Hot off the presses - Chris Kelly's Sunday editorial on the Genesis Wildlife Center (Scranton: how much, new construction)

[mbs7]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

Well they do not violate USDA guidelines severly enough to be shutdown, so there is really nothing that can be done.

Yes, I agree. The problem is that the USDA guidelines are not strict enough. This creates problems in many facilities across the country. Stricter standards and good enforcement would make it far more difficult for these unfortunate situations to arise.

[scrantonluna]

Maybe I'm crazy, but you think they would have at least moved a few of the animals to the pocono site once complaints arose as to over crowding. They could have also rotated out the animals so that they would get a proper enclosure some of the time, even if they were being used primarily for display.

Then again, if you don't recognize there is a problem, it's awful hard to fix it. And if there are ulterior motives at work, then it's nearly impossible to factor it all in to determine the soundness of their decision making.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

They should sell the monkeys to a Korean deli. I hear monkey brains is a delicacy.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

So, in the end, the city is without a zoo and the animals could actually be in a worse situation. Really can't say, I've never seen their pocono facility. Once again, the animals are the real victims here. The only hope is that Miller runs completely out of money, and that no exotic wildlife will ever again be exposed to her brand of 'love.'

Sad.

Way to go, you and your buddies should be proud of the work you have done here.
Hope you are high fiving each other.
Fact of the matter, you made the situation worse for everyone.
People who wonder why this area doesn't ever "rebound" need to look no further than this whole GWC fiasco and all of the people who played a part of it.
I do love your "Sad" comment. You helped create this situation, you are one of the people who helped make it "sad".
By the way, in answer to one of your other posts "maybe i'm crazy" yes, you are.

[weluvpa]

This whole situation is nobody's, but Ms Millers fault. She should have thought twice before she allowed HER animals and HER center to beocme a political football for the #$%^^&& mayor of Scranton.

[scrantonluna]

You know, myself and several others started out supporting GWC. I personally sent out well over a hundred letters, at my own expense, asking for donations and senate/congressional support. However, the more I tried to aid GWC, the more I realized what the true nature of the problem was. I can completely understand the average passer-by not coming to the same conculsions that people like myself or MBS have. Keep that in mind as you make comments - we have done the homework where others have not.

The Times article was expanded a bit today, and included this line, describing what will happen to the animals: “It will be just like they were at Genesis,” he said. “The only difference is an address change.” This is supposed to be a GOOD thing?

So the result is not what was really required - better treatment of the animals. What would you have suggested? There was a bad situation and we raised awareness. The problem was that there are only a few ways to (legally) deal with it. That's the problem with the unknown - once you set the wheels of progress in motion, you never know which rut in the road they will follow.

At the end of the day, I was still part of bringing an injustice to light, and I guess I can take some confort in that, but I doubt anyone is happy with the result as it stands.

The TRUE problem is that Miller has fallen through the cracks that the USDA and PA Game Comm. have provided for her. The next step would be to lobby to have these rules and regulations made more strict. Miller and many others like her would then have the option to either comply or give up the ship.

Good thing they were stockpiling money, huh?

[scrantonluna]

Also, as per the article, no plans for the old zoo have been announced yet: 'Mr. Doherty added that it was too soon to say what plans the city would have for the building after Genesis Wildlife Center moves out'

I suppose you could argue it either way; being in a recession it would not make sense to invest in another animal attraction, but at the same time, many local people can most likely not afford to travel to the larger zoos and having a local outlet could be beneficial for the community. Catch 22.

The best bet at this point in time might be to turn it into a comfort station - restrooms and maybe an information desk. As MBS has stated, a proper zoo takes a lot of careful planning, and could take years to develop properly. Set up a board or planning committee, start collecting donations, and do it the right way, or not at all.

[scrantonluna]

From the comment section of todays article, a chilling thought:

if (Miller) does not open the animals up to exhibition to the public, she will be under LESS regulation as the USDA will no longer inspect her facilities. It will all lie in the hands of the PA Game Commission- which, since 2003, has only been able to prove it has inspected Genesis ONE time.

[mbs7]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

Also, as per the article, no plans for the old zoo have been announced yet: 'Mr. Doherty added that it was too soon to say what plans the city would have for the building after Genesis Wildlife Center moves out'

I suppose you could argue it either way; being in a recession it would not make sense to invest in another animal attraction, but at the same time, many local people can most likely not afford to travel to the larger zoos and having a local outlet could be beneficial for the community. Catch 22.

The best bet at this point in time might be to turn it into a comfort station - restrooms and maybe an information desk. As MBS has stated, a proper zoo takes a lot of careful planning, and could take years to develop properly. Set up a board or planning committee, start collecting donations, and do it the right way, or not at all.

I agree completely that many people cannot afford to travel to the larger zoos. I also think that the very fact that so many people evidently failed to recognize the problems at Genesis is a huge argument for having a small but excellent animal facility at Nay Aug Park. Such a facility could serve to set a high standard of animal care for the community. I think that once a high standard was set, it would be much more difficult for anyone--either a public or private entity--to come along and create yet another substandard facility. That being said, I am going to stick to what I have been saying all along (as Scrantonluna notes above)--namely that an animal facility--even if it is a small facility--requires a great deal of planning as well as adequate financing. I definitely do not think that anyone should rush into anything. But if, with time and planning, there is a lot of community support for some sort of small animal center, I think that center would be an asset to the community and that it would provide a low-cost way for families to spend an afternoon. Also, as I have said before, I think that if someday a new animal facility is established in the park, it should focus heavily on education and coordinate its educational efforts with those of local schools and youth groups.

I also think that if any new animal center is established in the park, it should have its own serious fund-raising efforts, and that contributions from local government should be just a small part of the overall financing.

[mbs7]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

From the comment section of todays article, a chilling thought:

[/i]

Again, what we really need are much stricter USDA regulations. The problems at the GWC represent just one small part of a much, much larger, nationwide problem. Some of these problems could also be addressed at the state level, by tightening up PA's animal laws.