I'm not a fan of zoos on principle. But I know there are good zoos and bad zoos. Unfortunately I think there are way more bad zoos than good ones. But even for a bad zoo, this is awful. The Franklin Park Zoo, a Boston institution that has drawn generations of city and suburban families, might be forced to close its doors and possibly euthanize some of its animals as a result of the deep budget cuts imposed by Governor Deval Patrick, zoo officials said Friday. MORE

The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) has proposed that the Ministry exempt JAZA's members from the current requirement to register as animal handlers with local authorities. If JAZA member zoos and aquariums (89 zoos and 67 aquariums) are not registered as animal handlers under the Act, there is no other Japanese law that would oversee the operation of JAZA member institutions.The regulation of zoos would be the responsibility of JAZA itself. MORE

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Not only is Toronto closing its elephant exhibit, but the City Council voted to send the remaining elderly elephants to the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary instead of another zoo. zoos canada animal sanctuary toronto elephantsThis is excellent news. MORE

Dr. Clement Lanthier, Calgary Zoo president and CEO (is this a corporation??) It's off the table until somebody comes to the zoo and says, I want this and I'm willing to pay," said Lanthier. Lanthier doesn't hide his contempt for animal rights groups who lash out, without considering the role zoos play in conservation. One thing for sure -- all of the animals in the zoo will die eventually," said Lanthier. "We MORE

Maybe the Beijing Zoo should start protecting the panda more so it doesn't have to protect itself from these idiots. Tags: zoos pandas china The tourist was trying to retrieve his child's toy. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It's the third visitor the panda has bitten. MORE

Coincidentally, last night was a board meeting for our homeowner's association, and though I wasn't on the agenda there's always time for homeowner comments about, say, the petting zoo and pony rides that are scheduled for the spring "BBQ" ( here 's part one of this story). I printed pages of information about petting zoos from the Internet, mostly about health risks but also about animal treatment. MORE

She is the lone elephant at the Edmonton Zoo in Alberta, Canada. Tags: zoos animal sanctuary elephants Here's an update on the battle to release the Lucy the Elephant to a sanctuary. MORE

Here is an adorable video of Knut as a cub: Knut was on the cover of Vanity Fair, his 4th birthday party was attended by 250 people, and he was known as “The Star of the Berlin Zoo&# ! The little polar bear that captured the attention and hearts of so many has passed away. MORE

War has erupted between Toronto Zoo elephant keepers and the animal rights group helping to co-ordinate a move of three aging elephants to a California sanctuary. Woodyer said last week a trainer would be welcome on the trip, which follows council’s vote to override a zoo board decision to first look for an accredited zoo as a new home for Iringa, 42; Toka, 41; and Thika, 31. zoos canada animal sanctuary toronto elephantsExcepted from the Toronto News. MORE

He was the cute little polar bear whose birth at the Berlin Zoo was so controversial because his mother rejected him. Tags: zoos knut Germany polar bear PETA We're talking about Knut the polar bear. He was raised by a trainer. PETA Germany's position is that he should be castrated so he doesn't mate with his cousin Giovanna. She's here temporarily for companionship, but the group is concerned. Check out a couple of the pictures in this story. How suggestive! MORE

On Tuesday, state media reported that dozens of tigers and other endangered animals had died of malnutrition over the past two years at the Northern Forest Zoo in the Chinese city of Harbin. The report follows the news in March that 11 rare Siberian tigers had starved to death within a few months at the Shenyang Forest Wild Animal Zoo in northeast China. Tags: zoos tigers china MORE

Another animal dies at the Calgary Zoo and more questions are being raised about their practices. I don't track zoos, but this seems like an unusually high number of casualties. The Calgary Zoo is again under scrutiny as details emerged Friday about how a capybara, a species of giant South American rodent, died after becoming caught in a hydraulic door last weekend as it was being moved from one area to another. Tags: zoos welfare violations animal welfare MORE

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Remember Knut the polar bear at the Berlin Zoo? Doerflein was summoned to the office of Berlin Zoo director Bernhard Blaskiewitz and told that he would no longer be caring for Knut. Tags: knut zoo Germany polar bear Well, his keeper died and it sounds like a very sad story. He played with Knut, swam with him, and strummed Elvis Presley songs on his guitar to lull him to sleep. MORE

