As most people know, animal welfare is one of the many things that gets me all riled up and unable to sleep at night. So, imagine my horror when researching an email to my pal Daniel at The Born Free Foundation I came across this video of a hapless (and rather ignorant) tourist attempting to cuddle a rather unwilling panda.
The place is the Wolong Giant Panda Breeding Centre in China. It’s essentially a conservation project but sadly, the welfare standards are comprised by the drive for cash. This cash is raised from misled tourists who think it’s a good idea to give a panda a cuddle.
So what’s wrong with cuddling a panda? Well, the trouble is, these panda are being captively bred so they can be reintroduced to the wild. It is widely accepted that reintroductions of captive bred animals is hit or miss and efforts are likely to be unsuccessful is the animal becomes too tame. Its only healthy for wild animals to have a degree of fear of humans – it stops them from being hunted or captured. If the pandas used for cuddling aren’t destined to be reintroduced then the centre is basically sacrificing these individuals welfare for the good of the other pandas. Surely this is questionable at best and immoral at worst!
My advice is to steer clear of anywhere that offers animal cuddling (other than domestic animals). If you want to cuddle a bear, get a Care Bear! Plus you get browny points for retro chic too.
Friday 29 January 2010
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Ignorance is bliss: Living in my own happy bubble
I recently started living a rather simpler life. One of the surprising consequences of this I have only just realised. I have no TV and don’t listen to the radio so I’m blissfully ignorant of what’s going on in the outside world. The real surprise is that I actually don’t mind. As someone that is interested in current affairs, politics and global living this is a bit strange.
I think in the past I have got rather hung up on doing the right thing, being informed, raising awareness and generally caring about the world. I try to live a moral and ethic life but perhaps I take it a little too far. I’m really proud of my ethical buying and the way I’ve tried to shun consumerism but I feel guilty when I fall off the wagon and buy something in Tesco and maybe I shouldn’t. Perhaps its time to loosen my grip a little and cut myself some slack. I mean, I doubt if the founders of Oxfam beat themselves up if they buy non-fairtrade coffee once in a while. Surely doing my best is ok?
Combining the two things together is rather liberating. I’m no longer feeling anxious about the bad stuff that happens in the world (as I don’t know what’s going on) and I’m not suffering from my ethical guilt if I so much as stray into the poundshop. So now, I’m living in my own little world where my only concerns are what to have for dinner! And to be honest, it’s refreshing! I know it sounds very self involved and somewhat selfish but perhaps its not such a bad thing to look after myself for a while and concentrate on my own happiness rather than fretting about the rest of the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I know shite happens but I’ve taken to not thinking about it and concentrating on living in my own little happy bubble, blissfully ignorant of the wankers, bullies and bigots of the world. Whilst away for the weekend with some friends, I told them of my new philosophy and one said she likes the happy bubble Holly so I think I’m going to stick with it for a while.
I think in the past I have got rather hung up on doing the right thing, being informed, raising awareness and generally caring about the world. I try to live a moral and ethic life but perhaps I take it a little too far. I’m really proud of my ethical buying and the way I’ve tried to shun consumerism but I feel guilty when I fall off the wagon and buy something in Tesco and maybe I shouldn’t. Perhaps its time to loosen my grip a little and cut myself some slack. I mean, I doubt if the founders of Oxfam beat themselves up if they buy non-fairtrade coffee once in a while. Surely doing my best is ok?
Combining the two things together is rather liberating. I’m no longer feeling anxious about the bad stuff that happens in the world (as I don’t know what’s going on) and I’m not suffering from my ethical guilt if I so much as stray into the poundshop. So now, I’m living in my own little world where my only concerns are what to have for dinner! And to be honest, it’s refreshing! I know it sounds very self involved and somewhat selfish but perhaps its not such a bad thing to look after myself for a while and concentrate on my own happiness rather than fretting about the rest of the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I know shite happens but I’ve taken to not thinking about it and concentrating on living in my own little happy bubble, blissfully ignorant of the wankers, bullies and bigots of the world. Whilst away for the weekend with some friends, I told them of my new philosophy and one said she likes the happy bubble Holly so I think I’m going to stick with it for a while.
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