I do have problems with people interacting with animals inappropriately. Of course everyone wants to get close to exotic animals and I'm no exception. We have pictures of us with a cheetah in Nairobi and on the
back of an elephant in Thailand. I always come away, though, with a vaguely dirty feeling, as if I've contributed to some sort of exploitation. It was the same with Monkey Island. We kayaked about 30 minutes to an island near our hotel in Thailand and brought some bananas. Macaques live there and wait on the beach for the hordes of tourists to deliver snacks. I was actually a bit nervous and suprised that other parents of small children didn't seem to be. Wild animals that are used to being around humans can be far more dangerous than those who haven't. And we've seen the damage that monkeys can do up close when we were in Tanzania. Of course, the kids loved the opportunity to hand a young monkey a treat. Noah was very nervous and just as the monkey reached for a cracker he jerked his hand back. The cracker fell in the water and the monkey had to go in and get it. He picked up the soggy cracker, stuffed it in his mouth, and then turned around and slapped Noah on the arm as if to say, "What a dork!" The monkey in the previous video was more than happy to jump on Cameron and proclaim himself the KING. It would be a short and mind-bogglingly quick move, though, from happy jumping monkey to angry biting monkey. I felt bad participating in it at the end.
back of an elephant in Thailand. I always come away, though, with a vaguely dirty feeling, as if I've contributed to some sort of exploitation. It was the same with Monkey Island. We kayaked about 30 minutes to an island near our hotel in Thailand and brought some bananas. Macaques live there and wait on the beach for the hordes of tourists to deliver snacks. I was actually a bit nervous and suprised that other parents of small children didn't seem to be. Wild animals that are used to being around humans can be far more dangerous than those who haven't. And we've seen the damage that monkeys can do up close when we were in Tanzania. Of course, the kids loved the opportunity to hand a young monkey a treat. Noah was very nervous and just as the monkey reached for a cracker he jerked his hand back. The cracker fell in the water and the monkey had to go in and get it. He picked up the soggy cracker, stuffed it in his mouth, and then turned around and slapped Noah on the arm as if to say, "What a dork!" The monkey in the previous video was more than happy to jump on Cameron and proclaim himself the KING. It would be a short and mind-bogglingly quick move, though, from happy jumping monkey to angry biting monkey. I felt bad participating in it at the end.Pets are also treated similarly very differently. Although I've posted about seeing dog hides here in China, it actually doesn't really bother me that much. It's startling to see a recognizable hide hanging somewhere, but it really is a cultural difference more about food and practicality. While I don't plan on eating dog, I don't really have a problem with a culture that does, and then uses the hide for to make something useful. I don't want to eat horse, either, and I love horses, but I don't really have a problem with people who would eat one. What's so sad he
re is casual attitude about pets. A post on our local e-group had someone asking where they could buy a cute cheap puppy at a dog market. Their 2 year old wanted a puppy so they wanted something young and small and not too much work because they'd be getting rid of it after a couple years when they left China. The person's writing and tagname indicated they were very likely Asian. They were blasted from every possible side by people (including me) about the irresponsibility and carelessness of treating a living animal like a disposable lighter. There are dog markets here, courtesy of hundreds of puppy mills, but we saw our first dog market in Bangkok, very accidentally.
re is casual attitude about pets. A post on our local e-group had someone asking where they could buy a cute cheap puppy at a dog market. Their 2 year old wanted a puppy so they wanted something young and small and not too much work because they'd be getting rid of it after a couple years when they left China. The person's writing and tagname indicated they were very likely Asian. They were blasted from every possible side by people (including me) about the irresponsibility and carelessness of treating a living animal like a disposable lighter. There are dog markets here, courtesy of hundreds of puppy mills, but we saw our first dog market in Bangkok, very accidentally.Again, Ava adored all the fluffy sweet puppies--you could get anything from a chihuahua to a St. Bernard, the perfect dog for a crowded city where the temperature never drops below 85. They all look fine, but are rife with all sorts of diseases and weaknesses that will render that little sweet thing one sick puppy. Shop after shop after shop hawked thses poor puppies--I think the worst were the other AMERICAN tourists who oohed and aahed over them and thought it was just wonderful how you could get all these puppies! So many to choose from and so cheap!
Of course if puppies aren't your thing, you could buy a crocodile (actually, probably a caimen). Or a 4 foot long iguana. Maybe a parrot--they had adults and crates and crates of baby parrots that didn't even have feathers yet. Or a baby squirrel. Animal trafficking is a big problem in Asia, so I think there's a good chance those animals were obtained from the wild. I don't think I'd have to ask too much at all to get myself a monkey or something else exotic.
To end on a more cheerful note, this is our rescued cat Mao with his fluffy white friend. Back in July on a pouring day we saw a small white kitten completely drenched and obviously homeless. Heartless mother that I am I would only let Cameron put it in the yard and said he could feed it. I figured it would be safer there, and I really don't want to take on an animal I'm not willing/able to move to a new country at some point. The kitten disappeared after 4 days. I thought I saw him this fall, but he was much too skittish to get close. I think this is the same cat. It's very pretty and not too skinny. We often have stray cats in our yard and we always put out a dish for them. This one has come several times and sleeps in the sun on that ledge or on a chair. Mao loves to go adventuring outside so I assume this is one of his buddies.
To end on a more cheerful note, this is our rescued cat Mao with his fluffy white friend. Back in July on a pouring day we saw a small white kitten completely drenched and obviously homeless. Heartless mother that I am I would only let Cameron put it in the yard and said he could feed it. I figured it would be safer there, and I really don't want to take on an animal I'm not willing/able to move to a new country at some point. The kitten disappeared after 4 days. I thought I saw him this fall, but he was much too skittish to get close. I think this is the same cat. It's very pretty and not too skinny. We often have stray cats in our yard and we always put out a dish for them. This one has come several times and sleeps in the sun on that ledge or on a chair. Mao loves to go adventuring outside so I assume this is one of his buddies.
2 comments:
There was an article in, I think, National Geographic recently about animal trafficking. I had no idea it was such big business! More profitable than drugs apparently!! One specific thing I remember is that some of the so-called zoos and wild animal breeding programs in Asia are simply a cover for animals that have been taken from the wild.
Apparently Southeast Asia is one of the worst places. Countries like Malaysia and Thailand are huge "hub" cities for transportation, so goods are brought in and through these areas. Border areas, too, esp. neaer Myanmar, are also quite notorious. It's one thing to know that things happen...another when you know you can actually see or purchase those things pretty easily!
Post a Comment