Stephen Archibald
Manager of Interpretation
Museum of Natural History
1747 Summer Street
Halifax, NS
B3H 3A6
April 4, 2002
Dear Mr. Archibald,
I am writing to express my disappointment with the museum exhibits during March Break 2002. I took my niece to the museum on Sunday, March 17/02 as she was visiting from out of town. I thought the museum would provide an educational and entertaining Sunday afternoon for her. However, I was very shocked to find live animals as part of your exhibits.
I found the live animal exhibits to be very disturbing, particularly in a museum setting. Museums are supposed to be places where we can learn about the past, not gawk at caged animals. If I had wanted my niece to see caged animals, I would have gone to a zoo. I found nothing about these animal exhibits to be educational. Most people were not interested in learning about the animal; they simply wanted to look at animals they don?t normally see.
My niece and I were so upset with the live animal exhibits that we did not even finish our tour of the museum. These exhibits ruined what could have been a very pleasant Sunday afternoon. I will not be visiting your museum again until you prohibit the use of live animals in exhibits. Simply put, I do not support animal cruelty, therefore I will not frequent your museum.
In addition, I was also upset with the Tide representatives giving away samples to people as they left the museum. What was the purpose of this besides the museum making a buck? Corporations have no place in a museum or similar institutions. I realize the museum must look to various forms of funding but this is not an appropriate way to do so. I do not wish to be subjected to this type of product advertising when I am visiting an institution such as yours.
I urge the museum to not participate in animal cruelty in the future. Animals are meant to be in their natural environments, not in cages. Caging animals is cruel and unnecessary. Please update your policies to include a cruelty-free environment so that the museum atmosphere isn?t as archaic as the exhibits themselves.
Sincerely,
Marie Mosher
