End The Declawing of LIONS, TIGERS and LEOPARDS!

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE.

Safari Park Open Zoo & Camp in Kanchanaburi, Thailand is a family owned company that offers tourists from all over the world the opportunity to get up-close and personal with wild animals, the main attraction however, is the physical interaction with the big cats. The company's current policy is to declaw the cats in an attempt to protect its consumers, the owners propose that it drastically reduces the risk of serious injuries from befalling their paying customers. Instead of safeguarding the interests of their animals, the owners effectively try to shield the very people who choose to risk their own safety and enter a cage with the deadly cats. We are not talking about domestic house cats here, we are talking about LIONS, TIGERS and LEOPARDS!

There can be common misconceptions about what declawing entails, it's not a simple case of clipping the cat's nails keeping them short for a while, it's actually amputation! It's a serious surgical procedure on their paws to remove the last bone in their toe which is attached to the claw so it can never grow back, therefore permanently removing the end of their toes. The baby cubs are sent for declawing when they are approximately 2/3 months old and are usually left to recover in solitary confinement for a few weeks before being sent back to customers for "playtime" with their stitches still clearly visible and sticking out of their paws, where their claws used to be. Big cats can be extremely good at hiding pain, in addition to the physical, emotional and psychological trauma of surgery, their wounds are susceptible to all kinds of infection, often requiring further medical treatment, meaning further suffering. As well as recovering from their unnatural wounds, the cubs also have to learn to walk again after surgery and adapt to life with their enforced disability.

According to the owners, none of the big cats were declawed during the company's previous 15-year span but they had decided to introduce the abusive practice any way, around 5 years ago. There are no excuses for this torturous procedure against the helpless big cats, it's pointless and painful. The natural born predators have razor sharp teeth capable of tearing flesh off of bone, there is more chance of being bitten to death than there is of being scratched to death, removing their claws does very little for public safety. It serves no real purpose other than to punish the cat for having been born a lion, leopard or tiger. Imagine having your fingertips cut off at the first joint because someone decided they didn't like the idea of you having nails, it's insane and a completely unnecessary extreme.

Declawing is a permanent solution to a non-existent problem. It is equivalent to removing a lion's teeth, a rhino's horn or an elephants tusk, just to protect humans. We would never allow or accept such senseless violence on ourselves, our families or our friends, we have rights and we have a voice… these captive wild cats sadly do not. Think about what it's like for an innocent baby lion when it is taken away from the zoo and suddenly sent to an unfamiliar facility, scared, alone and not realising the agony that awaits. Imagine the fear as the young cub is prepped for an unnecessary surgery and anaesthetized only to wake up in severe pain with part of its body missing.

Despite our efforts to contact the owners, our attempts have been ignored and no statements were released attempting to either defend their actions or to justify their decision to declaw the lions, tigers and leopards at Safari Park. Terrible facilities in Thailand like the heart-breaking tiger farms and tiger circuses still manage to have cats with claws, so there really is no excuse for it at Safari Park. The owners are choosing to bury their heads in the sand rather than deal with the issues they face. As they will not respond to us, we are hoping they will respond to you, the public. If a significant amount of people are willing to support our cause and help end the declawing at Safari Park, then we have a better chance of turning things around, the idea being that there is power in numbers. People have the choice to support declawing as everyone is naturally entitled to an opinion, however, if mutilating and torturing a lion, tiger or leopard is an acceptable practice in your mind, then you should avoid contact with animals in general.

This petition is not about boycotting the company or having the place shut down, it is about putting pressure on the owners to get them to reverse some of their decisions and to change the outdated and unethical company policies. Our simple aim is to end the declawing and have some of the deteriorating animals that are locked in tiny cages, moved in to better enclosures within the zoo as quickly as possible. If you genuinely care about these animals and want to help them, please sign the petition. If you are worried about being identified for any reason, then there is an option to remain anonymous on the page, just tick the relevant box and your name will be hidden from public view. If you would like to do more, please feel free to contact the owners addressing your concerns or if you have visited Safari Park, please share the petition online detailing your personal experiences and how you think things can be improved.

Education, discussion and action, that's the only way to make progress.

Please continue to promote discussion and share this petition. If you want to do more please contact the owners with your concerns - joesafaripark@hotmail.com

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing and the worst thing you can do is nothing"

   ~ Theodore Roosevelt ~

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