Craig Busch - 'Lion Man' - UK Tour?

[gazz]

Originally Posted by Jczreptiles

I have looked at every picture I could find of his big cats and they all have all of their toes

De-clawed have toes.It's claws they don't have.The cut line is just infount of the toe pad. = toe but no claw.

[Jczreptiles]

Originally Posted by gazz

De-clawed have toes.It's claws they don't have.The cut line is just infount of the toe pad. = toe but no claw.
image

Yeah but you would notice that in the pics!

[Ssthisto]

Originally Posted by Jczreptiles

Yeah but you would notice that in the pics!

No, you wouldn't.

Declawed cats' paws LOOK normal... but they are missing the last bone of each toe, which is the bone with the claw attached to it. Because the claws are retractable, that bone is normally hidden within a sort of fold in the toe pad - you only ever see a clawed cat's claw tips "outside" that fold if they're very long or if they've extended the claw.

And yes, I think declawing a cat is mutilation - I've seen first hand what sorts of *mild* behavioural issues it can cause (Tinkerbell, my stepmum's cat, was the worst biter I've ever known - and she did it because she couldn't defend herself with her claws; she seemed to do "pre-emptive strikes" with her teeth instead.) I haven't seen the more severe side of behavioural problems or physical problems it can cause, but that only means I haven't dealt with as many declawed cats as rescues or shelters do.

[x Sarah x]

I don't think Craig's first decision was to do conservation work, he wanted to do a program, and to give him a good image and guarantee people would watch the program was to base it on conservation.... which he did to a certain extent.

But what he also did and what others urged him to go into, was to train big cats for TV commercials and films, which he did.

Then i think he found himself stuck between training and conservation work. People were happy with what he was doing with regards to conservation, and the park was receiving huge donations to help with that...on the other hand his training was successful and he had many stunning (white) and friendly cats that were perfect for what the film industry wanted....

In my opinion he was just trying to juggle two things at once that are complete opposites to one another, it caused uproar for people who were one sided to either TV or wildlife.

[SiUK]

A keeper got killed at the park the other day

[Lisasgeckonursery]

I'm on the fence, i really liked him but some of this stuff shows him in a very bad light

[Fixx]

Originally Posted by SiUK

A keeper got killed at the park the other day

Another one? That's three so far isn't it?

[Lisasgeckonursery]

Originally Posted by Fixx

Another one? That's three so far isn't it?

He may not be the best person but it seems the place is going to pot without him. I've read loads of stories about how they can't run it without him!

[bothrops]

Originally Posted by about_a_girluk

He may not be the best person but it seems the place is going to pot without him. I've read loads of stories about how they can't run it without him!

That's only due to the fact that he was the only one that interacted with the animals, he was the one they were/are imprinted on. He removes the babies from their mother within hours and then hand rears them (in complete contrast to true conservation efforts (i.e. 'keep them wild!')) If he has to do film work etc then one or two animals could almost be excused, expecially if they were acting as ambassadors for the species and all the other cats were truely conservation efforts.


Unfortunately ALL the cats born at ZWG are treated in this way. He knew full well that he was conditioning ALL his animals to be submissive to him only. I have no idea what he expected to happen to them should he die. As it stands he has found out without such a thing happening.




Just a point about white tigers. Anyone who knows anything about conservation knows that you attempt to maintain genetic diversity at all costs, but within the species specific karyotype. The white tiger is a recessive, genetic mutation that has only been found in the wild in the same way as albino royals and albino corns. Yes they are naturally occuring (ALL base morphs are!), but they have ZERO value from a conservation point of view. Look closely at any white tiger - most are cross eyed, they die prematurely from kidney failure (in the same way as domestic siamese cats do). Many are born with horrendous facial deformities. To top it all most are not even pure bengal, many are cross bred. Craig also breeds ligers. I have no issue with hybrids per se, but clearly they have no conservation value AT ALL.


The only dilema Craig ever had was which would make him more money - white tigers or ligers. As it stands the ONLY value a white tiger has is to get people who don't understand basic biology but do love animals to part with their hard earns because all they see is 'stunning majestic predator in white'. i.e they can't see past the individual and see the bigger picture to the species as a whole.

We all love animals...its very hard not to be in awe of the amzing predator that is a tiger.....it takes a good amount of research and understanding to realise that the beautiful majestic animals that are white tigers, are actually (in REAL TERMS) nothing but random genetic mutations that need to be allowed to live their lives with dignity but should not be bred from and absolutely should not be rereleased into the wild.

No-one would ever consider that there should be a breeding and release programme for albino burmese pythons or melanistic or amelanistic squirrels (all of which occur naturally in the wild)....so why the white tiger? Is everyone realy so blinded by the beauty that they can't see past it?


Regards

Andy

[naja-naja]

Originally Posted by bothrops

That's only due to the fact that he was the only one that interacted with the animals, he was the one they were/are imprinted on. He removes the babies from their mother within hours and then hand rears them

actually he removes them after days, not hours.