FORGET BATTERY hens and factory farmed pigs, animal rights activists
have turned their attentions to the plight of the humble ant.

They are worried that a new space-age ant farm being marketed here as
an ideal gift for children will leave its tiny inhabitants feeling
blue and misunderstood.

Save Animals From Exploitation wants the ant farm sold for $36.95 at
upmarket Christchurch department store Ballantynes and Nature
Discoveries stores around the country  withdrawn from sale.

The clear tank allows children to watch ants as they live, work and
tunnel their way through a luminous blue gel, apparently based on a
Nasa space shuttle experiment.
...
Kriek says the toy sends children the wrong message and deprives the
ants of the opportunity to live a fulfilling, natural life.

"...watching ants burrow through luminous blue gel isn't going to teach
children anything at all about animals in their natural environment.
It doesn't show them the intricacies of normal ant behaviour and it
certainly doesn't teach them to respect animals in their natural
environment.''

If parents wanted to help their children connect with  nature, they
would be better off giving them a magnifying glass and sending them
out into the garden, Kriek says.

"Ants aren't that difficult to come across and not that difficult to study.''

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full story:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sundaystartimes/4762353a6005.html