| Q. |
Why do you keep animals in captivity? |
| A. |
The animals in our care are captively bred and not able
to hunt or defend themselves in the wild. Over 90% of
the animals in our care are socialized and do not have
their natural fear of humans. This could potentially further
cause them harm by cars, hunters, etc. At Vanishing Species,
we strive to provide a safe, healthy, care-free life for
each of our animals. |
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|
| Q. |
Why do you use animals in shows? |
| A. |
American students are struggling to keep up with the
rest of the world in math and science. (See Wildlife
Education for more details.) We strive to impart
our enthusiasm and love of animals and science to children
of all ages in the hopes of improving understanding,
care, and conservation of our natural world. Our bedrock
principle is best summed up by conservationist Baba
Dioum:
"In the end we will all conserve
only what we love,
love only what we understand, and we will
only understand what we are taught."
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|
| Q. |
Do your animals ever bite or scratch people? |
| A. |
Absolutely--us that is! Any animal, including humans,
can bite and/or scratch. However, our handlers are carefully
and methodically trained how to minimize bites and scratches
to them and completely protect the public from injury
without pain, stress, or discomfort to the animals. |
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|
| Q. |
Do you drug/sedate your animals for shows? |
| A. |
Absolutely not! Our attitude has always been that any
animal that must be sedated to be exhibited or handled
simply shouldn't be exhibited or handled. |
| |
|
| Q. |
Where do you get your funding? |
| A. |
We work for it! Our educational programs and other services
are reasonably priced and we perform 20-25 of them per
month. In addition people from all over the US contribute
to Vanishing Species through donations of money, labor,
food and materials. |
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|
| Q. |
Are you government sponsored? |
| A. |
We do not currently pursue government funds because
these types of grants can change or disappear from administration
to administration. If you would like to learn how to help
us, please visit our Help Us section
of the website. |
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|
| Q. |
How do I get an exotic animal (big cat, wolf, lizard,
snake, bird, etc.) as a pet?
|
| A. |
We don't recommend exotics as pets. However, if you
have your heart set on an unusual pet, read our Exotic
Pet Starting Guide and Checklist.
|
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|
| Q. |
Why don't you fight against people having wild animals
as pets? |
| A. |
While we don't encourage exotic pets for just anyone,
there are a small group of people in the world who want
to care for an unusual animal and who have or want to
get the experience, resources, and other means necessary
to safely and responsibly care for their animal(s). It
is in the best interests of us, captive animals, and the
public at large to see that these people are not hindered,
but encouraged to take all the necessary steps to ensure
everyone's safety and the animal(s) well-being. |
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|
| Q. |
Do you sell your animals? |
| A. |
We are always on the hunt for good homes for rescues
that do not work well with our educational programs, which
is our primary focus. However, we are not a pet store
or breeder. |
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|
| Q. |
Do you breed? |
| A. |
We selectively breed our animals, particularly our carnivores,
for our education programs. Rescues can be dangerous to
expose to the public unless they arrive at our facility
very early in their life. This is because our handlers
have not had the opportunity to develop a bond with the
animal from an early age. We also do not know their life's
history--for example, a rescued animal that was abused
with a rake by his previous owner may have an understandable
fear of rakes. This can lead to tragic results in a public
setting, if we don't know about it. |
