title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: Officially debuting in September 2002, the BA Falcon was a major update of the AU, with Ford designers and engineers almost wiping the board clean, and in the process spending just over AU$500 million, a figure much larger than previously anticipated. The BA Falcon won the prestigious "Wheels" Car of the Year Award (COTY) in 2002. Its range comprised the following models: XT (formerly Forté), Futura, Fairmont, Fairmont Ghia, XR6 and XR8. Major elements of the overhaul included the development of a more effective "Control-Blade" independent rear suspension, a significant revamp of the car's inline 6-cylinder engine as well as two new V8 engines and, to top it all off, new transmissions. Design wise, the BA received a completely new look, with designers giving both the front and rear quarters of the car substantial work, resulting in much more contemporary, European-style design. A lot of effort went into improving the craftsmanship and fit and finish of both the exterior and interior. On the outside the windscreen washer nozzles were moved off the hood onto the cowl panel. The headlamps were made subflush to the hood and overall most interfaces were improved. The BA also introduced a thoroughly remodelled interior, whereby the 'oval shaped' instrument cluster was replaced with a more conservatively styled cluster. It featured a large LCD screen, situated in a "satin finished" centre console (Called the "Interior Command Centre" or ICC in short). On the interior the design team spent many hours improving the feel of the contact points as well as improving fit and finish and craftsmanship. Within a year of its release, Falcon sales had increased substantially and, for a time, eclipsed Holden Commodore sales.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: Ford introduced their new Barra straight-six 4.0 litre DOHC VCT engines into the lineup, which included a turbocharged (/) version and base line () naturally aspirated version. The BA also featured a new North American designed 5.4 L "4V Boss and Barra 3V" V8 engines. The "Barra 220" (/) "Boss 260" (/) and "Boss 290" (/) engines were smoother, quieter and more fuel efficient than the Ford Windsor engine used in the AU. In October 2004, Ford released the Mark II update of the BA. Amongst the changes was a six-speed manual transmission, four new exterior colours, and revised wheels trims.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: In 2004 Ford introduced the Territory crossover SUV which was based upon the BA's engine, floorpan and IRS. This was introduced in response to the long term decline in large sedan sales in Australia, since this sector's share of the total market has been steadily shrinking for a decade.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: Visually similar to its forerunner, the BF update from October 2005 was developed with an emphasis geared more towards powertrain enhancements, rather than design. The BF Falcon received various mechanical upgrades, including minimal engine modifications primarily within the VCT system aiming at individualising the cam operation/timing, and improvements towards noise, vibration, and harshness. The naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine gained an increase in power to also contributed due to use of 5–30 recommended oil weight for engine hence bringing improvements in fuel economy and compliance with Euro III emission standards. The turbocharged version of same engine also received further gains in output, with peak power rising to and of torque. Ford, with the BF, also introduced the six-speed "ZF 6HP26" automatic transmission and electronic stability control, both of which were made available on selected trim levels.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: Ford updated its Falcon lineup with the Series II update in October 2006. The BF II turbo models had an engine upgrade and came with the same engine as the FPV Typhoon internally, with the only difference being boost pressure, with the XR6 Turbo running 6 PSI boost pressure (FPV, 9PSI). Select trim levels in the BF II range (XT, Futura and Fairmont) saw a modified front-end, which featured more of a sporting image and was more aerodynamic. The entry-level XT could now be specified with the six-speed automatic, with four-speed-automatic continued as the standard transmission. Fuel efficiency figures also improved, with figures of for the base XT and for variants fitted with the ZF six-speed automatic.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: Following the release of the FG Falcon model in 2008, which lacked a wagon variant, the BF was revised and re-released in Mark III guise, but only in wagon form, and only the base model XT was available.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The Mark III update included Dynamic Stability Control (available on petrol powered models only), a flip key from the FG series Falcon, Satin Alloy Accents on the front grille surround.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: At the end of 2010 the Falcon wagon was permanently discontinued. In its place, Ford offered the smaller and fully imported Ford Mondeo wagon and the Australian-made Territory SUV.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The last petrol-engined BF was built on 30 June, while LPG "E-Gas" models continued until September 2010.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The seventh generation Falcon, known as the "FG", (and initially known as project Orion) was announced at a press event on 17 February 2008. The FG moniker references the now discontinued Fairmont Ghia (with the Futura model also discontinued), consistent with a more streamlined range consisting of: Falcon XT, XR6 and XR8 and the G-series models Falcon G6 and G6E, replacing the base Fairmont and the top-of-the-range Fairmont Ghia (the latter's V8 variant now replaced by the G6E Turbo).


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The inline six-cylinder engine received a power upgrade of and to at 6000 rpm/ at 3250 rpm. The turbocharged engine used in the XR6 Turbo and G6E Turbo models produces ( and ). The power output of is similar to previous FPV turbos, but it is a substantially modified design: the new induction system which includes a bigger and more efficient intercooler, higher compression ratio, extra boost and strengthened internals are the key changes. The XT, G6 and G6E also have an E-Gas (LPG) option. The engine continues to use a similar VCT system as its BA/BF predecessors. Fuel consumption has been improved over the outgoing model. The XR6 Turbo received "Motor" magazine's "Bang for your Buck" 2008 award.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The FG adds a "Virtual-Pivot" system to the front suspension designed to improve levels of steering, handling and turn-in; and complements Ford's Control-Blade IRS system first introduced on the BA Falcon in 2002.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: In an unprecedented move, at the 2008 introduction of the FG Falcon, the XR8 was the only V8 model available. The unique 5.4 litre V8 (initially launched in 2003) produced /. In June 2010, new emissions regulations introduced meant that the iconic V8 engine had to be discontinued. Ford phased this out quietly; motoring magazines did not even report on it. However, at the time the V8 was phased out, Ford's performance subsidiary, FPV, introduced a Ford America sourced V8, the 5.0 L Coyote (as used in the Mustang). Prodrive specifically developed the engine in Australia to FPV's own standards (read below). A new FPV model, the GS, was released to "plug the hole" between the XR6 Turbo and the higher level (and price) FPV V8 models when the XR8 was phased out. The GS is an entry point to FPV, taking many of the sales that would have been destined for the former Ford XR8.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The 5.0 L 'modular V8' engine is currently the Ford Performance Vehicles' V8 engine, released in June 2010. Initially two versions were released, one rated at and of torque and the other at and of torque. Both engines carry the 'Boss' moniker, with the 315 kW version dubbed the "Boss 315", and the more powerful version dubbed the "Boss 335".


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: In 2010, Ford Australia celebrated 50 years of continuous Falcon production, from 1960 to date. A special XR50 model was released to commemorate the occasion. The commemorative model marked the start of the FG update.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The first update to the FG model was released in the second half of 2010. The Mk2 update adds several interior and exterior elements as standard to all vehicles. iPod Integration and Bluetooth are now standard across the range and all models except the XT receive an 8 in colour touch screen. The popular ZF six-speed "6HP26" and "6HP21" (Ecoboost) automatic has also been made standard across the range, spelling the end of the successful four- and five-speed automatics. Other changes included an all new front bumper design, alternative wheel rim design, new floor mats and side step designs. All models receive curtain airbags.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The Mk2 also received numerous updates including a new revised A/C HVAC system, six airbags standard across the range to enhance safety and improved sound deadening to all models to give a more refined, quiet ride.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: It was announced in mid-2009 that Ford would start production of a direct-injection, turbocharged four-cylinder "EcoBoost" version of the Falcon. The first ever four cylinder Falcon was released for sale in April 2012, and was fitted with the 2.0 GTDI version of the EcoBoost engine.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: A new liquid-injection LPG engine (EcoLPi) was introduced in second half of 2011. It provides superior performance and fuel economy compared to the previous E-gas LPG engine.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The FG Falcon was the first Australian manufactured car to achieve five stars in the independent ANCAP crash safety testing. It achieved a score of 34.6 out of 37. But unlike the FG Mk1, every Mk2 gets the five-star ANCAP safety rating as all cars now get six airbags as standard.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: This series marked the end of all Ford Performance Vehicles, after the launch of the Falcon GT-F 351 sedans (of which 500 are reserved for Australia and 50 for New Zealand) and Pursuit Ute (total of 120), in June 2014.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The FG X series, codenamed 201X, was the last ever production run of Falcon, with production ending on the 7 October 2016.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: In July 2014, Ford Australia released official photographs of Falcon's last iteration in XR guise, labelling the reintroduced XR8 as the "best Falcon ever".


