Fantasea - animal welfare?

Does anyone know what animal welfare is like for the animals at Fantasea?

I work in the animal field and as such have an interest in seing different animal establishment around the world, however I refuse to support anywhere that is obviously cruel.

I%26#39;m am intrigued by Fantasea and have heard mixed reviews. I do wory though, oftern animals + tourism + asia = very bad things.

Where do these tiget cubs come from? How long are they on display for? Where do they go when they are past being cute and cuddly??? Does anyone know this place well?

Fantasea - animal welfare?

Been there several times. The animals appear healthy and well cared for. I%26#39;ve never heard even a hint of any mistreatment there.

Fantasea - animal welfare?

I saw the show a couple of weeks ago.

I didn%26#39;t like the way the elephants are made to balance on tiny platforms and perform %26#39;cute%26#39;tricks like sitting and lifting their front legs.But everyone around me was clapping like mad!

The poor tiger cubs were having milk bottles as they were passed from tourist to tourist to have their photos taken....I wonder if that was the first time they%26#39;d had milk all day, to coincide with the show timings and to make them easy for people to hold!

But I really don%26#39;t know much else, they all looked well fed, but that%26#39;s surely not enough, in my opinion!

Certainly, they are well fed, but as previous poster said that is not enough.

I have seen a video of the show but have not attended because after seeing the video I could not bear to support an act like that. The thought of elephants night after night performing un natural acts, tiger cubs being passed around for photos, when they should be with their mothers, it is just too awful for words.

What are the training methods used to teach these animals?? positive reinforcement training ?? no, it would be ';do it or I will hurt you'; training methods.

All for the whim of selfish humans, what gives us the right to subject animals to this for our entertainment ? People need to stop and think about what their actions mean to these animals. As soon as the demand for this kind of thing goes perhaps Phuket can develope a different kind of tourist attraction, perhaps a beautiful sanctuary where the animals can live more naturally and with dignity and peace .

Apart from the tiger cubs being passed around, which I don%26#39;t know is actually cruel in itself, maybe just not what the tiger cubs would choose, the thing that bothered me most was the amount of noise on stage for the elephants. As to how the animals are treated outside of the show, I have no idea.

I personally hate this type of animal treatment, but tourists still pay so it will continue.

';What are the training methods used to teach these animals?? positive reinforcement training ?? no, it would be ';do it or I will hurt you'; training methods.';

As you have not visited Fantasea, this is purely supposition on your part. It is unfair and unwise to make such comments without some evidence.

On my visits to Fantasea, I did not see, or was not aware of, tiger cubs being handed around. Not something that should be done, I agree. The elephants were in the open area before and after the show, and I could see no obvious signs of distress (or ill treatment), and I do know what to look for.

Overall I think Fantasea treats the animals far better than many other animal attractions in Thailand.

Just to add to the above, the Thai press often carries stories about ill treatment of animals, (especially elephants as they are a national icon). There have been complaints about the Chiang Mai night safari, the Dusit Zoo, and the Khao Kiew open zoo, but I don%26#39;t remember anthing about Fantasea.

Do a Google search for:

safari world bangkok orangutans boxing

Read a few of the stories - draw your own conclusion.

The same people who own Bangkok%26#39;s Safari World - own FantaSea.

Fantasea is a good tourist attraction and a good night out.

Personaly I dont think that the animals are mistreated but think they would rather be somewhere else.

Phuket is a tourist destination and they cater for tourists, people would complain if they didint.

Part and parcel I think...Ronnie.

Check out this site......

ens-newswire.com/ens/鈥?006-04-18-01.asp

Awful, truly awful.

Mark.