Fleurpepper
nanna8
I must have had a memory of my auntie describing the bears. I always was very imaginative as a child. To me I associate it with cruelty and bear baiting, and people gawking at a proud and unfortunate animal. Awful . I don’t like zoos much, either.
So do I. But I think it is best to face those old demons, and explain to children what happened in the past- rather than pretend it didn't. Same with other things, on a different level, like slavery.
Don't hide, don't pretend, and explain best you can.
I agree.
We cannot learn from history if we sanitise it or pretend it didn't happen.
However, just to clarify - this is what happens in the name of regeneration or, as some may term it, vandalism:
We have an original Victorian bear pit in Sheffield’s Botanical Gardens. It houses a bronze sculpture of a standing brown bear and he’s very popular with both children and adults. In the nineteenth century there were two bears housed in it, but purely as a curiosity. However, the public complained that the bears, not much given to activity, were boring, and that their stench and noise wasn't in keeping with the gardens, and an 1856 meeting suggested the bear pit be converted into a vinery.
Maggiemaybe
I’ve just checked out the Leeds+ Facebook page and the reaction from Headingley locals seems to be positive on the whole. Plenty of people are saying how good it will be to have this dilapidated site cleaned up at long last and brought into community use.
There are others who think the appalling bear baiting that wasn’t actually carried out there shouldn’t be celebrated.
Some who feel so strongly about zoos being cruel that they don’t want this one to be remembered in any way - a valid opinion of course, but I can’t help wondering why they don’t campaign to have existing zoos closed, instead of fretting about this very small, short-lived one that closed down in the Victorian era. Apart from the bear, it only had a pair of swans, birds of prey, tortoises and “some monkeys”. No wonder it didn’t last long!
Some who want the money spent on filling in potholes, oblivious to the fact that it’s the Leeds Civic Trust charity’s money, not Leeds Council’s.
And a special few who are up in arms because they’ve understood that real live bears are going to be brought back to be put on public display in the Headingley bear pit and that would be so cruel. It takes all sorts.
Love it! 😂
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