tdierikx

Marius became "more important" than a cow when his ancestors were taken from the wild to be used in breeding programmes supposedly set up to stop his kind from becoming extinct. T. Edited to correct idiot usage of wrong term - meant ancestors not descendants... *grin*

The fact remains that there was an offer to rehome this particular animal and allow it to live out its life being well looked after in another zoo... there was no real reason for it to have to be killed in the first place... except some inane "rule" that the people wanting to do the killing cited. There is no reason he couldn't have been desexed and allowed to live his life out somewhere else. T.

Do you think it's appropriate to milk the public for entry fees to see the cute baby animals they have bred - have the keepers name and form bonds with them - and then slaughter them for public "entertainment/education" a couple of years down the track? T.

Space needs to be a large consideration if you intend to breed/produce your own food for exotic carnivores... and many zoos just don't have the space necessary. If you are truly going to run a self sufficient zoo, I'd say you'd need rotating crop paddocks for the herbivores, plus plenty of room to breed and raise your meat stock for the carnivores... that means a shitload of space required, yes? Not to mention time and money to maintain same... T.

I also think it's going to take your OH longer to adjust to the fact that Hank hasn't got balls than it will for Hank... lol! T.

There's nothing wrong with losing your nuts - or wearing pink PJ's... I'm sure Hank is doing just fine with regards to both... except when you laugh and point at his pink pants... T.

I'd hate this to set a precedent of overbreeding in order to supply food for the carnivores... but I can see it happening under the current "rules" they are adamantly sticking to... Call me a cynic... Can you see them calling it "natural" food for the carnivores? Next up will be throwing live animals to the big cats so they can experience the natural instincts of the hunt... T.

Just remember to not feed him a full dinner afterwards... only top up what he hasn't eaten in treats already... Don't want a fat puppy now... T.

I think he looks great in his PJ's... lol! T.

Much easier handheld though - much more freedom of movement IMHO. T.

12/2 - Chauri the Red Panda at Symbio enjoying her fave food - pear... 02-02-2014-symbio 274 by tdierikx, on Flickr T.

As soon as I took the first dressing off, Pickles was licking at it... grrr! Gauze pad with plenty of antiseptic powder applied, and re-wrapped with vetwrap - and she's leaving it alone again. Might have to do this for a couple of days until she's not fascinated with it any more... *sigh* At least I'm off work for a few more days yet, so can check the dressing regularly to make sure it all stays dry and doesn't go festy... There is a small piece of nail left there which could be trimmed, but Pickles has a foot thing and it's all I can do right now to get the padding and vetwrap on. I'll see if Auntie Katdogs wants to come give me a hand either holding or trimming this afternoon... normally I'd do it myself, but I've just had gallbladder surgery and really can't be arsed trying to wrestle with Pickles right now. T.

Gonna be fun when the pup gets older and decides to join this one in it's behavioural problems... one large dog having a go at you is one thing... totally different story when TWO of them decide you're a target! T.

I'm of the opinion that if an animal in a zoo is likely to produce offspring surplus to the requirement of the program of maintaining stable genetically required stock/numbers, then that animal should be prevented from producing any offspring at all. Zoos in other parts of the world use contraceptives effectively with their animals - so why in this day and age are we seeing this sort of thing happen? We frown upon indiscriminate breeding of pet species (ie. dogs and cats)... so why should it be different with exotic animals in a zoo environment? One would think it even more pertinent when you are looking at extremely limited "rehoming" prospects for the surplus "stock", yes? Marius would have been an effective drawcard while he was young and cute - and I'm under no illusion that he'd been used as such to get people through the gates up until this point. Making a public spectacle of his death and dismemberment was completely disrespectful to both Marius AND the keepers that have cared for him up until this point. If the "rules" state that exotic animals be allowed to breed indiscriminately, with this as the eventual outcome due to surplus stock - then quite simply the "rules" need some major tweaking... I will state again that I have no problem with the fact that Marius' remains were used to feed other animals. He was fit and healthy, and his meat shouldn't go to waste... but it should never have had to happen in the first place... T.

