Criticism Directed at Longleat for Importing Koalas for Profit
The conservation hype should not fool visitors to animal attractions.
The Born Free Foundation criticized Longleat Safari Park in October 2018 for importing five southern Koalas from eastern Australia, half way around the world, to stock its new “Koala Creek”. Longleat has strongly denied that this was a money-making venture and insists that it is a vital conservation and scientific project. However, it’s strange that they also acquired two wombats along with some Pottoroos for the new Koala creek” which is located next to Giant Otters and Crocodiles. It did wonders for increasing footfall, and public awareness of the park.
Conservation has already caused the death of one animal.
This enterprise was a disaster, including its timing for opening on March 29. It was not a coincidence that the Easter school holidays fell in March. Longleat was quick to promote and advertise the attraction as being the only place to see Koalas in the UK. This is similar to Chinese renting out Giantpandas to zoos in order to increase their revenue.
A female Koala tragically passed away shortly after arriving from kidney failure. It was fortunate that Dennis wasn’t the only male, otherwise the “breeding program” would have failed. Dennis was deemed too young for breeding, so a “rare” 12 year old male Koala named Burke who is a proven breeder had to travel 10,000 miles to a Japanese zoo. It would seem that Dennis and Burke have not made much progress in the fight to save koalas.
The question is also whether the Koala population in Australia is “vulnerable”, as Australian authorities are alleged to have killed 700 Koalas during euthanasia culls near Melbourne’s coastal bushland because of “overpopulation” and “for the good of the animals”. Many sources claim that Koalas are “strong” throughout southern Australia. There are also dozens of sanctuaries and zoos in Australia, as well as wildlife parks, attractions and zoos.
Koalas are not from the real park, but rather a pseudo-wildlife park called Cleland Park. This is one of only a few places in Australia that allows you to cuddle and manhandle these shy and sedate animals. Most other similar businesses are now phasing out this behaviour.
Longleat: Lions and Tigers are killed.
Longleat is not the only place that has been criticized. In 2014, The Mail on Sunday claimed that the park had a breeding program for lions to make sure there were always cubs on display and that in the past they had killed both adults and cubs. Amur, a female tiger killed in February 2019, died after a fight between two other tigers. Two other female tigers also died early deaths: one of them from cancer while the other had a heartattack caused by a routine operation. The tigers were part of a breeding program that produced two cubs for 2019. However, the deaths are not helping to increase the tiger population.
The zoo conservation programme is not always what it seems and animals are often the victims of research. Zoos prefer to conceal their educational and conservation credentials than admit they are primarily part of the entertainment business. For this reason, it’s not surprising that people might approach such projects with cynicism and see them as unethical. I hope everyone who visits these attractions will not be misled by the conservation hype, and instead appreciate what animals go through to provide an entertaining day.