Comments on: “Panic Bear” Not Actually Funny

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:31:59 +0000

Dear All,

I am MD of an organization aimed at preserving bear welfare in South Korea, and I have the privilege of acting as the contact point between SBS, Samsung Everland (the zoo), and WAZA, who regulates zoos worldwide. It is noteworthy that this zoo is a WAZA member. This clip has been acknowledged as ‘disgraceful’ by the zoo, who admits that the behavior displayed in the clip is unprofessional, unethical and in poor taste. As the zoo is in violation of several WAZA ethical policies, an inquiry was sent and the zoo responded with a swift apology. We are requesting a formal written stance be posted on the website of the zoo. For those who see this as ‘educational’:
This is a zoo. There is no ecological situation in which a bear and a lion co-exist, and animals in captivity are required (by law), to be treated in a manner that mimics nature. No, there is no relevant training occurring, and assigning a human, emotional characteristic to an animal for the sake of entertainment is both ridiculous and ignorant. We find the zookeeper to be unqualified and we regret the positive reception of the clip in South Korea.

As someone who has the luxury of understanding the Hangul and the context, it saddens me that trained professionals would make such poort decisions.

For more information, or to express a formal opinion to either party, please contact kelly@moonbears.org.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:03:48 +0000

Too late Marcel.

The only thing I saw was disgusting is the blog is the author’s knee-jerk prejudice and attitude of moral superiority. The bear wasn’t around three different animals, it was around lion *cubs*, a monkey, and a *shadow* on the ground, and was deathly terrified of all three. Now, I’m no animal psychiatrist, but an wild animal that’s afraid of a shadow needs help, and I’ll trust the zookeepers handling it more than I’d trust some bleeding heart blogger 3000 miles away.

By: Marcel

Marcel — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:25:51 +0000

I don’t speak Korean but I asked a friend:
The zoo is attempting to introduce the bear into co-habitation so that understand life with other animals. Both the bear and lions are under a month old, an ideal time for learning. At that age, co-habitation should be a simple, learning, exploratory experience for both animals that they would have in the wild. Without these experiences, the bear will never be able to live normally. The commentary over the video is meant to be the voice of the bear, saying things like “Don’t come near!” at which the audience laughs. This isn’t torture, it’s documentation that a television studio is featuring to show a bear that can’t adapt.

Note: Please do not use this video, or ANY as an excuse to make racial comments about different cultures. South Korea is as progressive as Japan or America or the UK. All the commentary here is showing an undercurrent of racism. Don’t let what you don’t understand create an atmosphere of hate.

By: Bonnie Owens

Bonnie Owens — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:17:03 +0000

This kind of stuff makes me sick to my stomach. When people torment helpless animals or people for their own entertainment I think that it is the lowest form of human action. I make it a point to show my children that this sort of behavior is disgusting and unacceptable.
The other day we were at a park that has ponds and fishing. We saw a man trying to hook a mama duck who was swimming around with her ducklings. The mama was obviously scared, but couldn’t fly away because she was trying to protect her babies. The guy looked back at us and kind of chuckled like, “isn’t that funny?” I made it clear to him that we didn’t think it was. Then I went into a discussion with my son about what would happen to the mama and baby ducks if the man succeeded to do what he was trying to do. My son concluded, “Oh, that’s mean!”

By: James Acton

James Acton — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:43:18 +0000

Fucking savages.