Word: humanation
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Nearly all captive zoo and park animals live far better today than they did in the horror-show era of full-grown beasts in small metal cages. But many animal psychologists argue that the landscaping and enriched environments of contemporary zoos are as much for the benefit of human visitors as anything else. The array of dysfunctional behaviors on display at even the best zoos - from swaying giraffes to pacing big cats to the compulsive back-and-forth swimming of Gus, the famously neurotic polar bear in New York's Central Park Zoo - illustrate the psychologists' point. Trying to improve...
Kramer’s proposal is ethically unacceptable. The “pro-natal subsidies” that he recommends eliminating provide—by his own admission—guaranteed minimum standards of food and education for children. These are basic human rights, not luxuries offered by the UNRWA to encourage more births. To even call the subsidies “pro-natal” is extremely misleading, since the aid is clearly intended for children that already exist, rather than parents. Furthermore, even if the cessation of these subsidies would eventually normalize Gaza’s population, which...
...Killer-whale-trainer fatalities tend to be drownings: the human is pushed down and kept underwater. In such situations, experienced trainers know to try calming the whale with signals even as they try to control their own panic. But the violent and abrupt nature of the attack on Brancheau has stunned many in the profession. She was one of the best and most experienced in the field, featured in many of SeaWorld's promotions and advertisements...
...Trainers point out that entertainments like those at SeaWorld are minutely choreographed, primed with long-practiced signals and rehearsed with great care, with constant attention paid to the whale's psychology before and after the performances. The interaction between trainer and whale is key - with the onus on the human to notice how cooperative the animal is being. The word constantly heard is love - that the trainers love the whales. And they will bet their lives on them...
...narco-trafficker ruling over several of Medellín's most violent neighborhoods, who spoke on condition of anonymity. As an estimated 150 to 300 criminal bands fight over control and turf, "the civilian population is caught in the middle," says Ana Patricia Aristizábal, the human-rights delegate of Medellín's ombudsman's office. (See the top 10 crime stories...