Three years ago when I visited Disney World I was disgusted and outraged to discover that their local park animals (Birds and Squirrels) were covered in mange. I saw countless animals with bald patches and running, open sores. What was even more disgusting was that these animals had no fear of humans and stalked every open food stall in the park. I saw some children even attempting to touch and feed these diseased animals.
Yes, Mange is curable and YES, it can spread to humans where it becomes known as SCABIES.
I wrote a strongly worded email to Disney Customer Service after my visit.
And what did I hear?
Mange wasn't lethal nor did affect humans. End of response.
As far as I know the Magic Kingdom animals are still running around with open sores and it has probably spread to all the parks. When I visited it was only in Magic Kingdom with some spread into EPCOT.
So you will understand I was sadly, not surprised to read that Disney World brushed off a letter from a concerned parent regarding alligators in their lakes.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3646647/Lawyer-says-warned-Disney-alligators-year-one-approached-son-wading-lagoon-told-resident-pets.html#reader-comments
Ultimately this cavalier attitude led to the recent tragedy of a child being fatally attacked.
There have been a lot of calls for lawsuits. However I don't see how this will change the horrific accident or even change Disney's apathetic response. The fact is, Disney is its own municipality. They RUN EVERYTHING on their property with their own in-house government. Walt Disney structured this himself due to his experiences building his park in Anaheim and dealing with local government officials. In essence Disney has free reign to do as it wills. There is nothing that anyone can do about it.Labels: commentary, culture, Disney World