I've checked the claw a couple of times - so far it's looking fine and not bothering her - and neither is the dressing. No shredded bits on it needing cleaning up, it all came off quite cleanly actually. Planning to take the dressing off a bit later and see if she'll leave it alone now that it's old news. Pickles has a scar in her brain that stops her feeling very much in her legs, so the fact that she was licking at it after it came off means that, in a normal dog, I would have heard some screeching at the injury she sustained - but not Pickles - she just was chewing on the nail that had come off, and I had to see what she was chewing - then I had to find whose claw it was that had come off... as this one was black, and her other claws are all white. When it was evident it wasn't Zeddy's claw, I went back to look at Pickles and she was licking at the bare claw bed. I had to stop that, and it seems to have worked, and she's not played with the dressing either for a few hours... I'll put some antiseptic powder on it when I take the dressing off, and that won't taste nice, so she should be fine... *fingers crossed* T.

This is one of my fave pics of your two playing silly buggers at Katdogs' BBQ last year - this weekend is the anniversary of that awesome event by the way... Boston is being cool about the whole thing - only to be completely photo-bombed by Max doing her flying pug impersonation... lol! T.

Raw chicken wings - whole - should be fine if he chews before he swallows... T.

Yep - my gripe is more with the public spectacle of the killing and disection than the fact that Marius was slaughtered and used as food for the other animals - the latter I can wholly understand... the former, not so much. T.

Obviously the RSPCA WA think they are untouchable and can make life difficult for anyone whose story does not match their PR line... I'd be stepping up to them Ososwift... bullies need a thorough drubbing in public every now and then. I'm sure you have plenty of communication evidence between you and the RSPCA - not to mention the very public thread here detailing this little family's early journey with you. The fact that your husband is a vet and would definitely have picked up severe issues (as claimed by the RSPCA WA) with the pups pretty bloody quick smart would be well in your favour too I'd say... T.

I've had to slaughter my own dinner as a teen... even those we'd given names to and treated as "pets"... It just seems a whole lot different when it's a majestic animal like a giraffe who has become surplus to requirement in a zoo environment - and done so publicly... T.

I don't have any betadine, and neocort has a local anaesthetic which will stop any yukky feelings there for a while so she doesn't try to play with it... *grin* In a day or two I'll switch to a powder based topical to make sure it is nice and dry under the bandage. I'm actually lucky that a previous dog of mine was a devil for tearing off nails - so I don't freak out when it happens nowadays, and I have a pretty good idea of whether it needs urgent vet attention or not. No blood is good IMHO... licking needs to be stopped is all, and I think my patch work has seen to that problem. She has a pretty orange paw right now... lol! T.

Pickles has managed to tear most of her dew claw nail off this morning... *sigh* Not bad going that this is the first time she's managed it with her mobility issues and how she tears around like a lunatic. No blood, but I can see the nail bed, and she was licking at it a bit - in between trying to eat the torn off nail... I've whacked some neocort on it, a gauze pad, and taped up with vetwrap so she will stop licking at it. Not really worthy of a vet visit, as they'd only have done the same thing. Will keep an eye on it, and see a vet and/or start AB's if it starts to look yukky. She's being very good so far and hasn't tried to eat the dressing. T.

I still would urge the OP to maybe consider a young adult rescue Golden... Goldie Rescue have some awesome dogs, and they match families really well... you wouldn't be disappointed... T.

Cavalier? *grin* T.

Males of any captive species in any significant numbers are obviously undesirable in a zoo environment, yes grizabella? Seeing as many zoos are operating under the blanket of preserving certain species by selectively breeding them. My sensibilities say that if you can't sustain an actively breeding population of any species, then don't let them breed... it really is that simple. We have safe contraceptive methods for pretty much all captive species nowadays - and then there's the simple act of separation of males and females if we don't want them to breed indiscriminately. Personally, I'd like to see Asian Lions and more Bengal Tigers here... does anyone know why those endangered species aren't included in Australian zoos? T.