#wolf socialisation

it's fair for you to disagree but i wanted to throw in my input as someone who works with animals like that who were mistakenly kept as pets :V

I totally understand where you’re coming from but I think if the photos are shared within the context of being animals I’ve worked with in accredited facilities then it should be fine.

For context, these wolf puppies were hand raised with around the clock carers and with a socialisation protocol designed to prepare them for life as ambassadors for their species.

These wolves are not pets and never will be pets. They do not live indoors anymore and are now very adjusted adults living in large outdoor habitats. But early socialisation procedures ensure that life in human care is less stressful for them.

Wolves are highly neophobic and this makes it challenging for them to be in captivity - while it’s not “natural” for them to be hand raised at an early age, it improves their overall quality of life and welfare by reducing stress and means they can participate in husbandry and ambassador programs, which is vital for their care and conservation.

I’m aware of facility social media policies but I also don’t think it benefits facilities reducing transparency just in case someone misinterprets it.

I do think it’s kind of crazy as an Australian that wolves and wolf dogs are kept as pets in America. Imo, it has a lot to do with the culture of “I can do whatever I want” rather than someone looking as a photo posted by an accredited facility and deciding a pet wolf is for them.

But idk I guess I’m not really in the industry anymore and I’m a little bit jaded about social media policies. It was something that I found very frustrating.

Acting like we have something to hide and not be open about our work because detractors will always interpret our work in bad faith feels a little bit like “submitting in advance” and self censorship.

Cincinnati Zoo is a great case study of being super open and transparent in their social media with Fiona the Hippo’s hand raising process when she was born prematurely.

By getting in front of the narrative and involving the public, they were able to have the public mostly on their side. They felt involved and included in the process and given special insight into how Fiona was raised. And this is the same zoo where the infamous Harambe incident happened!