You are probably aware that the Manila Zoo has once again come under fire for its poor treatment of animals and decrepit enclosures. The treatment of animals at the zoo has been all over the Philippine media since last week, when it became a trending topic on Twitter, both locally and internationally. Please help PETA ensure that the animals' side of the story continues to be told by writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper today!
The Manila Zoo has been internationally criticized for housing animals in cramped, barren cages and for providing substandard care. The animals are relegated to a lifetime of boredom and abuse, often leading to self-mutilation and other types of abnormal behavior. Like all zoos, the Manila Zoo presents visitors with a distorted view of wildlife. In the wild, most animals roam over territories of hundreds of square kilometers, but the entire Manila Zoo measures only 0.055 square kilometers. Even the largest zoos worry that they cannot provide the space, exercise, privacy, and mental stimulation that the animals require—much less fulfill the animals' other complex needs.
Please consider writing to the following publications. You can access recent articles about the Manila Zoo by clicking on the publication names: Manila Bulletin (editorial@mb.com.ph), The Philippine Star (editor@philstar.com), Manila Standard Today (opinion@manilastandardtoday.com), Philippine Daily Inquirer (opinion@inquirer.com.ph), Malaya (malayanews@yahoo.com), and Business World (editor@bworld.com.ph). Send us your letter printed in any newspaper, and we'll send you a free PETA T-shirt!
The following are talking points that you can rephrase in your letters:
- Seeing animals in barren, decrepit, trash-filled cages at the Manila Zoo does not prompt children to respect animals or teach people anything about how animals behave in the wild.
- Taking children to the Manila Zoo only teaches them is that it's OK to rip animals away from their natural habitats and families, deny them everything that is natural and important to them, and sentence them to a lifetime of boredom at the zoo.
- Children can learn about animals and develop appreciation for them through many means, including books, videos, and the Internet. Consider that the type of animal many children know the most about is the dinosaur—yet no child has ever seen one.
- The Manila Zoo houses animals in environments that could never compare to what they would experience in the wild. The cages are barren, filthy, and filled with trash, and the animals have little environmental enrichment.
- Write "Letter to the Editor" in the subject line of the e-mail.
- Be brief! Sometimes one short, pithy paragraph is enough. Try to keep it to less than 300 words (about half of one typed page). Editors are less likely to print long letters.
- Make sure you include your name, address, and telephone number in your letter. Some newspapers verify authorship before printing letters.
If you would like to further speak up for the animals at the Manila Zoo, please use this form to add your name to the ever-growing list of people who want to see the zoo stop taking in animals and ultimately close its doors.
Thank you in advance for your letters! If you have any questions, please e-mail Activist@PETAAsiaPacific.com.
Very truly yours,
The PETA Asia Team
Republished from an email from PETA received by blogger on July 23, 2011.
