Mall's animal exhibit described as "torture"

       Environmentalists have accused the organisers of the "King of the Jungle"wildlife exhibition at the Emporium shopping mall of animal torture.
       "A white tiger is locked up in a confined cage, a young jumbo is forced to walk around under the scorching sun to promote the event, while the nocturnal barn owl has to endure flashlights from visitors' cameras," said Vanchai Tantivitayapitak, deputy secretarygeneral of the Green World Foundation.
       The King of the Jungle Flora & Fauna Exotica runs from Oct 8 to 18 with free admission. It is co-organised by several state agencies, such as the Zoological Park Organisation (ZPO), the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry,the Chiang Mai Night Safari, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
       Among the animals and plants displayed at the shopping complex are a lion, a meerkat, a rusa deer, a bateared fox, an ostrich and lemurs.
       Mr Vanchai said the exhibition was a distasteful marketing strategy that abuses wildlife for business purposes.
       "All of the animals on display are apparently stressed because they are kept in an unsuitable environment. They can even go into shock and die," he said.
       The veteran environmentalist blasted the ZPO for cooperating with business people to exploit the animals.
       Rangsarit Kanchanavanich, of the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation, said state and private agencies misunderstood that the display of animals in shopping malls would raise environmental awareness among the public.
       "This kind of activity is torturing animals and will send a wrong signal to younger generations that humans can do anything with these creatures,"he said.
       Amphan Patharakorn,the Emporium's operations general manager, said the event, held under the theme "Save the world. Save the wild",was aimed at promoting environmental awareness and educating children about wild animals.
       The animals were being taken care of by a team of veterinarians from state agencies.
       "The veterinarians are on standby to look after the animals and to ensure the safety of visitors," she said.
       ZPO chief Sophon Damnui said the animals had been hired from zoos and farms so they were used to crowds."Moreover, they will only be [at the shopping mall] for 10 days, not forever,"he said.