City Cast Austin

Recently, the Austin Aquarium got slapped with a rare warning from the United States Department of Agriculture for unsupervised interactions between animals and humans that went awry. The incidents themselves took place a couple of years ago, around the time that Austin’s Animal Advisory Commission formed a working group to examine aquariums. And, while the commission recommended that Austin City Council pass an ordinance limiting interactions between wild animals and the public at for-profit aquariums and zoos, the measure was never adopted. Host Nikki DaVaughn is joined by Rebecca Smudzinski, associate director of captive wildlife for the PETA Foundation, to get into the Austin Aquarium’s history, the latest warning, and why PETA thinks the wild animal recommendation should be revisited. 

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 12th episode:

• Cozy Earth - Use code COZYAUSTIN for 40% off best-selling sheets, towels, pajamas, and more.
• Visit Port Aransas
• LBJ Presidential Library
• Zach Theatre
• The Texas Tribune Festival

And don’t forget – we’re doing our annual survey to learn more about our listeners. We’d be grateful if you took the survey at citycast.fm/survey—it’s only 7 minutes long. You’ll be doing us a big favor. Plus, anyone who takes the survey will be eligible to win a $250 Visa gift card–and City Cast Austin swag.

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