I refer to Keith Hemshall's letter, headlined, 'Caged panther looks bored', which appeared in the South China Morning Post, on July 1.
He is referring to the pair of jaguars which are in permanent incarceration in our once beautiful Botanical Gardens. They are not only bored, they are bored out of their minds.
The male, in particular, shows severe symptoms of a disorder nowadays called 'zoochosis'.
The only educational value to the public of observing this suffering is as an example of the inhumanity of man to his fellow creatures. The public might be interested to know that their children were taken from them last year and now reside in worse conditions in Guangzhou Zoo.
A representative of the Urban Council will no doubt reply to Mr Hemshall's letter by pointing out the new cage that was hideously built at great expense in one of the last tranquil corners of the gardens. It is unfortunately not sufficiently better to bring any hope of significant alleviation of the animals' plight.
It is true that these animals are not capable of being returned to the wild and it is probable that their minds are too far gone to benefit from a more enlightened enclosure (as, for example, in Singapore Zoo).
