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Providing A Voice For All of Okinawa's Animals - Great & Small... |
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UPDATE!!
~ 15 NOV. 2004 ~
Greg & Rika's efforts to have Kei safely and humanely relocated to the "MISSION WOLF" Sanctuary in Colorado has come to a sudden, unexpected halt!!!
WHY?
Because the Zoo Officials didn't believe ZAP would actually SUCCEED at finding a sanctuary to take Kei, and certainly not as quickly as they did. They are now refusing to let Kei go...
THE ZOO'S POSITION ON THE ISSUE IS THAT IT'S MORE IMPORTANT FOR CHILDREN TO HAVE A CHANCE TO LOOK AT A "REAL LIVE WOLF" than to worry about Kei's well being!!!
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
PLEASE FORWARD THE LETTER BELOW TO THE OKINAWA ZOO...
TELL THEM HOW YOU FEEL!
ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO WRITE, TOO!
HAVE THEM DRAW PICTURES OF HOW IT MAKES THEM FEEL TO SEE KEI IN SUCH A PATHETIC STATE OF BEING!!!
CONTACT THE SCHOOLS, AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO START THEIR OWN "KIDS FOR KEI CAMPAIGN"!!!
THEY CAN WRITE LETTERS, DRAW PICTURES, AND ASK THE ZOO TO PLEASE GIVE KEI THE CHANCE TO FEEL THE EARTH BENEATH HIS FEET, WITH THE COMPANIONSHIP OF OTHER WOLVES, IN A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT!
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING TO ASSIST IN THIS EFFORT, PLEASE GO TO THE ZAP WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION!
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| Supporting Change For The Zoo.... |
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Are These Animals Receiving ADEQUATE Zoological Care?????
*photos courtesy of Z.A.P. - Zoo Action Project
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ZAP IS ASKING Everyone who is concerned about the welfare of the animals at the Okinawa Zoo, in particular Kei, to PLEASE forward this letter to the ZOO OFFICIALS! The email address for the zoo is at the end of this letter:
Okinawa City`s Kiddie Land Zoo officials have denied Kei, the North American Timber Wolf at their facility, her chance to retire in dignity to a wolf sanctuary in Colorado that has agreed to let her live out her
remaining days in peace and tranquility in a spacious, safely, enclosed naturalized environment.
For months, Okinawa ZAP (Zoo Action Project) volunteers have been trying to win her release from the concentration camp like conditions she has languished in for the whole 16 years of her life. On November
11th 2004, zoo officials formally denied her bid for a better life stating it was best she lived to the end of her life in the zoo under their care. They also cited that this decision was justified based on the fact that she and even her parents were born in the zoo so it
therefore would be the best place for her to die. This thought is one of `once a prisoner, always a prisoner.` They also feel that despite
the fact that her enclosure is very small and virtually all concrete, she should remain there in order to allow the children of Okinawa to see a real, live wolf.
It is important that the world and as many people as possible be witness to this very callous decision based on selfishness and wanton exploitation in which children are cowardly used as a cheap excuse and
weapon to keep kei from returning to her ancestral home of North America. In order to remind the zoo officials that the world is watching their embarrassing act of cruelty in which they do have the power to alleviate a creature`s torment from pacing, isolation, and
screaming kids throwing things at her, this message has been created for others to copy and forward to message boards and friends to encourage them to forward it back to the zoo officials with the days of Kei`s death counting up. Just increase the day with each new day
passing and mailing.
Please, remember to notice Kei with each day be sending this message to zoo officials, counting up to her last day of life and then her death on concrete -- the time when she will truly be free of the terrible
life her Okinawan captors here have given her.
Okinawa ZAP ( okinawazap.com )
Lending a voice to those with none.
Resend this to the Okinawa City Zoo at :
info@kodomo.city.okinawa.okinawa.jp
Count up to Kei`s death began on 12 November 2004
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| Greg's Letter: The Yomiuri Newspaper (Eng. Edition) ~ Sun. Oct 17, 2004 |
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Culling The Wrong Solution To Deal With Hungry Bears
In recent days, there has been a spate of cases of bears wandering down
from mountain areas and into fields, towns, and people`s homes. As I
understand it, this is a result of the bears` food sources having been
reduced due to typhoons. It is important that bears put on as much
weight as possible before hibernation, so they therefore are attracted
by the smell of trash, home cooking and restaurants.
I find it sad and disheartening that town and village people are so
quick to resort to killing bears when they have wandered into populated
rural areas in search of food. A few philosophical and ethical
questions are raised when we resort to such a knee jerk reaction. For
example, if we wander into their mountains, are they justified in
killing us?
Some are calling for a reduction in bear numbers. This is once again a
case of mismanagement of nature as fear and development control our
actions. Sadly, the same thing happened to the Japanese wolf about a
century ago. As a result, it is no longer here to keep the deer
population from exploding. Therefore, tree seedlings are eaten, and,
as older trees are harvested without younger generations of trees to
replace them, soil erosion from mountain runoff quickens.
Within the next few centuries, Japan is headed for an ecological
disaster in which its landscape will be stricken with poverty in
regards to biodiversity. Perhaps at that time its human inhabitants
will do some soul-searching and ponder under the shade of skyscrapers:
Where are the wolves? Where are the deer? Where are the trees? Where
are the bears? Where is that wild part of myself that exalts nature in
a culture that we are mislead into believing respects nature? Was not
our land of haiku poetry the high art form of an illusion of
self-deception and irony?
Greg Leisure
Ginowan City
Okinawa, Japan
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