(MY) Keep animals free

[Guest guest]

Amber roars for the release of the wild - New Straits Times

 

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/25/nation/4974693 & sec=nation

 

2009/10/25

 

*Veena Babulal*

 

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian supermodel Amber Chia striped down to basics to

drive home a message -- " Keep Animals Free: Boycott Zoos " .

 

The 27-year-old clad only in bikini and spotting stripes on her body posed

as a caged tiger for an anti-zoo advertisement for PETA (People for the

Ethical Treatment of Animals).

 

She became the first Malaysian celebrity spokes-woman for the movement.

 

The sexy bombshell also played to the gallery when she growled which got the

photographers clicking away with their cameras during the media photo shoot

at a private studio here yesterday.

[image: Amber Chia is all stripes as she poses for an anti-zoo

advertisement for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals movement

yesterday.]

 

" This is the first time I have had full make-up on my body and it took four

hours to get me prepared for it. But if it manages to send a clear message,

then my job is done, " said the model, who had graced the pages of Playboy

and FHM magazines.

 

" I have been familiar with PETA for about 10 years now and I advocate its

cause because I truly believe that animals belong in the wild, " said Amber,

while being interviewed at the set which had been transformed into a jungle.

 

The print advertisement is expected to make heads turn in Japan, Korea,

Germany, Thailand and the United States. It is also expected to debut during

Chinese New Year in conjunction with the Year of the Tiger.

 

PETA senior campaigner (Asia Pacific) Ashley Fruno said the campaign was

timely as zoos often used the " excuse of imprisoning animals for the purpose

of conservation and educating the public " .

 

" This is hogwash because children can learn about wild animals from the

media. We also do not hear of cases where animals after being rehabilitated

are released back into the wild.

 

" The only purpose of a zoo is to make money by charging the visitors. For

that, the animals suffer. "

 

Fruno said animals had been denied of their instincts to roam, hunt and

select their mates. She said animals were sentenced to a life of boredom,

frustration and loneliness.

 

The three white tigers that mauled a zookeeper at the Singapore Zoo was an

example of " Zoochosis " which is a repetitive self-destructive cycle of

neurotic behaviour, Fruno said.

 

" Animals in enclosure often pace around. They sway and twist their necks,

bob their heads and even resort to violent behaviour such as harming other

individuals or self-inflicted injuries by gnawing themselves. "

 

 

 

Sunday October 25, 2009-The Star

Amber stripes down for Peta’s anti-zoo campaign By SHAUN HO

 

PETALING JAYA: Supermodel Amber Chia did not mind sitting still for three

hours to have her body painted with tiger stripes.

 

“This is the first time I am being body-painted but it turned out all

right,” she said after a media photo opportunity at a photo studio

yesterday.

 

“It took a long time, but I’m all right with it since it’s for charity.”

 

The media opportunity was arranged by People for the Ethical Treatment of

Animals (Peta) Asia Pacific.

Sexy cat: Chia posing as a tiger for the media photographers at a photo

session in Mutiara Damansara.

 

Amber’s “tiger image” will be featured in a new anti-captivity advertisement

for Peta with her photos appearing on posters and newspapers across the

globe early next year in a campaign against zoos.

 

Amber will pose in a jungle setting and also in a steel cage.

 

She is the first Malaysian celebrity they have roped in to help their cause

urging people to boycott zoos.

 

Senior Peta campaigner Ashley Fruno said Amber was chosen because she had a

compassion for animals.

 

“Wild animals belong in the wild. An animal who lives a long and healthy

life but dies in the wild is not worse off than animals who spend all their

lives pacing in enclosures.”

 

Fruno added that despite claims that zoos taught people about animals, Peta

still wanted people to boycott them as animals were being exploited for

entertainment.

 

The campaign is urging people against visiting zoos as no zoo could recreate

the animals’ natural habitat, she said.

 

She also said no matter how much a zoo took care of its animals, it would

never be able to offer the space animals needed.

 

Fruno also visited Zoo Negara last Septem-ber and observed that the animals

at the nation’s oldest zoo were living in old enclosures which did not

provide enough room or stimulation for them.

 

An article on Zoo Negara has been put on their website *

www.petaasiapacific.com*.

 

Monday October 26, 2009-The Star

Peta’s boycott campaign unfair, says zoo caretaker

 

JOHOR BARU: The call by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

(Peta) Asia-Pacific for a boycott of zoos is unfair, says Saleng Zoo

caretaker J. Siva Priyan.

 

He said the group’s claim that zoos only exploited animals for entertainment

was untrue as zoos also provided shelter and protection for the animals.

 

“At least in zoos, animals such as tigers and lions are safe from becoming

victims of poachers.

 

“We take care of the animals and provide them with sufficient food and

protection at all times,” he told *The Star* yesterday.

 

Siva Priyan was commenting on Peta’s latest campaign to encourage people to

boycott zoos.

 

The group is also planning to use posters of Malaysian supermodel Amber Chia

in their anti-captivity campaign worldwide from next year.

 

He said representatives from Peta should have carried out a proper study on

zoos before making allegations against them. “In our zoo, we have 24 tigers.

All of them are happy and, like all our other animals, are well taken care

of,” he added.

 

Senior campaigner for Peta Ashley Fruno said on Saturday the campaign was

launched as animals kept in captivity were not happy animals.

 

She said no matter how well a zoo took care of its animals, it would never

be able to offer the space animals needed.