 |
|||||||
| Home |
Tours |
Wildlife | Our region | Prices | About
Araucaria |
Contact
us |
Blog |
Animal
welfare and wildlife tourism
See also ecotourism,
wildlife
conservation and environmental
education
webpages on welfare of wild animals local help for injured and orphaned wildlife
Anyone who has known
the friendship of a dog cannot doubt that
non-human animals share some of our feelings.
It's impossible to know exactly what they feel, but pleasure, pain, excitement, fear, anger, jealousy and affection appear to fom a normal part of the lives of many creatures. Attempts to explain their behaviour while denying such sensations are often convoluted and unconvincing.
A interesting discussion can be found here on animal consciousness and feelings.
Animal welfare is a separate issue which recognizes the well-being of individual animals, whjether or not there is a conservation issue involved.
Conservation and welfare usually do go hand in hand, but
some decisions however are
difficult.
If an animal has been caught by a native predator but still alive and suffering, do we leave the predator to tis meal or intervene to end the animal's pain? We do interfere in circumstances where the suffering threatens to be prolonged, such as if the predators are ants and it looks like the animal will take a long time to die but obviously still conscious. An animal bitten by a venomous snake on the other hand will soon succumb, and the snake does need a meal.
ALthough we do not normally feed any wildlife, if a long drought or a fire has left a shortage of resources, we would consider offering appropriate food and water to help them through a tough spell. After all, our own species has removed much wildlife habitat, so if there is a problem in one site they can not always simply move to another.
We help common animals - galahs, rainbow lorikeets, brushtail possums, noisy miners etc. - that are injured as well as rare ones, just as we would also help an injured dog or horse: they are still animals capable of suffering, regardless of conservation value.
Even though common animals such as eastern grey kangaroos or brushtail possums may not incur any conservation problems through being disturbed, we don't wish to cause distress by separating mothers from joeys or deterring the animals from using their favourite feeding grounds. So in the interests of both conservation and animal welfare, we generally aim to leave all animals doing whatever they were doing when we first sighted them.
Animals found injured
on the road, young animals obviously separated from parents etc.
are taken to carers or to a local veterinary
surgeon. Snakes,
lizards and turtles may not show their feelings as clearly as mammals
and birds but this is no reason to think they do not suffer, and
they are also quickly taken to vets or carers if injured or ill.
We have in the past also cared for injured and orphaned animals ourselves, but our erratic schedules with the tourism business make this very difficult.
We are members of Bat Conservation and Rescue and the Queensland Wildife Rehabilitation Council. The Scenic Rim Regional Council has privided us with a tall ladder (held under the name of Scenic Rim Wildlife) - available for use by other rescuers, as Darren and Ronda have had probems with reaching fruitbats stuck in cocos palms.
The wildlife parks we
visit on our tours have an excellent reputation both in animal welfare
and conservation. Some of our guests have an aversion to keeping any
animal in captivity, but conservation breeding can help keep a
highly-endangered species going until such time as we can
adequately protect and restore their habitat an re-introduce them to
the wild (I prefer walking without crutches, but if I have a
badly-injured foot I appreciate the crutches until it heals). It also
provides a good chance for people to have a close-up
look and get to know and care about animals they may never see in the
wild. Many animals do appear to adapt very readily to life in
captivity as long as conditions are good.
We have refused work experience or employment to more than one person showing callousness towards animals (including invertebrates - swatting flies is acceptable, but a prospective employee who caught a fly, pulled its wings off, put it down and said "now let's see you fly" was not showing the kind of attitude we welcome here).
We do not buy products that are known to involve cruelty to animals or major conservation problems. We do not for instance buy palm oil products (it would be possible to harvest palm oil in a way that is environmentally sustainable and in keeping with animal welfare, but the continued encroachment on native forests results in the decline and suffering of orangutans and other tropical Asian species and it is often unclear as t whether the palm oil in a particular product is from a sustainable source), or egg or meat products that are not free-range. We haven't eaten pig products for years because of the tiny enclosures these very active-minded animals are restricted to throughout their lives, but have now found a source of RSPCA-approved free-range pig products, with a couple of outlets in Brisbane.
webpages on welfare of wild animals local help for injured and orphaned wildlife
The feelings of animals
Anyone who has known
the friendship of a dog cannot doubt that
non-human animals share some of our feelings. It's impossible to know exactly what they feel, but pleasure, pain, excitement, fear, anger, jealousy and affection appear to fom a normal part of the lives of many creatures. Attempts to explain their behaviour while denying such sensations are often convoluted and unconvincing.
