Okay, Limba , Canada's oldest elephant is not a United Church member, but apparently she is an adherent. In this photo she is standing in front of Trinity United Church in Bowmanville and an unnamed camel is right behind her. Every November a number of animals from the Bowmanville zoo take part in the Santa Claus parade in Bowmanville and it gives a rather exotic feel to the event. When one of our daughters was a teen she like that she could stay in bed and see the top of the elephant cruise past her window on parade day. Another daughter enjoyed the fact that one day as she ate her lunchtime pita in a downtown restaurant an elephant walked by.
Limba may not be well though, as a grapefruit size growth on her side indicates something is amiss, perhaps cancer. There was a handful of protesters on hand as the parade began, claiming that her presence was animal cruelty. We know that the Toronto Zoo sent its three elephants to a reserve in the States, thanks to Monty Hall's cheque book and a fair amount of political back-and-forth in city council. Recently the zoo has been moved to Council chambers.
I don't think that the animals have been treated cruelly at the Bowmanville Zoo. Limba is quite accustomed to human crowds and probably benefits from exercise the way people do even when they are ill. I wonder if this is the latest bandwagon (parade float?) for some people.
At the same time we have to wonder what we are doing by keeping animals in captivity for our amusement. Is it really God's intention that we incarcerate creatures? The time may be coming, and soon, that we realize this is an injustice which needs to be corrected. There was a time when humans from other cultures were paraded before crowds as objects of curiosity. People of colour were made to dance and sing and make music in demeaning ways. Now we consider this barbaric, and we know that people of faith led the way toward reform.
What are your thoughts on this? Has the time come to see zoos as an enterprise of another era? Is there too much of a fuss? Is liberating creatures an aspect of Christian justice or just the flavour of the day?
3 comments:
All of the money that is spent on setting up and maintaining zoos could be better spent in setting up sanctuaries in their natural homes, and producing movies for us to learn about them - or even take trips to see them, rather than crating them and transporting them to climates that are not natural to them. To deprive them of what is normal for them is not fair, just for the sake of our entertainment. If I had Bob Barker's millions, I might do the same as he did for the Toronto zoo elephants. We too often take for granted that these things are good for us, and never think of what is good for the animals. At the very least, we should be ensuring that animals in captivity are well cared for.
As a native Bowmanvillian, the elephant protest just strikes me as silly.
It's not that I'm against activism, but when you consider the host of other issues facing our town, and the number of divergent causes in our community aimed at improving the lives of PEOPLE that could benefit from the manpower presently being diverted to an ELEPHANT ...
You get the picture.
I agree with Ian....and there were many discussions floating around your old porch, David, last Saturday in this regard. Perhaps zoos aren't the ideal situation for animals but like you, I don't think Limba is abused in anyway. I believe her caregivers truly love her and I felt Limba responded positively to the roar of cheers that followed her that morning. (Poor Santa, couldn't compete)I guess in some way, it allows us to connect with God's creatures in a way we can't from books or movies.
Now, if I were going to protest on dollars better spent, I'd go after the 32 pet stores represented that parade their dogs around in tutus and other expensive finery. I can see NO benefit from that.
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