Animal charity call for BAN on live reindeer at Newcastle events
An animal welfare charity is calling for reindeers to stop being used in Newcastle's Christmas events- as they've seen a rise in young reindeer deaths.
PETA UK are now calling on Newcastle's Discovery Museum to keep live animals out of their Christmas themed events.
Kirsty Henderson’s from the charity.
“I love Christmas as much as the next person- but there’s nothing festive about taking a reindeer out of their natural habitat, tying them up in a museum in Britain to be gawped at by noisy crowds of people.
“Loud noises, lots of people taking photographs- being extremely stressful for those animals and that doesn’t even take into account they’re being carted up and down the country to be trotted to be used as little more than Christmas ornaments.
“Stress from being removed from their natural environment has actually contributed to an increase in the death of young reindeers in this country.”
We've put this to the company in charge of the Museum- they say the reindeers are "looked after to the highest standards and do not feel threatened or stressed by human contact".
This is their full statement:
Iain Watson, Director of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (the organisation that manages Discovery Museum):
“The reindeer visit is only a part of the event; we hope to provide a fun and enjoyable Christmas experience for families attending but, by working with the experts, also help to educate the public about these beautiful animals and how they are looked after in the UK.
“The company which Discovery Museum are working with to organise the visit is a founding member of the British Reindeer Herders Association and also a member of the Reindeer Owners and Breeders Association, both of which were set up to ensure guidelines on reindeer welfare are adhered to and to make sure that the animals are looked after and that the people who keep them are educated about reindeer.
“Experts will be on hand throughout the event to ensure the animals’ wellbeing and we are satisfied that the reindeer are looked after to the highest standards and do not feel threatened or stressed by human contact. The reindeer will be outside on a fenced off area of our plaza.
“We take a great deal of care when choosing each element of our events and consider carefully how we can ensure that visitors are informed and enlightened whenever they engage with us - we have found that an interactive experience is a great way of achieving and reinforcing this learning.”