Mean-spirited Monday

More pro-zoo propaganda on the front page of the Herald today - "Jumbo breakfast to start the day":

Breakfast with the elephants of Auckland Zoo turned out to be a jumbo birthday treat yesterday for 10-year-old Emily Nock.

"At first, the sheer size of Kashin was intimidating but she was so friendly and gentle," said Emily's aunt Lesley Mitchell, of Meadowbank, after the greet-and-eat event in the elephant paddock. "We were blowing in her snout so she would get our smell and she and Burma lapped up the attention."

Christ. 'Interestingly', this means that both the lead articles on the front page are about Indian immigrants, albeit with a slightly different spin. Why the zoo can't just have some good old-fashioned, middle-New Zealand, Anglo-Saxon animals I just don't know.