Devious creationists


Animal Adventures, in Bolton, MA, claims to be a family zoo and rescue center. They don’t tell you the whole story, though. A family went to visit, and discovered this…

creation

How curious. I looked all over their website, and they don’t give the slightest clue that they’re going to peddle creationism to the families and school groups that visit the place, and plunk down $14 a head.

Interesting: stealth creationists, or possibly they’re ashamed of their silly beliefs.

Nah, that never happens. Most likely they’re trying to fly under the radar so they can draw in public school field trips, possibly with the collusion of sympathetic teachers.

Anyway, you might want to stay away.

Comments

  1. says

    I thought Massachusetts was a bastion of lefty, gay-hugging, famous science school-having civilization? Is this like how New York City and New York State are effectively on different planets?

  2. microraptor says

    I see no sign of AZA accreditation on their website. That alone should be a red flag to any school before arranging a field trip.

  3. wcorvi says

    Hey, come on – would YOU go to a zoo if you knew you were going to have Jesus shoved down your throat?

  4. Ichthyic says

    Ed Laquidara, has a background in crocodilian biology and a PHD in zoology

    interesting.

    from what university I wonder?

  5. Ichthyic says

    “Real science supports the Bible, which says that God created things after their own kind,” Laquidara said earlier in the week. “Dogs produce dogs, cats produce cats, monkeys produce monkeys, and humans produce humans. A lot of scientists talk in circles, but if you ask, ‘Can two dogs create a cat?’ the answer is ‘No.’ ”

    uh, no way is that anything he learned from any university zoology department in the world… unless it was Liberty university… and they don’t hand out PhDs in zoology.

    strangely, none of the dozen or so articles I can find on this clown ever list where he got his degree from.

    hmmmm….

  6. Cuttlefish says

    I remember, as a kid, going to a park that featured all sorts of more-or-less life-sized fiberglass dinosaurs (of the clunky, decades before Jurassic Park variety). The last was a Brontosaurus (no, not an Apatosaurus, this was back when it was a Brontosaurus) you could climb into via a staircase. When you did, looking up the neck to the head, there was a picture of Jeebus, and a bible verse (probably John 3:16). I thought it odd at the time, and I couldn’t have been even 10.

    As for your title, I thought you were talking about this: http://freethoughtblogs.com/cuttlefish/2008/04/18/i-am-the-very-model-of-a-devious-creationist/

  7. Ichthyic says

    also, he says he’s a professional herpetologist, but I cannot find a single article published in any journal by him… ever.

    pretty sure this guy is completely full of shit.

  8. Ichthyic says

    yes
    interesting
    PhD
    vs
    PHD

    PhD is the usual abbreviation; if all 3 are capitalized, that’s just a typo I’m betting.

    why in specific do you find that interesting?

  9. marcmagus says

    Their response to complaints (there are a number) on Yelp about the creationist posters: [http://www.yelp.com/biz/animal-adventures-bolton]

    Comment from Animal Adventures A. of Animal Adventures
    Business Owner
    2/22/2016 To address our posters we have posters on both evolution and creation. As people of science ourselves we feel it is responsible to show people the evolutionary process and the creation process and many reputable scientists teach both. The fact that is historical science and not observational neither creation scientists or evolutionary scientists can prove their point through science. Both positions rely heavily on faith. Thank you for your visit

    There were also a number of comments that the enclosures were too small and too sparse. OTOH, Yelp reviews.

    They also seem to have quite a portfolio: anti-bullying seminars somehow involving exotic animals, a day camp, a “science club”…

  10. marcmagus says

    Their response to complaints (there are a number) on Yelp about the creationist posters: [http://www.yelp.com/biz/animal-adventures-bolton]

    Comment from Animal Adventures A. of Animal Adventures
    Business Owner
    2/22/2016 To address our posters we have posters on both evolution and creation. As people of science ourselves we feel it is responsible to show people the evolutionary process and the creation process and many reputable scientists teach both. The fact that is historical science and not observational neither creation scientists or evolutionary scientists can prove their point through science. Both positions rely heavily on faith. Thank you for your visit

    There were also a number of comments that the enclosures were too small and too sparse. OTOH, Yelp reviews.

    They also seem to have quite a portfolio: anti-bullying seminars somehow involving exotic animals, a day camp, a “science club”…

  11. Ichthyic says

    As people of science ourselves

    people of lying, more like. they don’t fucking do science. not ever. I looked. I really did. not a goddamn thing.

    it’s nothing more than a christian petting zoo, poorly managed and lied about.

  12. taraskan says

    @#1 There’s Western MA, Eastern MA, and Central MA. Central, where this zoo is, tends to pattern with Western and is more rural and conservative, except around Worcester which is a college town. So yeah, it’s like New York State when you start getting north of Putnam.

    @#20 I think the original facebook link didn’t belong to the zoo/center, but to someone posting about it. Wonder if they got threatening legal notices.

  13. John Phillips, FCD says

    We have a similar ‘zoo farm’ not far from Bristol, England that makes no mention of its creationism nature in the various advertising posters I have seen in the city. The only thing that gives it away for those well versed in such matters is the name, Noah’s Ark Zoo farm. In fact, I think PZ may even have mentioned it in the past.

  14. andysci says

    I live two towns over from Bolton. I think I had heard about that place before, just in passing, but no mention of the creobutt stuff. I hadn’t planned on a visit, but I *definitely* won’t be going now (plus, the place sounds shadier and shadier the more I hear about it). I’ll have to ask Sarah for details next time I run into her at an event.

    East-central MA is kind of a weird place. We have little rural pockets here and there. My town is rural, but there are a lot of young people moving in because of the (relatively) easy commute to Boston, so it’s pretty liberal. Go a little bit north, and you get to fancy-pants towns like Concord, which have a little bit more rich-person conservatism, but go a little farther, and you get into rural conservatism. By and large, it doesn’t make its way into the schools, though. I mean, this is all relative… I’m still usually shocked when I go to even liberal areas of South Carolina.

  15. brucegee1962 says

    I’ve always wished I could get into a discussion with someone who believes in “kinds”, and could explain what the heck that word is supposed to mean.

    They seem to agree that it isn’t equivalent to “species,” but if you ask them, say, how many kinds are represented among birds, they don’t seem to know.

    But fine, let’s say that, oh, owls are all a “kind.” Wouldn’t their own question work just as well on them? Why can’t barn owls give birth to screech owls, or pygmy owls, or great horned owls? Give them a taste of their own stupid question.