Animal Awareness / Farm Exhibit Campaign

Campaigns

Animal Awareness organizes campaigns that aim to educate the public, businesses, and legislators about animal use and abuse issues as well as promote the many humane alternatives.

Smithsonian National Zoological Park: Stop the Kids' Farm Exhibit

Animal Awareness is currently is the process of campaigning to stop production on a new potential zoo exhibit that would educate the public about factory farming in an unrealistic and inaccurate fairytale portrayal.

We are pursuing this goal by sending comprehensive information packets to both the staff and Board of Directors at the Zoo, FONZ, and the Smithsonian.

We are also sending similar packages to all groups who have a stake in the fact that factory farming should be discussed in an accurate way. We are encouraging them to also speak out against this exhibit. Other interested groups include:

Environmental groups
Animal advocacy groups
Global Hunger Relief groups
Small organic and sustainable farmers
Religious groups: Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Seventh Day Adventist
Vegetarian groups
Groups concerned with human health
Media (read the Press Release)

An online version of the complete package that we are sending out can be viewed below. Or, take an overview look at the background information.

Outlining our position:

Letter outlining the case (271k pdf) that the zoo should not have this very controversial exhibit for a number of reasons, especially with all of their current scandal going on.
List of 10 specific points (271k pdf) why the exhibit should not be at the zoo.
List of suggested alternatives (286k pdf) to their current plan.

The facts and proof that backs up every claim made by the above documents:

Human Health Impacts, Environmental Impacts, and Global Hunger Impacts:
click here.
Information about the effects of cattle grazing on rainforests:
click here.
Information about the Interconnection between Biodiversity, Sustainability, and Human Survival:
click here.
Information about welfare conditions for animals in factory farms:
click here
Booklet of photographs depicting aspects of real factory farming: animal confinement, transport, and slaughter. Click here for the pdf (3mb).

E-coli Infection: Having children around farm animals has a great risk of disease transmission such as e-coli, which is well documented at the links below. Even though the zoo plans to have hand washing stations, that will not prevent the main way that e-coli is transmitted, dried manure particles of farm animals are carried by the wind as well as contaminated water runoff.

Having humans around animals poses numerous health risk, which a zoo is obviously aware about. But, farm animals add many more potential diseases than the others. This is especially true since the exhibit was unplanned and will be confined to a small corner of the zoo where room for pedestrian traffic will be a problem.

Articles linking e-coli illnesses to petting zoos:

Eurosurveillance Weekly: Infection Risks from Contact with Farm Animals and Poultry

Journal Sentinel: Suspected cases of E. coli multiply

ABC News: E. Coli at Petting Zoo

CNN: CDC targets E. coli contamination at petting zoos

CNN: Children infected with E. coli at petting zoo, officials say

CNN: Nineteen children sickened - 1 E. coli case confirmed

Newfoundland & Labrador Agriculture: Health Risks from Handling Animals (1): Livestock Owners

Times Herald: Health department blamed for delay in E. coli report

Times Herald: 9 more E. coli cases suspected

Background Information:

The National Zoo in Washington DC ousted two senior staff members on January 28, 2003. There have been 11 animal deaths over the prior few months; a lion, a white tiger, two adult giraffes, a seal, a still-born macaque monkey, a bobcat, and most recently were 2 Red Panda deaths (accidental poisoning during rat extermination project that went wrong) and a pygmy hippopotamus in late January, 2003 and an orangutan in February, 2003.

Read the Washington Post article

One of the people fired was Ben Beck, associate director of animal programs.

Ben Beck was a major force behind planning a Kids' Farm that would paint a "fairy tale" picture of what farm life is for animals. This exhibit is still in the early stages of construction, though a lot of planning has already happened.

When Animal Awareness president, Janet Deery, met with Ben Beck on 9/19/02, he was given a package with facts, pictures, and video that showed the reality of factory farming. He dismissed the facts that global acceptance of a vegetarian diet would ease global hunger and have huge environmental benefits. He said that he was convinced that in order to feed the world he (inaccurately) thought we should, "... crank up the exploitation of domestic animals." As far as welfare was concerned, he said that he did not approve of giving animals any more cage space because, "... if the 10 billion animals (killed in 2001 for food in U.S. excluding aquatic animals) had room to roam properly, it would be at the expense of cutting down all of the trees in the forest just to make room for them."

Ben Beck obviously did not care about accurately educating the public, which is supposed to be part of the zoo's mission.

Many members of the zoo staff had already been hesitant of the farm exhibit. Ms. Deery was told that they have doubts about their ability to handle the extra exhibit. She was also told that this has been the most controversial exhibit internally within the zoo staff because of the fact that animals would be discussed as a commodity, which would be the first exhibit of its kind at the zoo.

So why go forward with an exhibit when it's not really wanted by the majority of staff? MONEY. Congressman Ralph Regula from Ohio has persistently been pushing for this exhibit to promote his political agenda. He gave the zoo $5 million to make this exhibit. Though it sounds like a lot of money, some zoo staff members say that amount won't be sufficient for long-term staff and animal care needs.

How You Can Help:

We are encouraging letters to be written in support of this campaign. Please send them to the Zoo staff and Board of Directors. Click here for contact information.

Also, writing a Letter to the Editor will let the public know what is going on. For your convenience, we have a list of newspapers in the Washington DC and surrounding areas.