Maya Higa criticizes JasonTheWeen’s mobile petting zoo stream over animal welfare concerns

Twitch streamer JasonTheWeen recently became part of an online discussion after he featured a mobile petting zoo on his livestream. The stream included farm animals, such as an alpaca, that were brought in for content. Wanting to get another opinion, Jason called fellow streamer Maya Higa, who is well known for her work with animals through Alveus Sanctuary.What started as a simple conversation quickly turned into a serious discussion about animal welfare. Maya explained that her concerns were not about whether the alpaca looked healthy or happy during the stream. Instead, she focused on the larger mobile petting zoo industry and how animals are often treated behind the scenes.In the course of the conversation, Maya stated that in mobile petting zoos, animals are transported from one place to another. Animals get to be handled by a number of people throughout the day. In this respect, she claims that it causes the animals to become stressed despite appearing happy in short video clips.Maya also said that many of these businesses use young animals because people find them cute. However, she believes problems can arise when the animals grow older and are no longer as popular. According to Maya, some of these animals may then be sold, moved to other places, or end up in situations where they are not treated well.However, she clearly stated that she did not consider that particular petting zoo, which was used by Jason, guilty of any misdeed. In fact, her main point was related to the model of the business and the potential threats faced by the animals at such facilities.In addition, Maya highlighted another topic during the chat session, namely the frequent use of animals in streams. People often like to watch animals; hence, their appearance attracts attention. However, according to Maya, animals have no choice in taking part in such shows.Maya then made a comparison between the mobile petting zoos to the efforts made at Alveus Sanctuary. According to her, the main goal of the sanctuary is to educate people about the importance of conserving animals. The animals at the sanctuary are either rescues or are non-releasable.Ultimately, the discussion took a turn away from JasonTheWeen’s stream to the larger issues associated with the treatment of animals. Maya used this platform to give her reasoning for why she thinks people need to reconsider the way animals are used in entertainment settings.