The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Don’t be gator haters, PETA

    peta toon

    william schmidt

    Recently, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal’s accusations of the Klieberts abusing a six-year-old boy at the Kliebert Turtle and Alligator Farm and Tours made headlines.

    When I first read about the complaints against the Hammond farm, I was not able to keep myself from laughing and thinking, “Is this for real?” 

    I know not everyone comes from Thibodaux like me or another part of south Louisiana, but if you have lived in the South long enough, then you know alligators have become a part of the culture. One thing I would say with my friends when I was younger was, “We don’t need to go to an alligator farm to see alligators. We just need to walk behind my house for a bit.”

    Saying it is abuse for a child to learn how to properly handle an alligator is pushing it a little far. When I think of child abuse, I think of neglect, rape or all the other horrible acts one can commit. 

    I think back to the 2005 case that took place in Ponchatoula, Louisiana where according to the New York Times, “the pastor of a Louisiana church and six of its members, including the pastor’s wife and a sheriff’s deputy, have been arrested in what the police described as a cult-like sex ring that abused children and animals.”

    That is an extreme case. At times a gray area does exist between what is abuse and what may just be a spanking for misbehaving. The line between suitable punishment and abuse is one that will evolve through time, no doubt.

    If parents are teaching their child a family tradition, and they are taking every precaution necessary to protect the child, it is not abuse. 

    I have visited the alligator farm when they were throwing a birthday party. I was amazed at how many children were happy, having a blast without having a television in front of them or playing a video game. The joy of children through nature is a miracle in itself, and PETA bringing up allegations against the parents of the six-year-old child is completely farfetched. 

    For this to be considered abuse, you would have to say letting a young child ride a tractor, climb a tree, play on the beach or any other action where the child has the tiniest chance of getting hurt qualifies as child abuse. 

    I hope the people who are investigating the complaints against the Kliebert Turtle and Alligator Farm and Tours realize how ridiculous these allegations are and drop them. I hope the Kliebert family can move on, continue to have the turtle and alligator farm open and raise their family how it should be raised: with love, care and family traditions.  

     
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