were there to do the grunt work, you were not part of the decision making process or even able to make a contribution… Read More
And, and I’ve always been a, a key advocate, both of, of honesty and transparency about what we do. And in particular, if we’re going to manage animal populations long term, there are tricky subjects that we need to grab hold of with both hands. And, and I think the,… Read More
That’s not really been the case historically in, in the uk. But now we have a very discriminating zoo public. And as people now, they, they want and need permission to come to the zoo. So the zoo has to be a good place doing good things for people to… Read More
What issues caused you the most concern during your career and how do you see the future regarding those same issues?… Read More
What changes have you seen during your years in, in the zoo field regarding visitor attitudes?… Read More
Huh. I mean, certainly when I was first brought to zoos as a child visitor, which for me was the, the highlight of my year, certainly the uk the, the zoo visiting season opens on the Easter weekend. And so going to Edinburgh Zoo where I was as a young… Read More
And I said, right, what have you got?… Read More
And the keepers had done some drawings and I made sure that everything they wanted was incorporated in the plans I gave them. And it turns out everybody was really happy with it. ’cause I, I took what they had and made it easier because I’d been a zookeeper. I… Read More
Is there something else that you’d want there?… Read More