Seoulscapade

I couldn’t resist noting an article I stumbled across that had me both despairing and chuckling at the same time. It relates to another report from earlier this year, as found here.

Animal cruelty-accused cites man’s ‘dominion’

By Vikki Campion
December 21, 2007 04:00am

A CANADIAN zookeeper who imprisoned a kangaroo in a tiny cage has drawn on the Bible to declare her own “dominion over animals” in court.

Shirley McElroy, owner of Ontario’s Lickety-Split Ranch and Zoo, outraged Australia when The Daily Telegraph exposed images of Tyson, a red kangaroo penned in a barren shed too small to jump in.

OK, for a start, I don’t know why Australians were so outraged when they apparently condone a huge roo-meat industry. Roos are shot in vast numbers, not just for pet meat but for supermarkets too, where you can find roo meat alongside beef and pork. If the shooter is good, perhaps it’s a better way to go for the roo than the torture of a life sacrificed to industrial agriculture prior to a trip to the slaughterhouse. But I digress.

In the onslaught of bad press that followed, McElroy temporarily closed her private, backyard zoo and Tyson has not been seen since.

McElroy faced court in London, Ontario yesterday charged with possession of native wildlife without a licence and faces a $CAN25,000 ($29,000) fine if convicted.

Sounds fair enough to me, except that I would have liked to see some jail time thrown in for good measure. Now, here is where despair is mixed with chuckling, a rolling of the eyes, a sigh.

In her defence she attempted to turn the dock into a pulpit.

Representing herself in court, McElroy read Genesis 1:26, which refers to humans ruling over all animals, from a paperback edition of The Bible.

Justice Helen Gale told McElroy: “This court is not a podium.”

After attempting to interrupt McElroy, Justice Gale left the court, telling the clerk she would return “when she’s finished”.

McElroy soldiered on, saying the court wanted her to give up her “God-given right”.

When Justice Gale returned, she told the court: “With the greatest respect to Ms McElroy, this is not the appropriate forum for scripture to be recited.”

What a moron. This was not part of McElroy’s strategy of building up to an insanity plea. No, she was not that smart. She was actually serious. I do applaud the Judge here, first by actually leaving the room! I found that hilarious. Then the judge’s expression “With the greatest respect to Ms McElroy” is icing on the cake, since we understand it to really mean “Enough of the excreta you retard.”

Outside, activists from Friends of Captive Animals held placards reading: “Where is Tyson?”, “What is Lickety-Split Zoo hiding?” and “Zoos should not be prisons.”

The group has offered a reward for information on the kangaroo’s condition.

Spokeswoman Vicki Van Linden said the group feared Tyson was dead.

“If he’s buried somewhere, if there are any remains, we think his life should count for something,” she said. “He certainly suffered and he has become a flag-bearer for many other animals in Ontario we know are suffering just as much.”

Lickety-Split keeps lions, other big cats, ostriches, primates and monkeys as well as native species.

Zoos in Canada only have regulations for native animals such as bears or coyotes. Keepers have no rules for exotic animals, including lions, tigers or kangaroos.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals and Zoocheck Canada this year found Lickety-Split was one of the nation’s worst private zoos.

Right there, you have it, where it says “no rules.” When no rules exist like this, as is the case all over the world, that’s when you get the ignorant and the greedy doing whatever they like. Christians have for centuries have been using ideology to justify the cruelty and exploitation of animals. And it is still continuing because there are not enough rules and because morons are still breeding. When you put an idiot like McElroy together with “no rules,” you are asking for abuse.

The youngest activist, nine-year-old George Evans, made an impassioned plea to McElroy: “I want the animals to have more room to move around, to have good food and a happy life.”

WSPA spokeswoman Melissa Tkachyk said the group would continue the crusade for rights laws for exotic animals.

“McElroy was brought to court for her manner with native animals and unfortunately it has nothing to do with Tyson’s well-being,” she said.

“We are working to ensure the animals of Australia are protected and treated fairly.

“Whether Tyson is alive or not, there are animals kept in similarly terrible conditions. We are going to keep up the crusade until their rights are protected.”

Thank goodness there are people like this out there, on the spot and getting some action. Thanks to their efforts, there is cause for hope, as reported here.

The McGuinty government announced Friday (Aug. 31) it would toughen Ontario’s animal protection laws, a move animal activists are calling an “historic commitment.”

. . .

In an Ontario Government press release, officials said the government recognizes the need to modernize the Ontario Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals Act to regulate premises such as roadside zoos, make cruelty to animals a provincial offence and ensure there are serious consequences for people who abuse animals.

Yes, “modernize” is what it’s about, moving on from the dark ages, working towards the civilization we have yet to achieve.