<
https://theconversation.com/a-wildlife-park-has-scrapped-koala-cuddles-is-it-time-for-a-blanket-ban-234098>
"A popular wildlife park in Brisbane has announced it will no longer offer
“koala holds”, prompting questions about whether other captive animal
facilities should follow.
Koala handling has long been criticised by animal welfare advocates. They say
koalas are naturally solitary, nocturnal animals that become stressed when
placed in close proximity to humans – so hugging them is “completely
unacceptable”.
I study stress in animals, particularly marsupials – and I can confirm koala
cuddles are detrimental to these animals.
There’s a compelling evidenced-based argument for other zoos and wildlife parks
to reassess their policies on koala handling. I would also argue this review
should be extended to other human-animal interactions more broadly. The
zoological industry should go further and call for the practice to be banned
nationwide."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
