Is this animal abuse!?????

[Worriedmamma1]

I went to a local farm with my son and partner over the weekend for day out!!!!

I was absolute shocked to see the animals in the state they were in. They was hardly moving, didn't make a sound!

And then we found reindeer! When we first saw them they was just sitting there doing nothing! So we went the playground and went back and the started eating!

But my god are they not skinny?!!!!!!! I am shocked tbh??
Outside they have a pond with geese and one has a very very obviously broken wing!

Don't get me wrong this is a elk known children's farm and I don't want to think they are mistreating they animal but from what I saw I am disgusted and don't know what to do!

From your photo the pen looks clean and the animal has access to fresh hay and water and whilst yes I can see it looks on the lean side, I can't pass opinion on whether it's actually being ill treated.
With regards your other concerns, could you have asked someone about the goose with a broken wing? Could it be an old injury and the bird is there after being rescued?
In all honesty, if it were me and I still had concerns after thinking it through then yes I would call the RSPCA and talk through my concerns with them. That is what they're there for and it is confidential too.
If they decide to do a check, the facility will be used to having checks done and if they're all above board they will welcome any indirection anyway.

Inspection not indirection

Report to animal welfare. There might just be sickness in the farm but they can check that out.

It looks perfectly fine to me. In clean comfortable conditions with lots of fodder. What sounds do you feel it should have been making? Should it be obese? Pulling Santa's sleigh? What?
Wrt the goose, why didn't you ask? It is perfectly possible that it is an old injury.
You sound rather feverish tbh.

Maybe it's v old.
Or looks like that through lack of exercise?

Perfectly healthy looking reindeer in that picture, they aren’t meant to carry fat over their ribs. Obviously one picture doesn’t tell a lot.

What were you expecting mammals on a warm day to want to do? They aren’t very interesting as a rule.

I'm not sure his backbone should be that prominent ( going off rescue programmes re how v starved cows & horses should look )but elderly animals do loose body condition. If he's got clean daily water & food etc I'd maybe have asked staff if he was ok .

Didn't we have this thread about a cow recently?

I would report. That reindeer does look really skinny

It could be old, but then it can be verified by a quick check.

Any farm who are operating properly would allow a check up at any time

I'm no animal expert but the reindeer may be on the slim side due to the weather- they probably naturally lose weight over the summer months so they don't overheat. But the enclosure looks OK and its fur looks thick and healthy.
Good on you though OP for flagging this up

What did they say when you mentioned the geese to them?

The pen might be clean, but a deer that's in captivity shouldn't look like that. If it was ill as well, it shouldn't be on display to the public because that will potentially make it anxious and make the illness worse. Other places like this close off areas where an animal is ill or remove it from the enclosure if they can't do that to a more private area.

I'd be reporting unfortunately.

placemarking for more nonsense

If you want the proper answer ....

Yes all zoos are animal abuse really. Why would a polar bear want to be anywhere but where it snows etc. Same with lions, reindeer's don't want to be kept in pens. WE ARE NOT DOING THEM A FAVOUR.

So yeah don't go to zoos because they could never really treat the animal how it needs as they simply cannot provide them with their special needs

trying4number2 oh god yes,this with bells on.

Zoos are important for conservation reasons.

If it wasn’t for zoos, so many species would either be extinct or very close to extinct.

They are very important for breeding programs and most zoos are very passionate about the health and husbandry for their animals

@Soubriquet

Zoos are important for conservation reasons.

If it wasn’t for zoos, so many species would either be extinct or very close to extinct.

They are very important for breeding programs and most zoos are very passionate about the health and husbandry for their animals

Yes there are some good zoos but not all zoos are important for conservation. Many do very little (and legally don't have to). Outside of the UK, many zoos trade in and consume wildlife.

@Worriedmamma1 what exactly is your animal experience? The reindeer looks physically fine - I'd be more concerned about the small pen and lack of social contact and how it might be used in December during a Xmas display. But most places only keep deer like this because parents want to take their DC to see the reindeer at Xmas. The way to fix it is to vote with your money.

Did you ask any staff about the injured duck?

@Soubriquet

Zoos are important for conservation reasons.

If it wasn’t for zoos, so many species would either be extinct or very close to extinct.

They are very important for breeding programs and most zoos are very passionate about the health and husbandry for their animals

Well I'm sorry but you have your information extremely wrong. They are not needed for conservation. We should of just left their bloody habitat alone. And now we convince people we are doing them a favour. I love animals I half trained to be a zoo keeper. Walked out of my zoology course because the way you have to treat animals. If you really love animals and not just for the cute aww then you quickly learn that keeping them isolated and in small unnatural places kills them from the inside out. They have even been caught trying to "replace" the dead ones over night so no one bats an eyelid. Barley any of the animals breed in captivity or even in these reserves, are ever released back into the wild! People really do love to do as they are told! Use your own minds people come on! Zoos and places alike are just cruel. We are the species who plucked fish from The ocean so we could have them in our living rooms in a tiny Box for our amusement

Well of course if it wasn’t for humans, animals wouldn’t be in trouble

But we can’t stop deforestation, we can’t stop people from poaching, we can’t stop the illegal pet trade of exotic animals, so we try to do what we can

Is it a farm or a rescue centre? I used to work in a wildlife and exotic pet rescue centre which was open to the public. We had animals brought in to us in various conditions and the public always used to complain. Not realising that lot of our animals had been mistreated and therefore not in tip top shape. We kept the really sick and injured ones in a building that was out of to the public but that didn't stop them barging in and then accusing us of animal abuse.

That reindeer does look skinny though. And if the animals have no enrichment in their enclosures, then they must be very bored. Did you make them aware of the goose with a broken wing? I know from experience at the rescue centre I worked at that geese can be very hard to catch. If one on our pond got hurt, it could take us days to catch them at times.

I'd still report them, to be honest. It is best to be on the safe side. The look of that enclosure throws up a few red flags for me. A proper investigation would go beyond the public eye to what's happening behind the scenes so they may dig up even more dirt on what is really going on.

You saw the reindeer in real life so have more information than the photo gives us.
If you are concerned you could forward the photo to the rspca with the information of where you were and what condition the stable was in.was there fresh water,shade,available to all the animals?
Any concern is warranted,animals cannot speak up for themselves.

feralanimalnutrition.com/reindeer-nutrition/

Some captive birds develop "angel wing" which makes them look like they have broken wings. It's caused by a nutritional deficiency.