• 
• 

Published on October 26, 2007

A common misunderstanding in many countries about animals in zoos is that their well-being is limited to their physical condition. With human health, we no longer just consider physical health but psychological health and the ability of the individual to cope with the environment. Herein lies the more comprehensive and relevant matter of welfare.

In addition is the overarching ethical question of whether animals can ever be adequately be provided good welfare in zoos, specifically the large, ranging animals such as great apes, elephants, big cats and bears, to name a few examples. The substantial scientific evidence is of their greatly compromised welfare in zoos.

As the public of a progressive society becomes more informed and aware of the needs and international standards for animal welfare, they will increasingly question and protest the existence of animals held in poor conditions. Inherently, the Thai public has already started to recognise this issue, expressing concerns more directly to the media. The next step would appear obvious and responsive to public comment: action to resolve this situation for the animals themselves.

Suvimol Noparat

Bangkok

---------------

Pata animals are going insane

As a veterinary doctor, the recent articles regarding the condition of animals at Bangkok's Pata Zoo have left me in total disbelief. What is wrong with our authorities? The owner of the zoo clearly has no concern for the animals, he just wants his profit. Even the visiting authorities noted that, "The zoo's location was not appropriate and could not provide the animals with sufficient recreational space."

I have visited Pata Zoo and found that many of the animals exhibited abnormal, neurotic behaviour due to being kept in enclosures that were obviously far too small. Put simply, the animals are going insane for want of space.

What kind of a person is the owner of Pata Zoo? When will the authorities close the zoo and relocate the animals to suitable premises?

Dr J Finns DVM

Bangkok

---------------

Don't shoot the messenger

Re: "Painting insulting to monks axed", News, October 24.

Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong's report raised a number of disturbing questions about Buddhism as practised by monks in Thailand.

Least important is the acknowledged fact that some monks engage in inappropriate behaviour. Inevitably, the painting "Doo Phra" by artist Withit Sembutr, reminded me of the article published a couple of days ago, "Unlucky charms", which reported that many temples had "incurred debts in the millions of baht after they borrowed to produce the [Jatukham Ramathep] amulets, unaware their popularity would slump so soon". At the time, I had wondered whether this sort of crude, speculative commercialism to cash in on a superstitious fad was quite consistent with Buddhist teaching.

However, that and the fact that monks look at amulets, smoke cigarettes and wander around Pantip Plaza pricing computers are small concerns compared to some Buddhist monks' nasty reaction to a piece of art. Does the painting reflect badly on the monkhood? Well, yes, it does. But rather than lashing out with virulent threats to everyone concerned, perhaps the monks who are so upset should consider why such paintings are being created, and why they so obviously touch a chord in many Thai people.

Worse still, the reaction must make us all wonder what other unpleasant and perhaps more genuinely shocking facts are being suppressed? That some monks have a fondness for amulets, life protecting tattoos and the odd cigarette probably doesn't really upset too many followers, so why such a heavy handed assault on this expression of a truth?

The Catholic Church lost the trust of an entire generation when its long suppressed abuses finally came to light. Rather than abusing the messengers, it might benefit Buddhism far more were the Thai Sangha to take a hard and honest look at itself with a view to making long overdue reforms, sooner rather than later. One of those reforms might be a move to encourage honesty, transparency and the peaceful expression of genuinely held beliefs.

With the image they currently present, it is little wonder that the monks are driving the youth of Thailand away from Buddhism.

Peter Filicietti

Bangkok

---------------

Cripple the generals via their bank accounts

The Burmese regime is self-destructing due to the huge cost overruns associated with the construction of the jungle capital at Nay Pyi Taw. Budgeted at US$500 million (Bt17 billion), final construction cost is approaching $2,000 million, four times the original estimate. A significant part of the cost overruns are the commissions (bribes) paid to senior generals by the construction companies. This is why the dumb generals had to increase petrol prices by 500 per cent, which precipitated the national uprising in Burma. This will eventually lead to their demise.

The US is so angry at the massacre of monks that it is going the extra mile to attack the bank accounts of the "bogus generals cum bandits. Any bank that does business with the generals or their cronies will be denied access to business with American banks. Emergency legislation, which is expected to become US law within a few weeks, makes it illegal for Unocal/Chevron to make financial payments for Burmese natural gas to the illegal military government in Burma. The US government will seek French government cooperation in this matter. You don't need UN Security Council sanctions to financially cripple the military junta in Burma.

Myint Thein

Bangkok

---------------

Good reasons to boycott the Olympics

There has been much talk about the futility of boycotting the Beijing Olympics. Read on and see how far you would like to support the Chinese fanfare:

"Those who care or purport to care about human rights must start to discuss this problem in plain words. Is there an initiative to save the un-massacred remains of the people of Darfur? It will be met by a Chinese veto. Does anyone care about Robert Mugabe treating his desperate population as if it belonged to him personally? China is always ready to help him out. Are the North Koreans starved and isolated so that a demented playboy can posture with nuclear weapons? Beijing will give the demented playboy a guarantee. How long can Southeast Asia bear the shame and misery of the Burmese junta? As long as the embrace of China persists. The identity of Tibet is being obliterated by the deliberate importation of Chinese settlers. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a man who claims even to know and determine the sex lives of his serfs, is armed and financed by China. It was this way when President Bill Clinton wanted the UN to take on Slobodan Milosevic and was stymied (by China, among others), and it was this way when President Bush asked the UN to live up to its resolutions on Saddam Hussein. And now I hear human rights activists bleating about Burma and our inaction and simultaneously complaining about the only time that any US president had the nerve to break the hold of China (and Russia, and sometimes France) on the possibility of any international rescue.

"China also maintains territorial claims against India and Vietnam (and, of course, Taiwan) and is building a vast army, as well as a huge ocean-going navy, to back up these ambitions. Events in the Middle East have since obscured this menacing picture, but actually it is in that region that China's cynical state-craft is most obviously on display. If Beijing had had its way, Saddam Hussein would still be in power. Iran is being supplied with Chinese Silkworm missiles. Most horribly of all, China buys most of the oil of Sudan and in return provides the weaponry - and the diplomatic cover at the United Nations - for the genocide in Darfur. ('Blood for oil' would be a good description of this bargain, though I have not seen the expression employed very often.)

"Meanwhile, everybody is getting ready for the lovely time they will have at the Beijing Olympics. If there could be a single demand that would fuse almost all the human rights demands of the contemporary world into one, it would be the call to boycott or cancel this celebration." - Christopher Hitchens, writing on Slate.com.

I couldn't agree more.

James Groveway

Bangkok

Send us your views in an instant

E-mail your opinion, with 'Letters to

the Editor' in the subject box, to:

letters@nationgroup.com

The Nation