Recently, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal’s accusations of the Klieberts abusing a six-year-old boy at the Kliebert Turtle and Alligator Farm and Tours made headlines.
When I first read about the complaints against the Hammond farm, I was not able to keep myself from laughing and thinking, “Is this for real?”
I know not everyone comes from Thibodaux like me or another part of south Louisiana, but if you have lived in the South long enough, then you know alligators have become a part of the culture. One thing I would say with my friends when I was younger was, “We don’t need to go to an alligator farm to see alligators. We just need to walk behind my house for a bit.”
Saying it is abuse for a child to learn how to properly handle an alligator is pushing it a little far. When I think of child abuse, I think of neglect, rape or all the other horrible acts one can commit.
I think back to the 2005 case that took place in Ponchatoula, Louisiana where according to the New York Times, “the pastor of a Louisiana church and six of its members, including the pastor’s wife and a sheriff’s deputy, have been arrested in what the police described as a cult-like sex ring that abused children and animals.”
That is an extreme case. At times a gray area does exist between what is abuse and what may just be a spanking for misbehaving. The line between suitable punishment and abuse is one that will evolve through time, no doubt.
If parents are teaching their child a family tradition, and they are taking every precaution necessary to protect the child, it is not abuse.
I have visited the alligator farm when they were throwing a birthday party. I was amazed at how many children were happy, having a blast without having a television in front of them or playing a video game. The joy of children through nature is a miracle in itself, and PETA bringing up allegations against the parents of the six-year-old child is completely farfetched.
For this to be considered abuse, you would have to say letting a young child ride a tractor, climb a tree, play on the beach or any other action where the child has the tiniest chance of getting hurt qualifies as child abuse.
I hope the people who are investigating the complaints against the Kliebert Turtle and Alligator Farm and Tours realize how ridiculous these allegations are and drop them. I hope the Kliebert family can move on, continue to have the turtle and alligator farm open and raise their family how it should be raised: with love, care and family traditions.