A private zoo operator in Taiwan cross-bred lions and tigers, resulting in three "liger" cubs. Tags: zoos taiwan tigers lion endangered species One died and the other two were seized for sheltering at a research institution. Both species are endangered and it is illegal to cross breed them. From Focus Taiwan. The Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) said Huang, who possesses an array of wildlife, should be dealt with harshly to deter others from copying the behavior. MORE

Along with about 200 Los Angeles Zoo employees, children and community members gathered today at City Hall, rock guitarist Slash pledged his support for completing the zoo’s Pachyderm Forest. Some animal-rights activists said the area still would not provide enough roaming room, and Los Angeles City Councilman Tony Cardenas suggested that the zoo’s lone Asian elephant be sent instead to the Performing Animal Welfare Society, a sanctuary in San Andreas. MORE

In Defense of Animals has taken up the cause of Lucky the elephant, the only elephant at the San Antonio Zoo, alleging poor conditions and emotional distress. She has been at the San Antonio Zoo for 47 years. Tags: zoos animal cruelty Texas elephants What amazes me is Lucky's age.49 years old. Is this right? MORE

She is the sole elephant at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Tags: zoos PETA elephants They are trying to get Lucy the Elephant moved to a sanctuary. There's a video available here too. MORE

The Supreme Court of Canada could be getting involved in the battle over the fate of an ailing elephant in an Edmonton zoo. Every day that Lucy spends at the Valley Zoo, her condition continues to deteriorate," Jeffrey Kerr, a lawyer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said Wednesday. zoos canada elephantsCould be. Excerpted from CTV News. MORE

An article in today's Seattle Times about Woodland Park Zoo's attempts over the last 20 years to breed elephants. The zoo claims it's to preserve the species. seattle zoo woodland park zoo captive breeding elephantsVery controversial with organizations such as In Defense of Animals, PETA and the Northwest Animal Rights Network. They say it's cruel. MORE

PETA is trying to prevent more animals going to the Manila Zoo. Tags: animal welfar zoo PETA phillipines They are working with local animal welfare groups on this issue. Joining PETA as the petition’s signatories are the Animal Kingdom Foundation Inc. MORE

Legendary game show host Bob Barker says it will cost $200,000 to move three elephants from the Toronto Zoo to a California sanctuary, and he doesn't mind paying for it himself. zoos canada animal sanctuary toronto elephantsI hope, when I reach their age, I'm as active and effective as Bob Barker and Betty White are in the animal rights movement. Excerpted from CBC News. MORE

An animal rights group has called for a federal investigation into the death of an elephant at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The Northern California-based In Defense of Animals called for the Department of Agriculture, which does inspections of zoos, to investigate Umoya's death. This elephant's shocking death is another tragic example of how elephants suffer in inadequate and artificial zoo exhibits," said Catherine Doyle, elephant campaign director for the group. MORE

A farm-animal breeder who ran what a prosecutor called "the zoo from hell" was convicted Tuesday of animal cruelty. At the time of the raid, Rockland County prosecutor Anthony Dellicarri described the property as "kind of like a petting zoo gone out of control" and "the zoo from hell.". And people wonder why I'm so disappointed by humans. MORE

He was storing hundreds of stones to throw at visitors at the Furuvik Zoo. Keepers at Furuvik Zoo found that the chimp collected and stored stones that he would later use as missiles. Tags: zoos chimpanzees Further, the chimp learned to recognise how and when parts of his concrete enclosure could be pulled apart to fashion further projectiles. The findings are reported in the journal Current Biology. MORE

San Antonio Zoo (Texas) Edmonton Valley Zoo (Canada), Buttonwood Park Zoo (Mass.), Central Florida Zoo (Fla.), Niabi Zoo (Ill.), Topeka Zoo (Kan.), Honolulu Zoo (Hawaii), Wildlife Safari (Ore.), York's Wild Kingdom Zoo (Maine) tied with Southwick's Zoo (Mass.), Pittsburgh Zoo's ICC (Penn.). San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Calif.) I'm surprised that Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle didn't make it. zoos elephants MORE

