Over the past few years, the Lagoon Amusement Park has been scrutinized for its Wild Animal Kingdom Ride. This attraction is a slow train ride that is marketed as being home to over 60 exotic animals.
But, there are many issues with this. When participants ride the train, you see lions, tigers, and zebras in tiny, enclosed cages or barren dirt pits. These environments are nowhere close to mimicking the animal’s natural habitat or living environment. In addition, these cages are tiny and don’t provide the animals with enough space to live healthily. Lagoon has stated that their cells exceed the USDA guidelines, which is nothing to brag about considering that the USDA only requires that the animals have enough space for standing up and turning around. Furthermore, the Animal Welfare regulations don’t take the animal’s social and emotional needs into account.
Lagoon has also received numerous citations for violations of the USDA’s regulations for Zoos and Aquariums. In March 2018, a young male elk was euthanized after being attacked by a bison when it slipped through a gap in the animal’s enclosures.
This amusement park is a highly unhealthy environment for the animals. As children ride the train ride, they constantly scream, throw things, and disrupt the animals. This, combined with the deafening sound of roller coasters and amusement park activity, creates the most unnatural environment possible for animals.
Some sources have led us to believe that Lagoon only houses these animals because it reduces their rent payment, which means they are using and abusing them.
Did you even know that Lagoon has a Wild Kingdom Ride? Probably not. This is a testament to how unnecessary this cruel attraction is. It isn’t even a significant part of Lagoon’s revenue since virtually nobody visits Lagoon for the animals.
If you are a passionate animal lover interested in getting involved with the movement, there are a couple of things you can do.
Stop going to Lagoon until they end their animal ride and release the animals to a sanctuary. Putting money into their pockets definitely won’t make them finish their ride.
Share this story. Send the link to this blog to friends and family. Half of the people I talk to don’t even know that Lagoon has an animal ride. By spreading awareness in the community, we can help make a more significant impact.