I’m very disappointed to see Xpress’ enthusiasm about the Western North Carolina Nature Center reopening.
I will never forget my one painful visit two years ago watching animals with no enrichment in small enclosures with nothing to do but sleep. The exception was a bear, pacing back and forth in an oval. He would touch his nose to the gate latch each slow loop. I watched for 30 minutes, then left in tears. He was still making his loop of captivity insanity as I walked away.
That this place receives accreditation is evidence of the insufficiency of regulatory oversight of captive animal businesses. How people take their children there for entertainment is indicative of how tragically separated most people are from natural animal behavior. Heartbreaking…