Comments on: Polar bears struggle to endure summer in Tokyo

By: LeslieC

LeslieC — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:30:23 +0000

Saying “kawaiii” does not equal a real love of animals. I see so many dogs tethered with one-meter chains, living on concrete for 23.5 hours a day; and was disgusted by the conditions at Ueno Zoo. In my books, the treatment of animals in Japan gets poor marks.

By: parcivale

parcivale — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:09:10 +0000

I felt awfully badly to see the penguins swealtering in the summer heat at Shinagawa Aquarium when I was there last July. There was no effort made at all to make them more comfortable.

By: William

William — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:59:07 +0000

To ignore the ethics of keeping wild animals captive for our entertainment for a moment, zoos have a responsibility to provide an environment that is as stress free as possible for the animal. I find it difficult to see how they justify throwing a few ice cubes to an arctic animal as providing comfort. I assume that their main enclosure is air conditioned and they have probably acclimated somewhat to their captive condition, but ICE CUBES…REALLY??? The average summer arctic HIGH is -1.5C (29F). Maybe zoos should stick to keeping animals native to the country. I have yet to see a tanuki in a zoo (which I would love to see), but I have seen plenty of penguins and flamingos.