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: Externally, this Falcon's redesigned front end adopts Ford's Kinetic 2.0 styling theme featuring the trapezoidal grille which debuted on the Ford Evos concept. The re-introduction of the iconic XR8 model stems from the closure of Ford Performance Vehicles's operations, hence the reason why this model features the bulk of the FPV GT driveline, including the local supercharged "Miami" variant of the Coyote V8.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: In August 2014, Ford Australia revealed that this last series would be known as the "FG X", following significant feedback from key enthusiasts. The new series code, like the preceding G6 trim level, pays homage to the Fairmont and Ghia nameplates of past generations whereas the X alludes to Falcon's most popular series, from the XR to XF.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The Australian affection for the ute (short for "utility") allowed the Falcon to serve as the base model for their line of utes and panel vans, starting in 1961 and gaining rapid recognition by (usually younger) enthusiasts by the mid-1960s. As the base sedan and station wagon models of the Falcon further evolved, so too did the ute and panel van models, although usually up to a year or so after initial release into the market. The only exception was the XF series, which lasted through the initial "EA26" era. While EA26 ute prototypes were actually built, the XF shell continued through to the 1998 release of the AU model, in 1996 gaining the nose treatment of the then current EF series Falcon, with a combination of XF and E-Series Interiors. Low Series XH utes did not have airbags, for example.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The Falcon Ute award-winning modified vehicle (2004-2010) project led by TJ Andrews Funeral Directors, Simon Orton from Leslie Consulting, Tod Lawler, and Ford Australia engineer Graeme Sheahan, created an opportunity to manufacture a world-class hearse (Allonge) for the funeral industry.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The Falcon utility ended production on 29 July 2016, with 467,690 utilities produced between 1961 and 2016.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: Australian Falcon exports have traditionally been confined to right-hand-drive countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as New Zealand (where Ford New Zealand sometimes devised local trim variations, such as the XR Falcon 600 and the XA Luxury V8), and Pacific Island nations like Papua New Guinea and Fiji. New Zealand assembly of the Falcon began at Seaview with the XR in 1966 and XA assembly was moved to the new plant in Wiri in 1973. The cars generally followed Australian specifications but the model line was limited and factory options were little more than automatic transmission, though the 1979 XD Fairmont Ghia 302 V8 was the first locally assembled car to offer air conditioning as a build option (NZ$1,050). New Zealand assembly ceased in the early 1990s, after which all Falcons sold locally were fully imported from Australia.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The only significant export market for the Falcon outside of Oceania has been South Africa, where the EL was released in 1996, including the GLi, Futura, Fairmont and XR6 in its line-up. This was succeeded by the AU, but was dropped in the early 2000s. (In the early 1970s, the Falcon XY had been assembled in South Africa as the Fairmont, before being fully imported.) Some limousines and hearses (inc. LPG-only powered Utes) were exported to the UK by Coleman Milne, who used to convert European-made Granadas and Scorpios for the same purposes. Earlier, some XA and XB Fairmonts were shipped to the UK as was the contemporary LTD which was modified with Ford Europe tail lights to add the mandatory rear fog lamps and also had to have new screenwash nozzles as the protruding original items did not meet EU safety rules.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: Hong Kong also imported a small batch of LPG-powered AU Falcon station wagons for trial as taxis, and although this model initially found favour in luggage capacity with operators when compared to mainstream taxis like the Toyota Comfort, it has not seen success there, citing higher operating costs.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: Ford had intended on developing the car with left-hand-drive export potential, and received federal and state government grants to assist, but in October 2007, it was announced by Ford Australia president Tom Gorman that the left-hand-drive Falcon project was to be abandoned and the export-incentive grant money would be directed to construction of the Ford Focus small car in Australia. In the end, the Focus project did not proceed as its parent company messed up a lucrative local component sourcing arrangement, so the Asia-Pacific production of that model was instead started at a new plant in Thailand in June 2012. As the FG Falcon utilises much of the previous model's architecture, converting it to left-hand drive would have been a costly and time-consuming process.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: Ford Australia at one time considered exporting the FG Falcon to China and the Middle East. Sales to the Middle East of previous models were not feasible, as the market was already served by the Ford Crown Victoria, which has since been discontinued.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: In 1996, Ford Australia imported the boldly-styled third-generation Taurus as a potential replacement of the venerable, but by then dated, Falcon platform. This Taurus was available only as a sedan and in its highest Ghia specification (with a luxury pack option), despite other variants and a wagon being available in its home US market. It was smaller than the Falcon and was powered by a 3.0 litre V6 engine. Due to poor sales, Taurus imports into Australia ended in 1998, the same year the AU Falcon launched.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: In 2009, Ford's European design head Martin Smith suggested that not even the sixth-generation Taurus that was due in 2010 could be a true replacement for the rear-wheel-drive Falcon, despite this time being of similar size.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: On 23 May 2013, Ford Australia announced the end of its local manufacturing operations (involving Falcon and Territory models) by October 2016, with the Falcon nameplate destined to retire after 56 years of continuous production in Australia. A high manufacturing cost base (with costs at the Campbellfield plant some four times higher than in Ford's Asian plants and twice as much as in Europe) and unsustainable low sales of its Australian-made products were factors in Ford Motor Company's decision to end its Australian manufacturing activities after 90 years. The announcement put an end to years of speculation concerning the Falcon's future, which included the possibility of the Falcon switching from its current Australia-only architecture to a global large car platform to be built for all world markets as part of the "One Ford" global product development plan implemented in 2006. The options consisted of either a rear-wheel-drive platform (shared with Mustang) or a transverse front-wheel-drive platform (shared with Explorer and Taurus). Ultimately, it was decided by Ford that the Ford Mustang coupé would be the only rear-wheel drive Ford car built for all global markets and that the Falcon nameplate would be retired.


title: Ford Falcon (Australia)

text: The fourth-generation Mondeo from Europe and the sixth-generation Mustang from North America both indirectly replaced the Falcon. Beginning from 2015, the new model of the right-hand drive Mustang returned to the Australian market after a 13-year absence, as part of Ford's efforts to boost sales of the Mustang brand worldwide and still give Ford Australia a flagship car to replace the Falcon XR and FPV GT V8 range.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African left-wing to far-left pan-Africanist and Marxist–Leninist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema, and his allies, in 2013. Malema is President of the EFF, heading the Central Command Team which serves as the central structure of the party. It is currently the third-largest party in both houses of the South African Parliament.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: At a 26 July 2013 press briefing in Soweto, Malema announced that the new party had over 1000 members, double the 500 required for registration with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The EFF is now registered with the IEC, after an objection to its registration by the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) was dismissed in September 2013.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: In 2015, the EFF suspended MP Lucky Twala and expelled three MPs, Mpho Ramakatsa, Andile Mngxitama and Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala. Mngxitama formed his own party, named Black First Land First (BLF), while Litchfield-Tshabalala joined the United Democratic Movement. Malema has been chiefly accused by former members of purging his critics to consolidate his power, thus ruling the party with an iron fist. Malema acknowledged this criticism in a press conference and further went on to say, the party should have expelled more ill-disciplined members.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: On 6 August 2015, the EFF announced that it has secured a Constitutional Court case for its "#PayBackTheMoney" campaign against Jacob Zuma. The case was heard on 9 February 2016. The judgement was released by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and stated that the then-President had violated the Constitution of South Africa, along with the Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete. The President was given 60 days to fulfill the requirements of the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: On 27 February 2018, the EFF tabled a motion in the National Assembly to amend the Constitution so as to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation. The motion, brought by the EFF leader Julius Malema, was adopted with a vote of 241 in support, and 83 against. The only parties who did not support the motion were the Democratic Alliance, Freedom Front Plus, COPE and the ACDP. Land expropriation is one of the EFF's seven cardinal pillars.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: In 2018, the party's student wing, the EFF Student Command won many universities across the country. The red berets defeated the ANC-aligned South African Students Congress (SASCO) at the Durban University of Technology, the University of Zululand and Mangosuthu University of Technology. They also won in Cape Town, the District Six, Mowbray and Bellville Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) campuses with landslide victories, meaning they now are in charge of the institution's SRC. They also won the University of Cape Town. Peter Keetse, president of the EFFSC, said the win was a warning shot for what was going to happen in 2019 national general elections. He said the youth were the influencers of the future, "therefore, this is an indication of what is to follow".


