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Credit: Leofoo Village Theme ParkMany theme park Guests will tolerate a lot, even when it is not always beneficial to them. For example, at Walt Disney World Resort we have seen multiple price hikes on everything from food to tickets, and even in the current economy, Guests are still flooding the theme parks. But when it comes to theme parks undergoing animal cruelty, we have seen that Guests are much less forgiving.
We are not talking about Disney World’s animal treatment in regards to this current complaint, but rather another theme park whose string of giraffe deaths has left them under a close eye for the abuse and mistreatment of their wildlife. Leofoo Village Theme Park in Taiwan is currently under fire after Animal welfare organizations have asked authorities to ban the animal theme park from housing any more giraffes.
After multiple giraffes have died before the age of 10, which is far younger than the expected lifespan of a giraffe in the wild, a press conference was held. The Taiwan Animal Equality Association, Life Conservationist Association, and AnimalSkies held a press conference on March 22, in which they accused the Hsinchu County theme park of continued neglect that has resulted in the deaths of eight giraffes in the past decade.
The most recent death was Pudding, who past in January from enterotoxemia, a bacteria infection. The Taiwan News noted that the cause of death for the other animals included inbreeding, falling, ingesting a plastic bag, and parasitic infection. Animal activists have been severely against the theme park for quite some time, claiming that it is surrounded by poor living conditions for the animals who live there. On top of that activists have claimed that there are a lot of infractions being done by the Park, including poor feeding practices, harmful performances, over-breeding, and spatial constraints. It seems the theme park is looking to import three more giraffes from Mexico, which is what these groups are looking to stop.
At the moment, a decision has not yet been made regarding next steps for the theme park.
The theme park describes itself as:
Leofoo Village Theme Park
The First Fantasy World in Asia that Combines both Amusement Park and Safari. Located in Hsinchu County, Taiwan, Leofoo Village Theme Park has four theme areas, “Wild West”, “South Pacific”, “Arabian Kingdom” and “African Safari”. Other than more than 30 thrilling roller coasters teenagers love to challenge and the wild animal zoo that’s suitable for the whole family. Leofoo Village also have musical water shows,large parades and other magnificent dancing shows which enables Leofoo Village to become the best location for traveling and most population shooting place for Taiwan movies and TV shows.
More on Animal Cruelty at Theme Parks
At California’s Knott’s Berry Farm, during the Halloween season, Guests viewed the Creepy Critters of Calico show which left many Guests upset as they questioned the way the Park would treat their animals. Even now, fans of the theme park are still writhing from the video footage that was captured of the “critters.”
Some Guests attempted to give Knott’s the benefit of the doubt and thought perhaps the chameleon looked that way due to being a rescue, and Knott’s was healing the reptile, but it was noted in the threat thread that someone spoke with employees of the Park who noted that it was not a rescue. The employees just noted that the reptile “was not feeling well today,” which shocked many readers as the casque is is gone. Knott’s hires a third party for this exhibit, and the animals are not under Knott’s care.
Related: Ex-SeaWorld Dolphin Trainer Speaks Out On Animal Abuse Backlash
It seems that the chameleon was likely kept in Ghost Town Livery Barn in Old MacDonald’s Farm. The mistreatment of animals at theme parks has been a big conversation, with massive parks such as SeaWorld taking a big hit. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we can see that the company is doing its best to showcase how the Park acts as a conservation effort.
Have you ever visited a theme park with an animal theme?
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