Cruelty behind the scenes: the story of Moo Deng the pygmy hippo

Shameful behavior in a zoo in Thailand, where the public disturbed a baby pygmy hippopotamus to get its attention. The videos released by the facility show people throwing water on the animal, which, not being a freak, rests with its mother rather than entertaining visitors

A young female pygmy hippo, Moo Deng has become an Internet sensation and the beloved mascot of Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo, thus drawing mass visitors from every part of the country. The sad part, though, is that to get a photo, some of these visitors do not spare her even from the most inhumane acts.

Thousands flock just to see her

Moo Deng overnight sensation hit the headlines right after the zoo management announced her birth on their social media pages and presented her to the public. Thousands purchased tickets for a view of the baby hippo, unprecedented numbers, it is said. “Forced, the zoo staff had to arrange guided tours of only a few minutes each through the hippo enclosure, barring access to the area during weekends.

But there is yet another reason, more distressing than this, that the restrictions were made, coupled with warning signs around the pygmy hippo enclosure. Moo Deng is only active a couple of hours each day, and spends most of her time sleeping.

These characteristics of nature have frustrated many visitors who, irritated by an apparent lack of activity, have gone to extremes to get the attention of the young animal. Unfortunately, such attempts have been abusive.

The other hippo has been subjected to the most adverse and inappropriate behaviour from several onlookers, who have thrown food or garbage at the little hippo, going to the point of pouring water on her to wake her up in order to try to get her to interact somehow with her mother.

The Khao Kheow Open Zoo staff has to remind the visitors of the legal risks they may be running into, to reiterate the rules of this zoo, and to appeal to those instincts of common sense and decency which everyone should show.

Zoos should never be, and let’s stress the conditional, a place of entertainment comparable to circuses. Jokingly said, some activities provided by single facilities, for example, photo shooting with wild animals, only help nurture this kind of perception about zoos-as-amusement-parks misunderstanding. And that is something that has to be changed if people want to secure a future with welfare for animals like Moo Deng.

Source: สวนสัตว์เปิดเขาเขียว Khao Kheow Open Zoo/Facebook – X

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Do you really know what’s in chocolate milk?

7 out of 100 Americans believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows: this belief can make us smile and surprise us, but it must also allow us to reflect on the awareness and knowledge we have in the food sector. We know less and less what we eat and where our food comes from: and this is the most worrying news

Do you really know what’s inside chocolate milk? Well, an enlightening study shows that even questions to which the answer would appear blazingly obvious can mask some amazing misconceptions, both funny and revealing.

What’s in chocolate milk?

If I asked you to name the ingredients of chocolate milk, you would probably immediately say: milk, chocolate, and maybe sugar. The milk can be animal-based, cow’s milk for instance, or a plant-based one, like oat milk. The chocolate is usually powdered and often pre-sweetened.

Right? Well… it would appear self-evident, anyway.

A study that amuses and makes you think

In fact, a 2017 survey by the Innovation Center of U.S. Dairy revealed that 16.4 million Americans–7% of the population, or 7 out of every 100 people–believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

This may be surprising to many because it lacks logical reasoning. It begs worry that 16.4 million people could think that a drink called “chocolate milk”-as pretty descriptive a name as it gets-derives from brown cows instead of just being milk flavored with chocolate. If this is the sampled group, you can imagine how many people around the world would give this answer.

This statistic also speaks to the more important question of the growing disconnection between ourselves and our foods: we have no idea where exactly our foods originate.

Do we know what we’re eating?

Within a mere two generations, we have effectively erased nearly all the accumulated knowledge of 23,000 years of agriculture.

For example, some people don’t know that bacon comes from pigs, and the United States Department of Agriculture classifies potatoes as “vegetables” and fruit juices as “fruits.”

Already a minor victory is if we know fruits and vegetables have their seasons.

We have become so accustomed to having everything at any time of the year, in immaculate, single-serving plastic packages, that we totally forgot what it is we are consuming.

The article draws upon studies published and recommendations from international institutions and/or experts. We do not make claims in the medical-scientific field and report the facts as they are. Sources are indicated at the end of each article.
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