I was a volunteer and a member at the MN zoo estua...

I was a volunteer and a member at the MN zoo estuary until I witnessed the mistreatment to the sharks and rays on display for educational purposes. It was cruelty to these creatures (including star fish) to be kept in a shallow tank for the purpose of being prodded and poked by zoo visitors. It was also a well known fact among the volunteers and staff that children fell into the tank on a daily basis. I witnessed this first hand when parents weren t watching or having control over their child. It was all a big joke and everyone had a good laugh at the expense of the child and creatures in the tank. Staff at the main desk keep towels just for this purpose so they know of the danger/issue.

I wasn t there long when I witnessed a young girl put her hand in the estuary water and saw the chemical from her skin spread out a three foot radius film on top of the water. Yes the zoo will tell you the tank is built to continuously filter the water, but how much of the sunscreen is ingested by these creatures before it gets to the filters? Oxybenzone and octinoxate, chemicals found in many common sunscreen products, are known to kill coral and marine life. Hawaii is now proposing a ban on all sun screen products to take effect in 2021.

Thousands of visitors come to the zoo on a weekly basis and thousands of adults and children have put their hands in the tank after eating and lathering on a coat of sunscreen. Food is actually sold within ten feet of the tank.

To watch rays suction themselves to the plexiglass panels on a continuous basis just similar to a tiger pacing back and forth in a cage is cruelty. Staff told me that s where they get fed.

For an institution that is funded to preserve animals in a humane environment, they get zero stars from me. I ve never been back since.