PETA Demands Investigation Into Dallas Aquarium's Kidnap Attempt

Dallas
World Aquarium (DWA) made headlines
recently when it attempted to export six pygmy three-toed sloths from Bocas del Toro,
Panama, after kidnapping eight of them from their native island home. DWA had
made arrangements to send two of the imprisoned sloths to a zoo in Panama.

DWA
conservation biologist Luis Sigler and CEO Daryl Richardson were stopped short
at the airport by Panamanian animal protectionists who insisted that the group
release all eight of the abducted sloths back into the forest, rather than
exporting the gentle, defenseless animals to an aquarium or zoo,
where they would be held captive for the rest of their lives.

Pygmy
three-toed sloths are designated as critically endangered under Panama law and
the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of
Threatened Species. According to an international sloth expert who contacted
PETA, imprisoning these sloths would likely have killed the animals. Scientists
believe that there are fewer than 100
pygmy three-toed sloths alive in the world, and by snatching them from the
only environment they know, DWA recklessly gambled with the lives of nearly 10
percent of the remaining pygmy three-toed sloth population.

PETA is calling on the Association of Zoos & Aquariums and the World Association
of Zoos and Aquariums to investigate DWA’s unethical and greedy conduct. DWA is
accredited by both bodies whose ethical and professional standards prohibit
putting wild animals’ lives at risk by kidnapping them.

What You Can Do

Take visits to zoos and aquariums off your “family fun” list. Every dollar that you spend on tickets
and gift-shop items goes directly to the theft, trade, and lifetime
imprisonment of exotic animals. If your local zoo
solicits money from corporations, charitable organizations, and foundations,
write to the zoo’s sponsors and encourage them to put their money toward
protecting animals in the wild instead.