| 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. |
|
|
| 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."
|
|
|
| Q. |
Do
your animals ever bite or scratch people? |
| A. |
Absolutely.
Any animal, including humans, can bite and/or scratch.
However, our handlers are carefully and methodically
trained how to protect themselves and the public
without pain, stress, or discomfort to the animals.
|
|
|
| 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. |
|
|
| 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. |
| |
|
| 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.
|
|
|
| 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. |
|
|
| 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. |
