By Ophelia Kimber, Editor In Training
ANIMAL RIGHTS: Thailand’s Pata Zoo is a prison for animals.
Thailand’s last remaining gorilla, Bua Noi’s, “home” since 1992 fails to deserve even the suggestion of that title. The horrendous conditions she and hundreds of other species live in are eye-opening and have been targeted by animal rights activists for years. Bua Noi and the decrepit Pata Zoo have recently come to the attention of American singer, Cher, and so, she has unveiled the injustice to a larger set of eyes. Despite demands to provide better living conditions, the zoo clearly has no morals when it comes to the mental health and wellbeing of the animals they choose to exploit for profit. While on various occasions the owner of the zoo has said the mental health of Bua Noi shouldn’t be to anyone’s concern and that she is perfectly fine, the environment of the zoo says otherwise.
Bua Noi’s spotlight is unsurprising. For thirty years, she has faced revolting, degrading, and more than unpleasant conditions. Pata Zoo, home of Bua Noi and over 200 species, including leopards, bears, panthers, gibbons, orangutans, porcupines, and a penguin, is located atop a feeble shopping center. From what it appears, the majority of them, if not all, live in small concrete enclosures with barely any interaction with other animals. Not a single blade of grass can be seen in Bua Noi’s habitat, and this is also the case for the other primates nearby. The reptiles of Pata Zoo live in more than miserable conditions with many lacking even the slightest bit of effort to their enclosures. Housed alone, in feeble lighting, and without anything to occupy themselves, even someone who dislikes reptiles can’t help but sympathize for them. The enclosures of these species can simply be compared to being in a small dark room, with no way to get out. The animals share drinking water with rats and have the observing eyes of both unapologetic tourists and pigeons that loom overhead.
The mental health of these species are evidently on a heartbreaking downturn. Bua Noi, Pata Zoo’s prized possession, sits imprisoned behind both steel bars and glass as visitors walk by and stare. Just as many of the other species do in the Pata Zoo, Bua Noi sits, sleeps, and paces across her enclosure, clearly depressed and out of hope. The same is true for orangutans that share 97% of their DNA sequence with humans. Pata Zoo also offers its customers unnecessary close contact with the animals, like feeding, often leading to further distress. In NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Edwin Wiek, the founder of the Wildlife Friends Foundation, stated that “[Bau Noi] doesn’t even make eye contact with people anymore. She used to look at you right in the eyes. Nowadays she just looks through you basically. She doesn’t interact anymore. She’s just given up.” Wiek also shared with The Guardian that the zoo is “an animal prison” and “a hell for animals” explaining that the enclosures are small, dirty, lacking sunlight, and strong in odor.
The Pata Zoo represents the lackluster legislation of Thailand in regards to animal rights. The zoo hasn’t broken any laws and all animals have been obtained legally. Thus, politically, the zoo has done nothing wrong. However, ethically, the zoo is the epitome of cruelty. Pata Zoo’s license is up for renewal and activists have continued targeting it. American singer, Cher, has found herself a leading role in the fight. Having previously worked to free Kaavan, “the world’s loneliest elephant,” from yet another controversial zoo and helping him attain salvation in Cambodia, she’s tweeted several times on behalf of Bau Noi, pleading for her liberation too.
While Bau Noi has found herself front and center of the campaign, other species remain in dire help as well. Two orangutans for example, have both been born in the decrepit zoo and have yet to live in any sort of comforting habitat. As activism for Bau Noi continues, it is important for efforts to be put towards the rest of the species as well. These species from around the globe that are now forced to call Pata Zoo their home never deserved any of it. The top of a shopping mall, with planes that fly overhead, pigeons, and an overall repulsive environment should not be the home to such beautiful species. The lengths to which humans are willing to go for cruel pleasures while leaving animals and their livelihood behind, let alone exploiting them, is disturbing. It’s simply disgusting the conditions animals in places like Pata Zoo face – it’s time for society to take accountability for the critical role they’ve played and make efforts to reverse it. After all, if this was being done to humans, the whole world would get involved, and yet when it is done to a creature that is 97% human, the world sits idly by.