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: In 2016, after local elections in South Africa, the EFF has suggested that they will back the Democratic Alliance in hung-metro areas, but would not be entering into a coalition with any political party in South Africa.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The EFF was the only parliamentary party that opposed the 2018 political party funding bill; a funding transparency law that requires political parties to publish who they receive funding from.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The EFF "draws inspiration from the broad Marxist–Leninist tradition and Fanonian schools of thought in their analyses of the state, imperialism, culture and class contradictions in every society", according to its constitution. The EFF states that it takes inspiration from Burkinabe President Thomas Sankara in terms of both style and Marxist ideology. Prominent EFF member Jackie Shandu declared the party a "proudly Sankarist formation".


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: It criticises the African National Congress and their primary opposition, the Democratic Alliance, for their allegedly pro-business stances, which it claims have sold out the black people of South Africa to capitalism as cheap labour. It promises to tackle corruption, provide quality social housing, and provide free primary healthcare and education for all, as well as proposing to expropriate White-owned farmland, nationalise the mining and banking sectors, double welfare grants and the minimum wage, and end the proposed toll system for highways.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The EFF has been vocal in its criticism of black business owners and black owners of mining companies in South Africa. In an address at the Oxford Union in November 2015, Malema spoke out against billionaire mining company owner Patrice Motsepe. Further protests in 2015, the EFF delivered demands that included the socialisation of the mining sector and called for more explicit targets for the 26% BEE ownership required by law. The EFF is a vocal proponent of expanding the role of South African state-owned enterprises in the national economy. Malema addressed a crowd in Marikana, Rustenburg in the platinum mining area, blaming mining companies and calling out platinum mining company Lonmin in particular, for poverty in the region.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The EFF presents its self as a Pan-Africanist party and supports the proposal for a United States of Africa. In respect to this, the EFF and Malema have repeatedly praised former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, promising to implement many of the policies in South Africa that Gaddafi implemented in Libya. The party is against presence of the American military bases in Africa, most notably in Botswana. Prior to forming the EFF Malema had called for the overthrow of Khama's government in Botswana. The EFF is critical of France's presence in Africa; in 2022 the party picketed outside of and ultimately barricaded the country's embassy in Pretoria. The French ambassador to South Africa criticized the EFF for scapegoating France as the supposed source of all Africa's problems. The EFF is against Zionism.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The EFF officially supports Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, commending what they refer to as Russia's "anti-imperialist programme" against NATO. The party is strongly critical of Israel and its conflict with the Palestinians; referring to the country as "evil" and advocating for its destruction. In September 2022 the EFF announced that they would not mourn the Queen's death as "she never once acknowledged the atrocities her family inflicted on native people that Britain invaded across the world."


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: According to a November 2013 Ipsos survey, the party's supporters are younger than average, with 49% being younger than 24, overwhelmingly black (99%) and mostly male, with women representing only 33% of the support base. A disproportionate number of supporters live in Malema's home province of Limpopo (28%), while only 1% live in KwaZulu-Natal, a more populous province. A 2018 survey conducted by social research company Citizen Surveys found that around 70% of EFF supporters were between the ages of 18 to 34, overwhelmingly black (97%), mostly based in major metropolitan cities (48%), predominantly male (62%) with 43% of their support base located in Gauteng Province. The party was expected to make an impact in the 2014 general election, taking between 4 per cent and 8 per cent of the national vote. This was potentially enough for the party to hold the balance of power in provinces where the governing African National Congress was in danger of losing its absolute majority. The ANC retained its absolute majority whilst the EFF got 6.35% of the vote in the 2014 election.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: High-profile members of the Central Command Team include Floyd Shivambu, Fana Mokoena and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi (National Spokesperson). Controversial businessman Kenny Kunene joined the Central Command Team in July 2013 before resigning from the Central Command Team on 20 August 2013 and from the organisation on 26 August 2013. On 4 November 2013, it was announced that Dali Mpofu had left the African National Congress (ANC) after 33 years of membership and joined the EFF.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The EFF Students Command (EFFSC) is the party's student wing, founded on 16 June 2015. It campaigns for free education, universal access to education and the elimination of registration fees, among other things. The EFF Students Command claims a membership of about 100,000 students and has branches across all the nine provinces of South Africa. Its current leader is Mandla Shikwambana.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The ANC has accused the Zimbabwean ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), of supporting the EFF in order to destabilise the ANC.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The EFF was found guilty of defamation of character in May 2019, by the South Gauteng High Court and ordered to pay R500,000 in damages to former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. Manuel brought the EFF and its leader, Julius Malema, to court after they alleged that the appointment of Edward Kieswetter as commissioner of SARS by Manuel was the result of nepotism. Following the judgement Manuel stated that he would be donating the R500,000 in damages to victims of the VBS Mutual Bank scandal which the EFF is alleged to have participated in.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Following a string of court case losses for inciting supporters to commit acts of either intimidation (against journalist Karima Brown), land invasion (which case was brought by AfriForum) or of defamation of character (against ANC politician Trevor Manuel) the party was left with combined court costs amounting to almost R1 million.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: A number of articles published by investigative journalists have accused the party of using their influence to earn improper payments from government suppliers in cities where the EFF has significant representative power. An investigation by the amaBhungane centre for investigative journalism stated that the EFF received R500,000 in kickbacks from a company in return for a R1.26 billion contract to manage a fleet of vehicles used by the City of Johannesburg with tacit acquiescence of the Democratic Alliance. Another investigation alleges that the party improperly benefited from the awarding of a fuel supply contract for the City of Tshwane netting the party R15 million from successful contractors.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Following the publication of a South African Reserve Bank report into the collapse of VBS Mutual Bank implicating EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu's brother media reports came out alleging that Shivambu received R10 million in illicit payments from VBS prior to it being placed under curatorship in March 2018. Prior to the publication of the Reserve Bank's report the EFF criticised the Reserve Bank for placing VBS under curatorship and accused it of victimising VBS on racial grounds. The EFF stated that it had seen no evidence that Shivambu received the R10 million and called for government to recapitalise VBS Mutual Bank whilst also taking legal action against those mentioned in the Reserve Bank report. A follow up investigation by the "Daily Maverick" alleged that the EFF illicitly received R1.8 million of VBS money through a network of proxy companies with the party's leadership (notably Shivambu and Malema) also illicitly receiving money though this network. After being approached by the "Mail & Guardian" for comment on his personal financial expenses Floyd Shivambu admitted that money from VBS, channeled through his brother, was used to buy his Range Rover Sport valued at R680,000. By June 2021 Shivambu's brother had repaid R4.55 million and admitted to taking VBS money.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: A follow up investigation by the "Daily Maverick" found that R454,000 of VBS money was used to pay for the 2017 EFF birthday celebration. It also found that a total of R16.1 million was channeled through a Shivambu associated company largely for the benefit of the EFF. An additional investigation traced financial statements from an account that received VBS funds and allegedly controlled by Julius Malema; leading the author of the investigation to estimate that Malema received and directly benefited from R5.3-million illegally taken from VBS. Additional media reports in October 2019, alleged that the party received R4 million of VBS funds into a slush fund that was channeled to Malema via a company named Santaclara Trading.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: A former member of the EFF's leadership accused the party leadership of accepting donations from VBS Mutual Bank prior to its collapse.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Malema later forwarded a conspiracy theory that the VBS collapse was part of a plot intended to damage the EFF.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Feminists have characterised leading members of the party as misogynist. In October 2018, a group of 17 former EFF members and councillors in the Northern Cape accused the party's senior leadership of corruption and sexual exploitation of more junior female party members. Four months later two former female employees of the EFF claimed that party leadership intimidated and engaged in acts of bullying behaviour towards them and other party staff members.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Following the temporary removal of 8 EFF provincial MPs from Gauteng Provincial Legislature a large number of EFF members protesting against the ruling stormed the provincial legislature building.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: During violent university protests characterised by arson and vandalism, EFF Youth leader Omphile Seleke posted instructions for making petrol bombs on social media.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: EFF Deputy President Floyd Shivambu congratulated the party supporters for causing damage to various H&M stores across South Africa due to a picture of a young black child wearing a green hoodie reading, ""Coolest Monkey in the Jungle"". A Vodacom store in Polokwane was damaged and looted by EFF members following a presentation by Corruption Watch at the 2018 Vodacom Awards which included an image depicting EFF leaders Malema and Shivambu as "abusers of Democracy".


