mercurialfox In reply to Eysescope [2024-03-09 12:45:33 +0000 UTC]

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Eysescope In reply to mercurialfox [2024-03-09 14:27:51 +0000 UTC]

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mercurialfox In reply to Stefered [2024-03-09 12:39:04 +0000 UTC]

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mercurialfox In reply to TheBootesArtVoid [2021-04-03 15:03:28 +0000 UTC]

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mercurialfox In reply to PAIGE-GE [2020-09-08 13:01:57 +0000 UTC]

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PAIGE-GE In reply to mercurialfox [2020-09-08 15:02:01 +0000 UTC]

Your welcome.

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mercurialfox In reply to ManunuArt [2019-04-05 13:44:13 +0000 UTC]

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mercurialfox In reply to GalleyArts [2019-01-18 13:50:16 +0000 UTC]

No worries, signed it ! It's unbelievable, you think this country couldnt get more apathetic and cruel towards animals but here we are. And people have the cheek to say that Brits are animal lovers. They sure do love to own and abuse animals for entertainment, that is for sure.

I hope you had a good Christmas too and Happy new year! Im trying to be better at replying to people this year but as always it really just depends on my health xD But heres hoping! I love talking to people, its just my brain can't handle all the words :'')

How is your project coming along, drawing animals for charity? I came across this the other day, you may already know of it, Vivas Art for animals - www.viva.org.uk/get-involved/r…

I havent read all the details but I thought it might be of interest to you, it's something I want to look into too, when my brain is a little les foggy!

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GalleyArts In reply to mercurialfox [2019-11-04 22:05:18 +0000 UTC]

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mercurialfox In reply to GalleyArts [2018-12-25 11:43:32 +0000 UTC]

Merry Christmas !! I hope you are able to have a good day and enjoy yourselves as much as possible!

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mercurialfox In reply to GalleyArts [2018-12-18 12:58:32 +0000 UTC]

Thats appalling!! Im so mad!

Do you know if there are any petitions to try and change it currently?

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GalleyArts In reply to mercurialfox [2018-12-18 13:02:32 +0000 UTC]

Same here! No, I'm looking but I haven't found one yet. I've just spoken with a friend called Elizabeth who's a vegan activist, too, and we're trying to get some kind of protest going in the New Year. I literally just sat and cried when my mum told me about it. What is wrong with people? It's so painfully obvious this is about nothing but financial gain i.e. making money through the licence fees - and then to claim it's going towards conservation.
Ugh...   

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mercurialfox In reply to GalleyArts [2018-12-18 15:01:17 +0000 UTC]

Thats excellent, keep me updated on how it goes! Its just further madness from this disgusting government and more excuses to kill animals for fun and make a profit off of it. We absolutely need to fight it!

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GalleyArts In reply to GalleyArts [2018-12-18 13:06:02 +0000 UTC]

Got it:
www.change.org/p/natural-engla…

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mercurialfox In reply to Ga-Maleven [2018-11-03 13:56:31 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome !

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mercurialfox In reply to RanxStudio [2018-10-03 16:57:42 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome

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mercurialfox In reply to GalleyArts [2018-09-10 15:58:09 +0000 UTC]

Of course ! I've not heard of them myself but if they call themselves a wildlife park, that sounds more like a zoo rather than a sanctuary or rehabilitation centre - however I could be very wrong about that! But if they have rescued bears and other animals that sounds hopeful, maybe they are an exception. I find a good judge of a place is whether they rehabilitate animals (although I know its not always possible for every animal, they should be rehabilitating some at least).

Wildlife parks and zoos focus on money and their business rather than the animals needs and real conservational efforts (of course some of these places are a lot better than others) and from what I've learnt and seen I choose not to support zoos or wildlife parks for this reason, that they are profiting off of animals and not putting the animals needs as priority. (Not to mention the things that happen behind the scenes that are kept secret). The breeding programs that zoos have have nothing to do with rehabilitating the species and just ensures future generations of animals for more zoos to keep and display.

Damian Aspianall himself has said that zoos are unacceptable and wishes that they will be abolished, Ive been looking around to try and find some interviews with him - www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth…

sorry its a bit long but he talks about it a bit here. He admits that it is contradictary of him to run his parks but feels trapped in the situation (unerstandably). Howletts and Port Lympne have real conservational and rehabilitation programs that have been going for many years now and really are the only wildlife parks I would feel safe going to, as although they still fall into the zoo catergory, there is a real effort being made to get animals back into the wild and let the animals in captivity have as best life as they can.

Those are my thoughts ! If you want to get real life references (which sounds really nice to do) if you can try and find conservation centers, rescues and sanctuaries to visit that would be the ideal choice. Of course, I dont know how far you can travel with your health so this could be limiting for sure. I guess then, its up to you to decide how you feel about it and of course you are doing this project to try and spread awareness about animal rights, so its definitely for a good cause. I guess, it depends on the animals too, if they are for example british wildlife, I imagine its going to be easier to find sanctuaries that are accessible to you.

I was wondering, if you were happy to use photo references, if it was worth contacting some wildlife sanctuaries and explain your situation and if they would be able to send you/allow you to use some of their own photos as references?