Like a "BBQ, pony rides and a petting zoo!" When I started thinking about trying to get the association to cancel the pony rides and petting zoo (which are often part of one business as a quick Google search of " traveling petting zoo " will demonstrate), my several-year vegan husband said, "What's the use? I might be able to nix the petting zoo, and maybe even the pony rides, but the "BBQ" will remain untouched. MORE

A jaguar died during a routine procedure at the Brevard Zoo. Tags: zoos jaguar florida MORE

It's bad enough to send animals to zoos, but to a zoo in Baghdad?? Tags: zoos iraq No way. It makes me sick thinking about the animals already there (numbering 1,500 including lions and tigers.). MORE

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The Smithsonian recently produced a behind-the-scenes YouTube video with Mike Maslanka, head nutritionist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, as he talks about what it takes to feed 2,000 animals from 400 different species 365 days a year. MORE

We've written about the Calgary Zoo here before. To many people, the number of animal fatalities at the Calgary Zoo in newer years seemed very high. A hippo passed away following a long, horrible transfer from another zoo. A study released by the associations that accredit zoos across North America said that the occurrence of deaths was not a fluke. Woodyer wanted Lanthier to quit and for the zoo’s accreditation to be taken away. MORE

The Baghdad Zoo rakes in some more animals. Unlike rhesus monkeys, patas are not considered desirable for research, and there has been little demand for either from zoos — until now. I am no fan of zoos, especially in an unstable country like Iraq. Tags: zoos baghdad primates Puerto Rico is using it as a dumping ground for "nuisance" monkeys. MORE

Things have been tough at the San Francisco Zoo after Tatiana the Siberian tiger attacked those three people in 2007. Here's an article that explains the hard times the Zoo has faced since then. The attacks led to intense scrutiny from the city and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which threatened to yank the zoo's accreditation. The zoo's budget fell into the red as it tried to recover. Tags: zoos california san francisco tigers MORE

Lilly Tomlin is in Seattle and spoke out about the conditions of elephants at the Woodland Park Zoo on behalf of the Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN). Addressing supporters and the media at the Phinney Ridge Neighborhood Center, Tomlin said elephants in zoos across the country are suffering in confinement. Tags: zoos elephants MORE

But, of course, this is really all because of some extremists who want to close down all zoos. In announcing the expert panel, zoo CEO Clement Lanthier also came out swinging Saturday, defending the reputation of his facility, calling much of the criticism “unsubstantiated or unfair,” and adding the review will reassure Calgarians about the quality of the institution. “To The latter comment is in reference to Zoocheck Canada , a zoo watchdog demanding the independent investigation. MORE

The zoo keepers at the Toronto are desperately trying to get the City Council to reconsider its decision to move three aging elephants to a sanctuary. canada zoo animal sanctuary toronto elephantsThey presented the Council with a petition with 1,100 signatures. MORE

A Sumatran female at the Taman Rimbo Zoo was drugged by poachers, slaughtered and harvested for her parts. Tags: zoos wildlife crime poaching tigers indonesia Tigers are not safe anywhere. Just awful. MORE

Unexpected article on the aging zoo in Buenos Aires. argentina zoo buenos airesSounds like it needs some dire help. MORE

I live in Seattle where Woodland Park Zoo is located. On the other hand, Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants says they are not well-treated and should be in a sanctuary. Elephants need to roam and I don't particularly like having any animal gawked at in a zoo.but I don't really know if Woodland Park is worse than any other zoo. Tags: conservation seattle woodland park zoo elephants endangered species I just don't know what to think. MORE

The opportunities for those seeking a zoological profession include: Working at zoos or aquariums. Working at zoos as curators where they are responsible for acquiring animals, either through buying them from other zoos or overseeing breeding programs. MORE

Elephants born in European zoos die at much younger ages than those bred in protected spaces, says a new study that's adding fuel to an already fractious debate over the welfare of the animals in captivity. But zoo supporters dismiss the claims outright, arguing that competing studies have shown that captive elephants have life spans similar to those of animals living in the wild. Tags: zoos captivity elephants Do elephants born outside of captivity live longer? MORE