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Following the 2019 State of the Nation address in parliament by President Ramaphosa, EFF MP Marshall Dlamini physically assaulted a member of the presidential security team after a disagreement between EFF MPs and the security.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: During a October 2022 speech to members of the Western Cape EFF branch Malema stated the party members should ""never be scared to kill"" in pursuit of what Malema described as the party's revolution. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) ruled that the statement along with seven other statements made by the EFF, such as “"a revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate",” constituted hate speech. The EFF disputed the SAHRC's ruling.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Journalist Ranjeni Munusamy lodged an affidavit in December 2018 detailing threatening remarks, intimidation, harassment and personal attacks made by party members, including Malema, towards her and other journalists targeted by the party. The affidavit was supported by the South African National Editors Forum and other notable South African journalists such as Max du Preez, Pauli VanWyk, Adriaan Jurgens Basson, and Barry Bateman. The EFF denied any involvement in attacks on Munusamy and other journalists.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: South African political journalist Karima Brown was the target of verbal abuse and threats of violence by EFF supporters following the EFF's publication of her personal contact details. This led charges with the police and Equity Court being laid against the party amidst speculation that this instance might be in breach of South Africa's Electoral Code of Conduct. Parties in breach of the code risk having their registration to run in elections being revoked. Malema stated on the incident that journalists have no privileges whilst accusing Brown of being a state agent and denied that EFF supporters were making threatening remarks. The court found in favour of Brown and ruled that the EFF had contravened the South African electoral code by inciting its supporters to harass Brown.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Following the publication of an article by the amaBhungane Centre for investigative journalism looking into allegations of corruption by the EFF the party controversially announced that it would be banning both amaBhungane and the "Daily Maverick" from its public events and announced that they would be treated an enemies of the party.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: In January 2020 the EFF was forced to publicly apologies and pay damages following a Gauteng High Court judgment that the party had made and spread false allegations that two journalists, Thandeka Gqubule and Anton Harber, were apartheid era 'StratCom' agents.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Since its establishment the EFF has made a number of controversial racially or ethnically based statements about a number of South African minority groups. The EFF has been widely criticised for inciting and perpetuating racism. The EFF's has been criticized for adopting a biological interpretation of race that allows the party to easily generalise and attribute racism to particular groups or individuals based on their demographic classification; who in turn are targeted for racial prejudiced by the party. This has had a polarizing and radicalizing impact on South African politics. Leaders of the party have targeted a number of public servants, journalists and communities based on their race.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Anthony Mathumba, an EFF councillor of the Makhado Local Municipality, is currently in court for hate speech. In June 2020, he is alleged to have created a Twitter account where he pretended to be a white woman and made racist comments to black women.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The South African Minority Rights Equality Movement initiated a court case against Malema for inciting racial sentiment by stating that a "majority of Indians are racist" at an EFF Youth Day rally in 2018.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: The EFF was criticised by the South African Council of Churches, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, and the ANC for comparing Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to a "dog" whilst protesting against the Zondo Commission inquiry into government corruption. The EFF also accused the anti-corruption investigators of being members of an "Indian cabal" commenting on the presence of Indian South African's making up the investigative team. The EFF also retaliated against Gordhan by accusing him and his daughter of corruption. The EFF accusations were proven false and Gordhan laid charge of defamation against Malema stating that the EFF's "determined defence of corruption and the corrupt, using personal attacks, racism and alleged hate speech is not acceptable and must be challenged." The Equality Court declared that the EFF was not guilty of hate speech in its statements relating to Gordhan. EFF leadership and its supporters have been criticised for using Gordhan's second name, Jamnadas, as a racial dog whistle to highlight to his Indian ethnicity in a pejorative way and question his status as a South African on social media.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: ANC member and government minister, the late Jackson Mthembu, accused the EFF of being racist and having a "deep-seated hatred" for Indian South Africans whilst criticizing the party's pursuit of Gordhan during a parliamentary debate.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: During a 2016 political rally, EFF leader Julius Malema stated, "We are not calling for the slaughter of white people, at least for now." When asked for comment by a news agency, the ANC spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa stated that there will be no comment from the ANC, as "[Malema] was addressing his own party supporters." While still the ANCYL leader, Malema was taken to the Equality Court by AfriForum for repeatedly singing ""dubul' ibhunu"", meaning "shoot the boer [white farmer]". The ANC supported Malema, though AfriForum and the ANC reached a settlement before the appeal case was due to be argued in the Supreme Court of Appeal. A later 2022 hate speech case brought against Malema by AfriForum for singing the same song found that the song was not hate speech.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission disqualified EFF councillor Thabo Mabotja from the 2016 local elections due to a tweet by Mabotja calling for the hacking and killing of white South Africans. The EFF formally welcomed the commission's decision and renounced Mabotja.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Speaking at a political rally in 2018, Malema told supporters to "go after a white man", a reference to Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Athol Trollip, adding that "we are cutting the throat of whiteness". This led to the Democratic Alliance accusing the EFF's leader, Malema, of racism and not sharing the more tolerant views of South Africans broadly. The EFF later claimed that the reference to the "throat of whiteness" was "a metaphorical reference to destroying white privilege" and was "not referring or advocating harm to white people".


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Following the death of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Malema tweeted a number of controversial quotes from the late Mugabe that were racially prejudiced towards white people, most notably "The only white man you can trust is a dead white man". The SAHRC condemned the quote and stated that they would be taking Malema to court for spreading hate speech.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: In July 2022, Malema spoke at a press conference in Johannesburg warning that an uprising in South Africa was imminent. In an interview with the BBC, Malema stated: “The violence that is going to happen in South Africa is because the elite is disappearing and the poor are becoming more poorer.” and that "When the unled revolution comes... the first target is going to be white people."


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Feminists and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa have criticised the party's militarism and "military command structure". In April 2019, a former member of the EFF's central command, Thembinkosi Rawula, accused senior party leaders of dictatorial leadership practices. The EFF denied Rawula's accusation and stated that they would sue him for defamation as well as make the party's financials public. Despite sharing similar ideological roots, the South African Communist Party also condemned the party.