Sorry for waffling on there, I think I wanted to try and explain my stance on it all

Ok so Ive had a quick look at their website. I think it's a tough one, they do talk about some conservation and I looked at their polar bears as that gave me alarm bells to see polar bears in captivity. It looks as though they are working on getting bears out of worse conditions in other zoos. Im not sure if they are rehabilitating the bears into the wild though and I still cringe at seeing them in captivaty but it looks as though they are putting in efforts to give them a decent home and certainly getting them out of horrific conditions is a good thing.

But it still looks like a zoo to me, the way its marketed and has entertainment for humans etc rather than actual sanctuaries Ive been to, its a different vibe.

But you could also go to try and judge for yourself what the place is really like, if its really a business with some animal conservation going on to keep people happy or if its fully focused on animal rights?

Maybe contact some local vegan groups/animal rights groups to find out if anyone has a better insight to the place and what goes on behind the scenes?

Sorry Im not much help but I hope bouncing around ideas can be of some use anyway and sorry for taking a long time to get back to you, I've not been very good health wise, well all year really but I really wanted to get back to you with something decent to say ! xD

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GalleyArts In reply to mercurialfox [2018-09-18 19:46:15 +0000 UTC]

Hey! Oh, please don’t apologise – you weren’t waffling at all! I really appreciate your input, all your efforts to look into it for me and trying to give me some ideas. You’re such a sweet friend, honestly, so thank you.

Absolutely. The whole “park” thing made me very wary in the beginning, too. I’d pretty much accepted that I’d never visit a zoo or anything similar again in my life. I haven’t done since I was about seven, anyway, because of health and lack of transport, etc. But in the past ten years or so I’ve become all too aware of the abuse, stress and lack of stimulation, natural environment – and not to mention freedom – that comes with them. I mean I try to sign and spread every petition I can on banning circuses, neglectful zoos and places like Sea World and stuff. It breaks my heart, to see them going mad in their confinement, it really does.

Like you, I’d love to visit sanctuaries if it were at all possible, but, again, transport is an issue and up here in Yorkshire there just doesn’t seem to be anything like that. I think up here the general outlook is that animals are just bred for food. It’s farming country, essentially. Miserable, but sadly the way it is. I was actually looking for local sanctuaries (with no luck) when I found the park. I was so conflicted about even looking on their website initially, as I felt I was going against all of my values! But with watching their rescue videos on YouTube I started to wonder if it might be alright, after all.

I mean as far as I understand it, the polar bears were bred in captivity in horrendous places. All three are unable to return to the wild because they’re dependant on humans now and understandably, they have to be cared for somewhere, and they do seem happy. Not unlike Animals Asia they celebrate Christmas and birthdays and things with big boxes of fish and enjoy rummaging through those, and more importantly they get varied stimulation each day. They tried to give a home to Pizza, do you remember poor Pizza the polar bear? I really wish they’d rehomed him and his mother there.

I would like to get real-life references where at all possible – and it is a thought to contact sanctuaries to ask if they would provide me with some photos, so thank you for that idea – and I saw in another comment that you offered to let me use yours as references, too, which would be amazing because I love your photos, so a big, big thank you for that, Troy. I definitely will! I know I won’t be able to photograph every animal I want to draw, such as crocodiles and things, it’s just the frustration of wanting to do it myself, you know? But I really couldn’t go somewhere I felt was harmful to animals – not least because it would contradict everything I’d be trying to achieve.

I do agree that most zoos are definitely not a good thing, but with their efforts to breed Amur Leopards and introduce both mother, father and cubs back into the wild in Russia and such, I do feel it’d be worth going and seeing if they really are valuing conservation as much as they claim to be, and if the animals are as content as they say they are, too.

That said, I’m not sure it’s going to happen now anyway, sadly, as since my last message my mum’s disability money has been taken off her (wholly unjustly, I add, all because of the government’s sickening regime to get the numbers down, forcing countless disabled people into poverty and even suicide) and we’re struggling, so the last thing on my mind right now is a trip out. Still, I’m really, really grateful for your input, Troy, you know I value and respect your opinions so much and I’m really excited to use your photos as references for now – especially the bears!! They’re one of my favourite animals.

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mercurialfox In reply to SkyfireDragon [2018-07-14 11:23:55 +0000 UTC]

 Thank you

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SkyfireDragon In reply to mercurialfox [2018-07-14 13:59:37 +0000 UTC]

You are very welcome!

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mercurialfox In reply to Loisa [2018-07-14 11:23:50 +0000 UTC]

 Thank you

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mercurialfox In reply to Kermitthefrog223456 [2018-07-14 11:23:46 +0000 UTC]

 Thank you

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mercurialfox In reply to GalleyArts [2018-07-13 14:32:14 +0000 UTC]

Thank you ! I hope you are also as well as possible!

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GalleyArts In reply to mercurialfox [2018-08-07 20:45:41 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. Not so bad at the minute.

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mercurialfox In reply to SophiaEowyn [2018-07-13 14:32:22 +0000 UTC]

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mercurialfox In reply to gordonphilbin [2018-07-13 14:32:27 +0000 UTC]

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gordonphilbin In reply to mercurialfox [2018-07-13 22:06:47 +0000 UTC]

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mercurialfox In reply to pieclown [2018-07-13 14:32:35 +0000 UTC]

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mercurialfox In reply to Undevicesimus [2018-07-13 14:32:40 +0000 UTC]

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