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Editorial by former WAO animal caretaker, January 2011
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IMPORTANT NOTE
FROM DISCOVERY INSIDER WEBSITE
:
Wild
Animal Repo
12/16/2010
UPDATE 1/16: The Insider just learned that the show will NOT be airing
tonight as planned. A new air date has not been
determined. We will update you as soon as we know more. |
Below is the ad posted on several animal sanctuary Facebook pages,
including Jungle Friends and Wildcat Sanctuary (Jungle Friends even
posted a kudo on Scott Lope's Facebook page):
"Don’t miss the new series ‘Wild Animal Repo’ on Discovery next Sunday,
January 16th 9 pm and midnight. Scott Lope heads to Texas to rescue a
troop of capuchin monkeys from a soon to be demolished roadside zoo! The
monkeys find a safe haven at Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary. Scott
also rescues 22 bears from a suspected breeding facility and six tigers
in flimsy cages."
Both organizations encouraged their "fans" to tune into the animal
rescue show.
So I checked out Scott Lope's Facebook page and found these two videos
depicting WAO animals:
As one of the former
WAO (Wild Animal Orphanage) animal caretakers, I was appalled as to how the
capuchins were treated in the primate “rescue” video. No respectable
primatologist would have entered a primate enclosure unknown to him or
her, flaying around a giant butterfly net several feet above ground in
the hopes of capturing or startling one of the monks into exiting the
cage. The poor capuchins looked absolutely terrified. Sadly, it appears
Scott Lope is more interested in looking good for the cameras and
meeting a self-imposed deadline, than the safety and well-being of the
relocating animals. And on top of that to claim that the WAO was a
“roadside zoo” denigrates all the animals that were sent to the wild
animal sanctuary by IFAW, USDA, HSUS, and other well known animal
agencies.
Then there's the fictitious story about the WAO bears. Where do I begin
[taking a very deep breath]?!!!
This video looks like it was filmed at the WAO's old 22 bear quarantine
enclosures located at Talley Road. After viewing the video and looking
at the pictures taken in April 2010, I am convinced the bears shown in
the video are the WAO bears! Here are some photos of the WAO bears taken
last year:
Apparently,
several of the bears were loaded into transporters and then
transported down the hill (by way of a front loader driven by Henry
Newman) to
Pat Craig's waiting animal transportation trailers.
[Okay, now I'm letting my breath out]
The bears' and monkeys' stories that Discovery’s & Scott Lope’s ‘Wild
Animal Repo’ video teasers are showing is a flat-out lie. I don't know
where they found the two "actors" to pose as the bears' "owners"-- were
they friends of Scott?
As far as I know, the WAO was not a breeding facility, selling its
bears to research companies or private owners. The entire confrontation
scene between Scott and the fake "owners" was a complete FARCE, and
Scott Lope should be discredited by all animal rescue groups and
sanctuaries for lying to the public, by presenting a badly acted fiction
sequence as the true documentary footage.
Make no mistake; Scott Lope did not "rescue" these animals. The bears
and capuchins were already scheduled to relocate to their respective new
homes. Scott merely hitched his media wagon along for the ride and then
turned the animals' relocation into a circus--he was no rescuer!
As Animal Planet’s Hero of the Year in 2009, Scott Lope had an
obligation to report the truth to Discovery channel’s viewing public.
In my eyes, Scott Lope is no hero. Where's the repo man when you need
him?
Also see:
Why Is The Discovery Channel Producing and Airing
Jerry Springer-Like Animal Shows on TV? The Untold Story Behind the
“Wild Animal Repo”, WAR, “Six Tigers” Episode May 2011
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