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: Party practices in addition to its legacy of racial prejudice have been widely defined as "fascist"; with its leader Julius Malema, and the party's cult of personality surrounding him, compared to Benito Mussolini. South African academic Vishwas Satgar argues that the EFF is not comparable to fascist parties of the twentieth century but that it is instead a black neofacist party based on the ideologies of centralised state ownership and control, African nativism and "revenge politics"; and that its appeals to "race baiting, nativist nationalism, hypermasculinity, and disposition to violence are similar in these respects to the new fascisms rising in Europe, the United States, and India."


title: Economic Freedom Fighters

text: In mid-June 2016, a group calling themselves "Anonymous Africa", claiming to be associated with the hacktivist group Anonymous, condemned the party and perpetrated a DDoS attack on the EFF's website stating the reason for the attack was the party's "nationalist socialist rhetoric".


title: Ossobuco

text: Ossobuco or osso buco (; or "òs büüs" ) is a specialty of Lombard cuisine of cross-cut veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine, and broth. It is often garnished with "gremolata" and traditionally served with either "risotto alla milanese" or polenta, depending on the regional variation. The marrow in the hole in the bone, a prized delicacy, is the defining feature of the dish.


title: Ossobuco

text: The two types of "ossobuco" are a modern version that has tomatoes and the original version which does not. The older version, "ossobuco in bianco", is flavoured with cinnamon, bay leaf, and "gremolata". The modern and more popular recipe includes tomatoes, carrots, celery, and onions; "gremolata" is optional. While veal is the traditional meat used for ossobuco, dishes with other meats such as pork have been called ossobuco.


title: Ossobuco

text: "Ossobuco" or "osso buco" is Italian for "bone with a hole" ("osso" "bone", "buco" "hole"), a reference to the marrow hole at the centre of the cross-cut veal shank. In the Milanese variant of the Lombard language, this dish's name is "òss bus".


title: Ossobuco

text: This dish's primary ingredient, veal shank, is common, relatively cheap, and flavorful. Although it is tough, braising makes it tender. The cut traditionally used for this dish comes from the top of the shin which has a higher proportion of bone to meat than other meaty cuts of veal. The shank is then cross-cut into sections about 3 cm thick.


title: Ossobuco

text: Although recipes vary, most start by browning the veal shanks in butter after dredging them in flour, while others recommend vegetable oil or lard. The braising liquid is usually a combination of white wine and meat broth flavored with vegetables.


title: Ossobuco

text: "Risotto alla milanese" is the traditional accompaniment to "ossobuco in bianco", making for a one-dish meal. "Ossobuco" (especially the tomato-based version, prepared south of the Po River) is also eaten with polenta or mashed potatoes. South of the Po River, it is sometimes served with pasta.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Tay–Sachs disease is a genetic disorder that results in the destruction of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The most common form is infantile Tay–Sachs disease, which becomes apparent around three to six months of age, with the baby losing the ability to turn over, sit, or crawl. This is then followed by seizures, hearing loss, and inability to move, with death usually occurring by the age of three to five. Less commonly, the disease may occur in later childhood or adulthood (juvenile or late-onset). These forms tend to be less severe, but the juvenile form typically results in death by age 15.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Tay–Sachs disease is caused by a genetic mutation in the "HEXA" gene on chromosome 15, which codes form a subunit of the hexosaminidase enzyme known as hexosaminidase A. It is inherited from a person's parents in an autosomal recessive manner. The mutation disrupts the activity of the enzyme, which results in the build-up of the molecule GM2 ganglioside within cells, leading to toxicity. Diagnosis may be supported by measuring the blood hexosaminidase A level or genetic testing. Tay–Sachs disease is a type of GM2 gangliosidosis and sphingolipidosis.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: The treatment of Tay–Sachs disease is supportive in nature. This may involve multiple specialities as well as psychosocial support for the family. The disease is rare in the general population. In Ashkenazi Jews, French Canadians of southeastern Quebec, the Old Order Amish of Pennsylvania, and the Cajuns of southern Louisiana, the condition is more common. Approximately 1 in 3,600 Ashkenazi Jews at birth are affected.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: The disease is named after British ophthalmologist Waren Tay, who in 1881 first described a symptomatic red spot on the retina of the eye; and American neurologist Bernard Sachs, who described in 1887 the cellular changes and noted an increased rate of disease in Ashkenazi Jews. Carriers of a single Tay–Sachs allele are typically normal. It has been hypothesized that being a carrier may confer protection from tuberculosis, explaining the persistence of the allele in certain populations. Researchers are looking at gene therapy or enzyme replacement therapy as possible treatments.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Tay–Sachs disease is typically first noticed in infants around 6 months old displaying an abnormally strong response to sudden noises or other stimuli, known as the "startle response". There may also be listlessness or muscle stiffness (hypertonia). The disease is classified into several forms, which are differentiated based on the onset age of neurological symptoms.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Infants with Tay–Sachs disease appear to develop normally for the first six months after birth. Then, as neurons become distended with GM2 gangliosides, a relentless deterioration of mental and physical abilities begins. The child may become blind, deaf, unable to swallow, atrophied, and paralytic. Death usually occurs before the age of four.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Juvenile Tay–Sachs disease is rarer than other forms of Tay–Sachs, and usually is initially seen in children between two and ten years old. People with Tay–Sachs disease experience cognitive and motor skill deterioration, dysarthria, dysphagia, ataxia, and spasticity. Death usually occurs between the ages of five and fifteen years.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: A rare form of this disease, known as Adult-Onset or Late-Onset Tay–Sachs disease, usually has its first symptoms during the 30s or 40s. In contrast to the other forms, late-onset Tay–Sachs disease is usually not fatal as the effects can stop progressing. It is frequently misdiagnosed. It is characterized by unsteadiness of gait and progressive neurological deterioration. Symptoms of late-onset Tay–Sachs – which typically begin to be seen in adolescence or early adulthood – include speech and swallowing difficulties, unsteadiness of gait, spasticity, cognitive decline, and psychiatric illness, particularly a schizophrenia-like psychosis. People with late-onset Tay–Sachs may become full-time wheelchair users in adulthood.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Until the 1970s and 1980s, when the disease's molecular genetics became known, the juvenile and adult forms of the disease were not always recognized as variants of Tay–Sachs disease. Post-infantile Tay–Sachs was often misdiagnosed as another neurological disorder, such as Friedreich's ataxia.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Tay–Sachs disease is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, meaning that when both parents are carriers, there is a 25% risk of giving birth to an affected child with each pregnancy. The affected child would have received a mutated copy of the gene from each parent. If one parent has this Genetic disorder and is passed down to the child, then the child becomes a carrier.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Tay–Sachs results from mutations in the "HEXA" gene on chromosome 15, which encodes the alpha-subunit of beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase A, a lysosomal enzyme. By 2000, more than 100 different mutations had been identified in the human "HEXA" gene. These mutations have included single base insertions and deletions, splice phase mutations, missense mutations, and other more complex patterns. Each of these mutations alters the gene's protein product (i.e., the enzyme), sometimes severely inhibiting its function. In recent years, population studies and pedigree analysis have shown how such mutations arise and spread within small founder populations. Initial research focused on several such founder populations:


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: In the 1960s and early 1970s, when the biochemical basis of Tay–Sachs disease was first becoming known, no mutations had been sequenced directly for genetic diseases. Researchers of that era did not yet know how common polymorphisms would prove to be. The "Jewish Fur Trader Hypothesis," with its implication that a single mutation must have spread from one population into another, reflected the knowledge at the time. Subsequent research, however, has proven that a large variety of different "HEXA" mutations can cause the disease. Because Tay–Sachs was one of the first genetic disorders for which widespread genetic screening was possible, it is one of the first genetic disorders in which the prevalence of compound heterozygosity has been demonstrated.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Compound heterozygosity ultimately explains the disease's variability, including the late-onset forms. The disease can potentially result from the inheritance of two unrelated mutations in the "HEXA" gene, one from each parent. Classic infantile Tay–Sachs disease results when a child has inherited mutations from both parents that completely stop the biodegradation of gangliosides. Late onset forms occur due to the diverse mutation base – people with Tay–Sachs disease may technically be heterozygotes, with two differing "HEXA" mutations that both inactivate, alter, or inhibit enzyme activity. When a patient has at least one "HEXA" copy that still enables some level of hexosaminidase A activity, a later onset disease form occurs. When disease occurs because of two unrelated mutations, the patient is said to be a compound heterozygote.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Heterozygous carriers (individuals who inherit one mutant allele) show abnormal enzyme activity but manifest no disease symptoms. This phenomenon is called dominance; the biochemical reason for wild-type alleles' dominance over nonfunctional mutant alleles in inborn errors of metabolism comes from how enzymes function. Enzymes are protein catalysts for chemical reactions; as catalysts, they speed up reactions without being used up in the process, so only small enzyme quantities are required to carry out a reaction. Someone homozygous for a nonfunctional mutation in the enzyme-encoding gene has little or no enzyme activity, so will manifest the abnormal phenotype. A heterozygote (heterozygous individual) has at least half of the normal enzyme activity level, due to the expression of the wild-type allele. This level is normally enough to enable normal function and thus prevent phenotypic expression.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Tay–Sachs disease is caused by insufficient activity of the enzyme hexosaminidase A. Hexosaminidase A is a vital hydrolytic enzyme, found in the lysosomes, that breaks down sphingolipids. When hexosaminidase A is no longer functioning properly, the lipids accumulate in the brain and interfere with normal biological processes. Hexosaminidase A specifically breaks down fatty acid derivatives called gangliosides; these are made and biodegraded rapidly in early life as the brain develops. Patients with and carriers of Tay–Sachs can be identified by a simple blood test that measures hexosaminidase A activity.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: The hydrolysis of GM2-ganglioside requires three proteins. Two of them are subunits of hexosaminidase A; the third is a small glycolipid transport protein, the GM2 activator protein (GM2A), which acts as a substrate-specific cofactor for the enzyme. Deficiency in any one of these proteins leads to ganglioside storage, primarily in the lysosomes of neurons. Tay–Sachs disease (along with AB-variant GM2-gangliosidosis and Sandhoff disease) occurs because a mutation inherited from both parents deactivates or inhibits this process. Most Tay–Sachs mutations probably do not directly affect protein functional elements (e.g., the active site). Instead, they cause incorrect folding (disrupting function) or disable intracellular transport.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: In patients with a clinical suspicion for Tay–Sachs disease, with any age of onset, the initial testing involves an enzyme assay to measure the activity of hexosaminidase in serum, fibroblasts, or leukocytes. Total hexosaminidase enzyme activity is decreased in individuals with Tay–Sachs as is the percentage of hexosaminidase A. After confirmation of decreased enzyme activity in an individual, confirmation by molecular analysis can be pursued. All patients with infantile onset Tay–Sachs disease have a "cherry red" macula in the retina, easily observable by a physician using an ophthalmoscope. This red spot is a retinal area that appears red because of gangliosides in the surrounding retinal ganglion cells. The choroidal circulation is showing through "red" in this foveal region where all retinal ganglion cells are pushed aside to increase visual acuity. Thus, this cherry-red spot is the only normal part of the retina; it shows up in contrast to the rest of the retina. Microscopic analysis of the retinal neurons shows they are distended from excess ganglioside storage. Unlike other lysosomal storage diseases (e.g., Gaucher disease, Niemann–Pick disease, and Sandhoff disease), hepatosplenomegaly (liver and spleen enlargement) is not seen in Tay–Sachs.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: As of 2010 there was no treatment that addressed the cause of Tay–Sachs disease or could slow its progression; people receive supportive care to ease the symptoms and extend life by reducing the chance of contracting infections. Infants are given feeding tubes when they can no longer swallow. In late-onset Tay–Sachs, medication (e.g., lithium for depression) can sometimes control psychiatric symptoms and seizures, although some medications (e.g., tricyclic antidepressants, phenothiazines, haloperidol, and risperidone) are associated with significant adverse effects.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: As of 2010, even with the best care, children with infantile Tay–Sachs disease usually die by the age of 4. Children with the juvenile form are likely to die between the ages 5–15, while the lifespans of those with the adult form will probably not be affected.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Ashkenazi Jews have a high incidence of Tay–Sachs and other lipid storage diseases. In the United States, about 1 in 27 to 1 in 30 Ashkenazi Jews is a recessive carrier. The disease incidence is about 1 in every 3,500 newborn among Ashkenazi Jews. French Canadians and the Cajun community of Louisiana have an occurrence similar to the Ashkenazi Jews. Irish Americans have a 1 in 50 chance of being a carrier. In the general population, the incidence of carriers as heterozygotes is about 1 in 300. The incidence is approximately 1 in 320,000 newborns in the general population in the United States.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Three general classes of theories have been proposed to explain the high frequency of Tay–Sachs carriers in the Ashkenazi Jewish population:


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Tay–Sachs disease was one of the first genetic disorders for which epidemiology was studied using molecular data. Studies of Tay–Sachs mutations using new molecular techniques such as linkage disequilibrium and coalescence analysis have brought an emerging consensus among researchers supporting the founder effect theory.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Waren Tay and Bernard Sachs were two physicians. They described the disease's progression and provided differential diagnostic criteria to distinguish it from other neurological disorders with similar symptoms.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Both Tay and Sachs reported their first cases among Ashkenazi Jewish families. Tay reported his observations in 1881 in the first volume of the proceedings of the British Ophthalmological Society, of which he was a founding member. By 1884, he had seen three cases in a single family. Years later, Bernard Sachs, an American neurologist, reported similar findings when he reported a case of "arrested cerebral development" to other New York Neurological Society members.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Sachs, who recognized that the disease had a familial basis, proposed that the disease should be called "amaurotic familial idiocy". However, its genetic basis was still poorly understood. Although Gregor Mendel had published his article on the genetics of peas in 1865, Mendel's paper was largely forgotten for more than a generation – not rediscovered by other scientists until 1899. Thus, the Mendelian model for explaining Tay–Sachs was unavailable to scientists and doctors of the time. The first edition of the Jewish Encyclopedia, published in 12 volumes between 1901 and 1906, described what was then known about the disease:


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: It is a curious fact that amaurotic family idiocy, a rare and fatal disease of children, occurs mostly among Jews. The largest number of cases has been observed in the United States—over thirty in number. It was at first thought that this was an exclusively Jewish disease because most of the cases at first reported were between Russian and Polish Jews; but recently there have been reported cases occurring in non-Jewish children. The chief characteristics of the disease are progressive mental and physical enfeeblement; weakness and paralysis of all the extremities; and marasmus, associated with symmetrical changes in the macula lutea. On investigation of the reported cases, they found that neither consanguinity nor syphilitic, alcoholic, or nervous antecedents in the family history are factors in the etiology of the disease. No preventive measures have as yet been discovered, and no treatment has been of benefit, all the cases having terminated fatally.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Jewish immigration to the United States peaked in the period 1880–1924, with the immigrants arriving from Russia and countries in Eastern Europe; this was also a period of nativism (hostility to immigrants) in the United States. Opponents of immigration often questioned whether immigrants from southern and eastern Europe could be assimilated into American society. Reports of Tay–Sachs disease contributed to a perception among nativists that Jews were an inferior race.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: In 1969, Shintaro Okada and John S. O'Brien showed that Tay–Sachs disease was caused by an enzyme defect; they also proved that Tay–Sachs patients could be diagnosed by an assay of hexosaminidase A activity. The further development of enzyme assays demonstrated that levels of hexosaminidases A and B could be measured in patients and carriers, allowing the reliable detection of heterozygotes. During the early 1970s, researchers developed protocols for newborn testing, carrier screening, and pre-natal diagnosis. By the end of 1979, researchers had identified three variant forms of GM2 gangliosidosis, including Sandhoff disease and the AB variant of GM2-gangliosidosis, accounting for false negatives in carrier testing.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Since carrier testing for Tay–Sachs began in 1971, millions of Ashkenazi Jews have been screened as carriers. Jewish communities embraced the cause of genetic screening from the 1970s on. The success with Tay–Sachs disease has led Israel to become the first country that offers free genetic screening and counseling for all couples and opened discussions about the proper scope of genetic testing for other disorders in Israel.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Because Tay–Sachs disease was one of the first autosomal recessive genetic disorders for which there was an enzyme assay test (prior to polymerase chain reaction testing methods), it was intensely studied as a model for all such diseases, and researchers sought evidence of a selective process. A continuing controversy is whether heterozygotes (carriers) have or had a selective advantage. The presence of four different lysosomal storage disorders in the Ashkenazi Jewish population suggests a past selective advantage for heterozygous carriers of these conditions."


