Gatorland - animal care standards

[fintywalker]

of course it's all about the money and of course it's all about us, the general public, believe me they where queing in droves for the photo's

[Jaydee]

I've been to Gatorland and in no way are those animals hurt or mistreated.
We seen them wrestle a gator but it's not as bad as it sounds, he just
dragged it from the water by its tail and sat on him then stroked it's head
to make it sleepy. He then proceeded to stroke under it's chin so that he
could get it to open it's jaw so we could see the teeth, it didn't last too
long as it was dangerous even for the trainer. Afterwards the gator just
waddled off back to the water, now had it been hurt I'm sure he would have
gone straight for the trainer.

[Guest]

This is a difficult subject I think! On the one hand, according to the trainers of Alligators, there muscule structure is such that they physically have to force there mouth open and it automatically slams shut when it senses something in its jaws. Therefore, it would lead you to believe that the Alligator was perfectly comfortable having its jaws taped shut.

On the other hand, Alligators regulate there body temperatures through there tongue, so, if it is taped shut are they over-heating?

I must admit that on our last visit our DD had her photo done with one :-(

One tacky exhibit that does stick in my mind is the way they make them climb out of the water to grab chickens! How unnatural is that!

Just thought I'd add to the conversation!

G,T&S

[Nicksgirl]

First let me say I am a complete hypocrite.

I love Gatorland, its tradition we always go there the first 1/2 day.
However, I do claim to be an Animal Lover.

I love going to see the Gators and some of the shows, however, nothing in my right mind has ever made me want to see the Alligator wresting at all, or have a photo taken with one of the crocs.

Until the day, the crocodile or Alli comes up to me and says, "of course I dont mind having my jaw taped so you can put your little one in a photo with me" thats the day I will have it done.
Also the wrestling, Man conquers gator, how tough is man... He can make the gator sleepy, get out of here, if he wants to wrestle a gator and show how tough he is ... let him do it fairly and lets see who the tough one is then.
Also someone says they only pull its tail out of the water or something like that... well hey lets get a human and grab him by his leg and pull him around, see how he likes it.

At the end of the day, its a great park but lets not put Bows on it, I remember the second time we went and they were putting dead allis jaws on the bodies of Teddy Bears and selling them, that to me was gross and should have stopped me going to the park that time.

However, I am a hypocrite, and yet again will be visiting this year.

[Guest]

Having read the replies I'd like to say thank you to the posters for convincing me that Gator Land is one place I'll absolutely avoid.

Taping their mouths shut, "wrestling" dumb creatures, putting dead alligator skulls on teddy bears ... thanks but No thanks.

Mike

[Guest]

i've never beent o Gatorland so I can't comment on what goes on but reading some of these threads I don't really think I want to!

[Villainlover]

I think that taping a gators jaw is not cruel.. I mean Steve Irwin does it when capturing them because it is the least stressful for the animal..

Gatorland used to be a gator farm and as far as I am aware helped bring Alligators back from being endangered in Florida. I have been several times .. when it was a farm and now a zoo and have not seen any cruelty to these reptiles.

Taping a gators jaw is nothing compared to say keeping a killer whale in a small tank ..so is everyone going to boycott Seaworld, doubtful..
Gatorland is a great place to see these huge reptiles imo.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Villainlover

Taping a gators jaw is nothing compared to say keeping a killer whale in a small tank ..so is everyone going to boycott Seaworld, doubtful..
Gatorland is a great place to see these huge reptiles imo.

See more...

I love Gatorland. And yes - I have a pic with DD and the gator

[Guest]

They are licensed to breed gators for meat and skin trades. That's why the gift shop has such "strange" items. They also do a lot to help endangered species - not just alligators.

I guess it's down to the individual. We liked it there - nice easy and the chance to see real wildlife up close. It's not for some people though, and I can appreciate why.

[Guest]

Thanks everyone for all your responses. As sja says:

Originally Posted by sja

I guess it's down to the individual. We liked it there - nice easy and the chance to see real wildlife up close. It's not for some people though, and I can appreciate why.

See more...

Based on the responses I've decided to remove Gatorland from our itinerary. However, that should not be interpreted as me thinking that Gatorland is "bad" and that those of you who go are somehow "wrong". We're all responsible for setting our boundaries of what is acceptable and unacceptable for us and it looks like Gatorland lies out with my boundaries.

I hope those of you who go have a great time!

Paul