A interesting discussion can be found here on animal consciousness and feelings.
Conservation and animal welfare
Wildife conservation focuses on preserving species and not interfering with natural processes.Animal welfare is a separate issue which recognizes the well-being of individual animals, whjether or not there is a conservation issue involved.
Conservation and welfare usually do go hand in hand, but
some decisions however are
difficult. If an animal has been caught by a native predator but still alive and suffering, do we leave the predator to tis meal or intervene to end the animal's pain? We do interfere in circumstances where the suffering threatens to be prolonged, such as if the predators are ants and it looks like the animal will take a long time to die but obviously still conscious. An animal bitten by a venomous snake on the other hand will soon succumb, and the snake does need a meal.
ALthough we do not normally feed any wildlife, if a long drought or a fire has left a shortage of resources, we would consider offering appropriate food and water to help them through a tough spell. After all, our own species has removed much wildlife habitat, so if there is a problem in one site they can not always simply move to another.
We help common animals - galahs, rainbow lorikeets, brushtail possums, noisy miners etc. - that are injured as well as rare ones, just as we would also help an injured dog or horse: they are still animals capable of suffering, regardless of conservation value.
Even though common animals such as eastern grey kangaroos or brushtail possums may not incur any conservation problems through being disturbed, we don't wish to cause distress by separating mothers from joeys or deterring the animals from using their favourite feeding grounds. So in the interests of both conservation and animal welfare, we generally aim to leave all animals doing whatever they were doing when we first sighted them.
Injured and orphaned animals
Animals found injured
on the road, young animals obviously separated from parents etc.
are taken to carers or to a local veterinary
surgeon. Snakes,
lizards and turtles may not show their feelings as clearly as mammals
and birds but this is no reason to think they do not suffer, and
they are also quickly taken to vets or carers if injured or ill. We have in the past also cared for injured and orphaned animals ourselves, but our erratic schedules with the tourism business make this very difficult.
We are members of Bat Conservation and Rescue and the Queensland Wildife Rehabilitation Council. The Scenic Rim Regional Council has privided us with a tall ladder (held under the name of Scenic Rim Wildlife) - available for use by other rescuers, as Darren and Ronda have had probems with reaching fruitbats stuck in cocos palms.
Pest animals
South American cane toads on our property are disposed of as swiftly and with as little trauma as possible for the sake of the local wildlife, many of which are poisoned by eating them. We cannot understand the view that these animals somehow deserve to be "punished'' for being here and that a slow and painful death for them is acceptable - they never asked to come here, and their pain is presumably no less real than that of native frogs.Other animal welfare considerations
We have refused work experience or employment to more than one person showing callousness towards animals (including invertebrates - swatting flies is acceptable, but a prospective employee who caught a fly, pulled its wings off, put it down and said "now let's see you fly" was not showing the kind of attitude we welcome here).
We do not buy products that are known to involve cruelty to animals or major conservation problems. We do not for instance buy palm oil products (it would be possible to harvest palm oil in a way that is environmentally sustainable and in keeping with animal welfare, but the continued encroachment on native forests results in the decline and suffering of orangutans and other tropical Asian species and it is often unclear as t whether the palm oil in a particular product is from a sustainable source), or egg or meat products that are not free-range. We haven't eaten pig products for years because of the tiny enclosures these very active-minded animals are restricted to throughout their lives, but have now found a source of RSPCA-approved free-range pig products, with a couple of outlets in Brisbane.
Sample of web pages on welfare of wild animals, including some debates. See for instance:
- pages from the journal Animal People
- a pdf of an article by Chris West, director of Adelaide Zoo, on animal welfare and wildlife conservation, including some conflicts between these
- Seminar by RSPCA Convergence or conflict: Animal welfare in wildlife management and conservation.
- Animal rescue organizations and permits in South Australia
- Wildlife friendly fencing (many wild creatures are badly injured each year on fences)
- Jane Goodall Institute (has both welfare and conservation aspects)
Sites
related to helping local wildlife include:
- RSPCA wildlife rescue - CALL 1300 ANIMAL
- Wildcare Australia
- ONARR (Orphaned Native Animal Raise &
Release Association Inc
- WIRES (NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and
Education Service Inc)
- Bat Conservation and Rescue, Brisbane
- Wildlife Warriors
hospital at Adelaide Zoo
- Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Veterinary Hospital
- Helping wildlife following wildfire. Zoos Victoria
- Queensland Wildife Rehabilitation Council