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Enzyme replacement therapy techniques have been investigated for lysosomal storage disorders, and could potentially be used to treat Tay–Sachs as well. The goal would be to replace the nonfunctional enzyme, a process similar to insulin injections for diabetes. However, in previous studies, the "HEXA" enzyme itself has been thought to be too large to pass through the specialized cell layer in the blood vessels that forms the blood–brain barrier in humans.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Researchers have also tried directly instilling the deficient enzyme hexosaminidase A into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) which bathes the brain. However, intracerebral neurons seem unable to take up this physically large molecule efficiently even when it is directly by them. Therefore, this approach to treatment of Tay–Sachs disease has also been ineffective so far.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Tay–Sachs disease exists in Jacob sheep. The biochemical mechanism for this disease in the Jacob sheep is virtually identical to that in humans, wherein diminished activity of hexosaminidase A results in increased concentrations of GM2 ganglioside in the affected animal. Sequencing of the "HEXA" gene cDNA of affected Jacobs sheep reveal an identical number of nucleotides and exons as in the human "HEXA" gene, and 86% nucleotide sequence identity. A missense mutation (G444R) was found in the "HEXA" cDNA of the affected sheep. This mutation is a single nucleotide change at the end of exon 11, resulting in that exon's deletion (before translation) via splicing. The Tay–Sachs model provided by the Jacob sheep is the first to offer promise as a means for gene therapy clinical trials, which may prove useful for disease treatment in humans.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Other experimental methods being researched involve substrate reduction therapy, which attempts to use alternative enzymes to increase the brain's catabolism of GM2 gangliosides to a point where residual degradative activity is sufficient to prevent substrate accumulation. One experiment has demonstrated that using the enzyme sialidase allows the genetic defect to be effectively bypassed, and as a consequence, GM2 gangliosides are metabolized so that their levels become almost inconsequential. If a safe pharmacological treatment can be developed – one that increases expression of lysosomal sialidase in neurons without other toxicity – then this new form of therapy could essentially cure the disease.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Another metabolic therapy under investigation for Tay–Sachs disease uses miglustat. This drug is a reversible inhibitor of the enzyme glucosylceramide synthase, which catalyzes the first step in synthesizing glucose-based glycosphingolipids like GM2 ganglioside.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: As Tay–Sachs disease is a deficiency of β-hexosaminidase A, deterioration of affected individuals could be slowed or stopped through the use of a substance that increases its activity. However, since in infantile Tay–Sachs disease there is no β-hexosaminidase A, the treatment would be ineffective, but for people affected by Late-Onset Tay–Sachs disease, β-hexosaminidase A is present, so the treatment may be effective. The drug pyrimethamine has been shown to increase activity of β-hexosaminidase A. However, the increased levels of β-hexosaminidase A still fall far short of the desired "10% of normal HEXA", above which the phenotypic symptoms begin to disappear.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: This is a highly invasive procedure which involves destroying the patient's blood system with chemotherapy and administering cord blood. Of five people who had received the treatment as of 2008, two were still alive after five years and they still had a great deal of health problems.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: Critics point to the procedure's harsh nature—and the fact that it is unapproved. Other significant issues involve the difficulty in crossing the blood–brain barrier, as well as the great expense, as each unit of cord blood costs $25,000, and adult recipients need many units.


title: Tay–Sachs disease

text: On 10 February 2022, the first ever gene therapy was announced, it uses an adeno-associated virus (AAV) to deliver the correct instruction for the HEXA gene on brain cells which causes the disease. Only two children were part of a compassionate trial presenting improvements over the natural course of the disease and no vector-related adverse events.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: Mohammad Hamid Ansari (; born 1 April 1937) is an Indian politician and retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer who was the 12th vice president of India from 2007 to 2017.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: Ansari joined the IFS in 1961. In a diplomatic career spanning 38 years, he served as the Indian ambassador to Australia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. He also served as the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations between 1993 and 1995. He was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University from 2000 to 2002. Later, he was Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities from 2006 to 2007.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: He was elected as the Vice-President of India on 10 August 2007 and took office on 11 August 2007. He was reelected on 7 August 2012 and was sworn-in by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India. The oath taking ceremony was conducted at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 11 August 2012. His second term ended in August 2017 since he was not offered another term, he decided not to run for a third term in the 2017 vice-presidential election.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: Ansari was born on 1 April 1937 at Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Kolkata, in the state of West Bengal, India) to Mohammad Abdul Aziz Ansari and Aasiya Begum. Though his ancestral home is in the city of Ghazipur of the Uttar Pradesh state, he spent his formative years in Kolkata. He is the grand-nephew of former Indian National Congress president and freedom fighter Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari. He is also the second cousin to 3 Uttar Pradesh politicians, namely Afzal Ansari, Sibaghatullah Ansari and the mafia-turned politician Mukhtar Ansari.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: Ansari did his early education from St. Edward's School, Shimla. He pursued BA in Political science from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, affiliated with the University of Calcutta, followed by a MA in Political science from the Aligarh Muslim University. He is married to Salma Ansari, fathering two sons and one daughter.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: Joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1961, Ansari subsequently served Indian missions in Baghdad, Rabat, Brussels and Jeddah. From 1976 to 1980, he served as the Indian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Mohan Jashanmal, the Chairman of Indian Business and Professionals Group said that "Ansari was instrumental to get land for the Indian School from His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan". He has also served as the Indian ambassador to Australia (1985–1989), Afghanistan (1989–1990), Iran (1990–1992), Saudi Arabia (1995–1999).


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: He also served as the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations from 1993 to 1995. His deputy T. P. Sreenivasan wrote that while Ansari's stint as the Permanent Representative, he refuted Pakistan's allegations of human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir by "the horns and subdued it whenever necessary". He also wrote that appointing Ansari for this post at a time when "Pakistan went all out to bring Kashmir to the centre of international attention after the end of the Cold War" showed India's secular credentials.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: After serving as a visiting professor of the West Asian and African Studies Department of Jawaharlal Nehru University from 1999 to 2000, Ansari was appointed as the vice-chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University on 23 May 2000. After leaving the post in 2002, he served as a visiting professor of the Academy for Third World Studies Department of the Jamia Milia Islamia from 2003 to 2005.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: Ansari became the chairman of India's National Commission for Minorities (NCM) on 6 March 2006. In June 2007, Ansari, in his capacity as NCM chairman, upheld the decision of St. Stephen's Delhi to earmark a small percentage of seats for Dalit Christians. He resigned as NCM chairman soon after his nomination for the post of India's vice-president.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: On 20 July 2007, Ansari was named by the UPA-Left, the ruling coalition in India, as its candidate for the post of Vice-President for the upcoming election. When asked, Ansari said he felt "humbled" over the UPA-Left decision naming him as their candidate. "I am humbled by the confidence reposed in me". Ansari refused to say more when asked about his prospects in the August 2007 Vice-Presidential election. Ansari secured 455 votes, and won the election by a margin of 233 votes against his nearest rival Najma Heptullah.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: In 2012 Vice presidential election, the Congress-led UPA re-appointed Ansari as their candidate for the post of VP. The NDA nominated Jaswant Singh, former Finance, External Affairs and Defence minister as well as former Leader of Opposition. The NDA cited Ansari's conduct in the Rajya Sabha during The Lokpal Bill, 2011 debate when he had abruptly adjourned the House sine die. Hamid Ansari was re-elected for the second term on 7 August 2012, defeating the NDA's nominee Jaswant Singh by a margin of 252 votes. Ansari was the first person to be re-elected as Indian Vice President after Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in 1957.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: Upon the inauguration of Ram Nath Kovind as President of India in 2017, Ansari became the first Indian Vice-President to serve during the terms of three presidents. He is the longest serving vice president of India.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: Ansari is a West Asia scholar and has written on the Palestinian issue and taken positions inconvenient to the Indian official line on Iraq and Iran. He questioned India's vote in the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's nuclear programme where India voted against Iran. He said that though the Indian Government claimed to have acted on "its own judgement," this was not borne out by facts.


title: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

text: He was the chairman of a working group on "Confidence building measures across segments of society in the State," established by the Second Round Table Conference of the Prime Minister on Jammu and Kashmir in 2006. The report of the working group was adopted by the Third Round Table in April 2007. Among other things, the report advocates recognizing the right of Kashmiri Pandits to return to "places of their original residence". This right, it argued, should be recognized without any ambiguity and made a part of state policy.


