Canadian Animal Cruelty rears its Ugly head again

A RED kangaroo living in a cage the size of a garage at a Canadian zoo is about to change the animal cruelty laws of its adopted home.

Nicknamed Tyson, the tired and sick-looking Australian native has been languishing in a cage thousands of kilometres from home since 2001.
Normally able to travel at speeds of up to 48km/h and leap up to 9m in a single bound, the kangaroo has been restricted to hopping just a few metres in its small, dusty enclosure at Lickety-Split Ranch & Zoo in London, Ontario.

Let Canada know just how you feel about Tyson's suffering. Follow the links at the bottom of this story or join our Canadian kicking page here .

Locals say the roadside zoo's animals have suffered through an eight-month Canadian winter of snow storms and sub-zero temperatures.

But Tyson has only a metal shed for protection against the cold.

Donna O'Donnell, who lives nearby, said all the animals were kept outside in tiny metal cages during London's bitter chill.

"It snowed so hard one day, the weather closed down the whole city," Ms O'Donnell said.

"The conditions those animals survive in is just dreadful. I cannot go there. I would break down in tears."

Canadian animal activists are outraged at the kangaroo's appalling living conditions.

"For the past six years, Tyson has lived in a small, barren cage the size of a single-car garage, with just a patch of dirt and a metal shed to sleep in," Toronto-based World Society for the Protection of Animals campaigner Melissa Tkachyk said.

"There is absolutely nothing in the exhibit for stimulation and Tyson does not have enough room to hop like a normal kangaroo.

"Unfortunately, Tyson will probably have to endure these conditions for the remainder of his captive life, because Ontario has the weakest animal cruelty laws and zoo regulations in the country."

The kangaroo's plight has been the catalyst for a bill before the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, which would force zoos to close if they did not provide appropriate living conditions for the animals they kept.

More than 13,000 people have signed a petition in support of the bill, introduced last year by Liberal Party MP David Zimmer.

Locals and tourists – including one Australian – had contacted animal protection groups on numerous occasions concerned about Tyson's predicament, Ms Tkachyk said.

But when The Daily Telegraph rang zoo owner Shirley McElroy at her home, she sighed and hung up before any questions could be asked.

She did not answer numerous subsequent calls and had previously disconnected the direct line to the zoo after negative press coverage in the local media prompted a flurry of concerned phone calls.

The zoo has been closed over winter and will re-open next Thursday.

Ms Tkachyk said Ontario had 45 zoos, most of which were substandard.

Roadside zoos, in particular, kept animals in poor conditions and lacked the trained professional staff needed to care for them, leading to psychological and physical health problems.

A spokesman for the Canadian Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians said none of his vets had any business with Lickety-Split.

Red kangaroos, known by their scientific name macropus rufus, are the world's largest marsupial.

They are common in Australia, particularly in Queensland, live up to 18 years, and survive on grasses.

Register your disgust about Tyson's treatment. Have your say on our blog or email the Canadian High Commissioner Michael Leir at this address: cnbra@international.gc.ca

Comments

Anonymous said…
Man's inhumanity to man and animals
Anonymous said…
the only way to fight animal cruel cruelty in Zoos is to picket the Zoos

and persuade the visitors not to visit

it is all about commerce
USA animal rights activitists have been failry successful in promoting the concept that fur coats are stolen from animals

Man had fur coats too but the madison Avenue guys told us that hair shud be removed by shaving, waxing, etc

and so was born a whole new industry created by the MNC's

the cosmetics industry
a money spinner
Keshi said…
To be honest Vesty I find it disgusting that some Aussies eat Kangaroo meat!

Worse to be imprisoned like Tyson is!

Keshi.
Vest said…
It should not be difficult to pass legislation relating to the welfare of live zoological exhibits, unless the majority of govt votes came from the likes of members having pecuniary interests in these sordid roadside shows, which are displaying unnecessary hardship of creatures in their care.
Only licenced zoological exhibitors who agree to a random periodical inspection by qualified persons, should be allowed to remain in business.
Any member of govt not prepared to caste his vote favourably on this issue, should be publicly ostracized.
Vest said…
Keshi, there is far more kangaroo meat sold outside of Australia than within our shores.
Tribal indigenous people of Australia (Aborigines) have a history of Roo meat being a staple food, and there have been incidences where shonky meat purveyors have added it to lessen the costs of their hamburger *minced meat(*Ground)and most pet shops flog it around the Sydney area.
Keshi, it would not surprise me if there were other incidents of cruelty to animals within Australia that go unreported, although generally it is frowned upon by the general public.
Anonymous said…
This is just awful. Why do people do this?!

Have a great weekend Vest

xxx
Anonymous said…
if the aborogines eat kangaroo meat
it must be good

the tribal ppl are closest to nature

as a christian i believe God created the animals, the fishes in the sea and the birds in the sky as food for man
Jim said…
http://imnutsincaps.blogspot.com/2007/05/waving-goodbye-to-thousand-flies.html

a review of the book
Vest said…
jd's rose: Have a lovely weekend yourselves, and wishing the best for Jellybean.X

Anonymous: for me ; Kangaroo flesh would come under the 'no need' for greed section within my carnivorous activities, despite its gourmet attributes by some people, my taste buds and I have come to the conclusion that it belongs within a collection of several other miscellaneous belly fillers such as Snake Steak, Chitterlings, Frog legs, Pig and Bull Testicles and Curried Sheep's Eyeballs.
Jim said…
if u had to re-live your life again
wud u still go out to sea?

do u have any regrets?
i mean u had a lotta opportunities come your way which u declined becoz of dat monogamy disease

in India the guys who join the defence forces get paid peanuts

the Head of the Defence Forces - The President of India gets paid only Rs fifty thousand per month

his tenure is only 5 years wherein he enjoys all the perks of office

but after that what?
i believe the guys who join the defence forces are crazy or true patriots
Vest said…
Jim:
The very idea of a life at sea I find repulsive at this moment. Although it was thought provoking, educating and occasionally exhilarating in particular to the time I was single, but during the times of absence from my family in the latter years of my career I had become resolved with a total commitment to my spouse and family of which I am proud to say that even to this day is still ongoing after 54 years.
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much".
Vest said…
Jim: I.Rs50,000 at 34IRs to the oz dollar Jim thats AU$1,500.00 Or Equiv to, is less than the basic monthly pension paid to the aged persons in Australia.
But then it is all related to costs in either country.
Anonymous said…
H49jOY The best blog you have!
Anonymous said…
S0B2Rj write more, thanks.

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