title: Navneet Kaur Rana

text: Navneet Kaur Rana (also known as Navneet Ravi Rana) is a former Indian actress who mainly acted in Telugu cinema. She is an elected Member of Parliament (MP) from Amravati in 2019 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate.


title: Navneet Kaur Rana

text: Kaur was born and brought up in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Her parents are of Punjabi origin of Ravidassia Caste; her father was an army official. She completed her studies up to 10th standard in Karthika High School. After finishing 12th class, she discontinued her education and began working as a model, going on to appear in six music videos. Kaur made her feature film debut in "Darshan", a Kannada film. Then followed her debut in Telugu with "Seenu Vasanthi Lakshmi" (2004). "Chetna" (2005), "Jagapathi" (2005), "Good Boy" (2005), and "Bhuma" (2008) are some of her subsequent releases. Additional work include "Kalachakram", "Terror", "Flash News" and "Jabilamma" which was remake of Hindi film Chameli in Telugu. She was a contestant in the Gemini TV reality show named "Humma Humma". She starred in the Malayalam film "Love In Singapore", directed by Rafi Mecartin. In 2010, she acted in the Punjabi film "Lad Geya Pecha" opposite Gurpreet Ghuggi.


title: Navneet Kaur Rana

text: After the marriage with Ravi Rana, she tried her career as a politician in 2014 Lok Sabha Election from Nationalist Congress Party however lost the election; citing the reason for the loss she stated that her competition was indirectly Narendra Modi, who had rallied for the then winning candidate, Anandrao Adsul.


title: Navneet Kaur Rana

text: She was elected as an MP from Amravati, Maharashtra constituency in Lok Sabha Elections 2019 as an Independent candidate, with support of Indian National Congress and Nationalist Congress Party defeating Anandrao Adsul of Shiv Sena. In this election as an independent candidate, she has spent Rs.65 Lakh while the previous two times MP, Adsul has spent Rs.49 Lakh for a democratic process. Her win is considered as a huge victory of an independent candidate in Shiv Sena's neglected fortress in Vidarbha.


title: Navneet Kaur Rana

text: On various level (i.e. local, regional and national; in public or, in various institutions like Lok Sabha) she is seen to have altercation with Shiv Sena and its party members time-to-time.


title: Navneet Kaur Rana

text: On 8 June 2021, the High Court of Bombay fined her Rs. 2 lakh, for submitting a fake Mochi caste certificate. The court cancelled her caste certificate, however, it remained silent on the validity of her position as an elected representative from a Lok Sabha seat reserved for people belonging to Scheduled Caste category. In April 2022, Kaur and her husband Ravi were arrested by Mumbai police following their insistence to recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of "Matoshree" the residence of former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray. Later they were sent to 14 days of judicial custody, where Rana was sent to the Byculla women's jail on the orders of local magistrate.


title: Navneet Kaur Rana

text: After a short hiatus from her film career, on 3 February 2011, she married Ravi Rana, an independent MLA from Badnera constituency in Amravati city. It has been reported that they got married along with a mass marriage ceremony where many leaders and VIPs, including the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan and Baba Ramdev, remained present to bless the newly wedded couple.


title: Zoo

text: A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.


title: Zoo

text: The term "zoological garden" refers to zoology, the study of animals. The term is derived from the Greek , , 'animal', and the suffix , , 'study of'. The abbreviation "zoo" was first used of the London Zoological Gardens, which was opened for scientific study in 1828 and to the public in 1847. In the United States alone, zoos are visited by over 181 million people annually.


title: Zoo

text: The London Zoo, which was opened in 1828, was initially known as the "Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society of London", and it described itself as a menagerie or "zoological forest". The abbreviation "zoo" first appeared in print in the United Kingdom around 1847, when it was used for the Clifton Zoo, but it was not until some 20 years later that the shortened form became popular in the rhyming song "Walking in the Zoo" by music-hall artist Alfred Vance. The term "zoological park" was used for more expansive facilities in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Washington, D.C., and the Bronx in New York, which opened in 1847, 1891 and 1899 respectively.


title: Zoo

text: Relatively new terms for zoos in the late 20th century are "conservation park" or "bio park". Adopting a new name is a strategy used by some zoo professionals to distance their institutions from the stereotypical and nowadays criticized zoo concept of the 19th century. The term "bio park" was first coined and developed by the National Zoo in Washington D.C. in the late 1980s. In 1993, the New York Zoological Society changed its name to the Wildlife Conservation Society and re branded the zoos under its jurisdiction as "wildlife conservation parks".


title: Zoo

text: The predecessor of the zoological garden is the menagerie, which has a long history from the ancient world to modern times. The oldest known zoological collection was revealed during excavations at Hierakonpolis, Egypt in 2009, of a ca. 3500 BCE menagerie. The exotic animals included hippopotami, hartebeest, elephants, baboons and wildcats. King Ashur-bel-kala of the Middle Assyrian Empire created zoological and botanical gardens in the 11th century BCE. In the 2nd century BCE, the Chinese Empress Tanki had a "house of deer" built, and King Wen of Zhou kept a zoo called "Ling-Yu," or the Garden of Intelligence. Other well-known collectors of animals included King Solomon of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah, queen Semiramis and King Ashurbanipal of Assyria, and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. By the 4th century BCE, zoos existed in most of the Greek city states; Alexander the Great is known to have sent animals that he found on his military expeditions back to Greece. The Roman emperors kept private collections of animals for study or for use in the arena, the latter faring notoriously poorly. The 19th-century historian W. E. H. Lecky wrote of the Roman games, first held in 366 BCE:


title: Zoo

text: Charlemagne had an elephant named Abul-Abbas that was given to him by the Abbasid Caliph. Henry I of England kept a collection of animals at his palace in Woodstock which reportedly included lions, leopards, and camels. The most prominent collection in medieval England was in the Tower of London, created as early as 1204 by King John I.


title: Zoo

text: Henry III received a wedding gift in 1235 of three leopards from Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and in 1264, the animals were moved to the Bulwark, renamed the Lion Tower, near the main western entrance of the Tower. It was opened to the public during the reign of Elizabeth I in the 16th century. During the 18th century, the price of admission was three half-pence, or the supply of a cat or dog for feeding to the lions. The animals were moved to the London Zoo when it opened.


title: Zoo

text: Aztec emperor Moctezuma had in his capital city of Tenochtitlan a "house of animals" with a large collection of birds, mammals and reptiles in a garden tended by more than 600 employees. The garden was described by several Spanish conquerors, including Hernán Cortés in 1520. After the Aztec revolt against the Spanish rule, and during the subsequent battle for the city, Cortés reluctantly ordered the zoo to be destroyed.


title: Zoo

text: The oldest zoo in the world still in existence is the Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna, Austria. It was constructed by Adrian van Stekhoven in 1752 at the order of Emperor Francis I, to serve as an imperial menagerie as part of Schönbrunn Palace. The menagerie was initially reserved for the viewing pleasure of the imperial family and the court, but was made accessible to the public in 1765.


title: Zoo

text: In 1775, a zoo was founded in Madrid, and in 1795, the zoo inside the "Jardin des Plantes" in Paris was founded by Jacques-Henri Bernardin, with animals from the royal menagerie at Versailles, primarily for scientific research and education. The planning about a space for the conservation and observation of animals was expressed in connection with the political construction of republican citizenship.


title: Zoo

text: The Kazan Zoo, the first zoo in Russia was founded in 1806 by the Professor of Kazan State University Karl Fuchs.


title: Zoo

text: Until the early 19th century, the function of the zoo was often to symbolize royal power, like King Louis XIV's menagerie at Versailles. Major cities in Europe set up zoos in the 19th century, usually using London and Paris as models. The transition was made from princely menageries designed to entertain high society with strange novelties into public zoological gardens. The new goal was to educate the entire population with information along modern scientific lines. Zoos were supported by local commercial or scientific societies.


title: Zoo

text: The modern zoo that emerged in the 19th century in the United Kingdom, was focused on providing scientific study and later educational exhibits to the public for entertainment and inspiration.


title: Zoo

text: A growing fascination for natural history and zoology, coupled with the tremendous expansion in the urbanization of London, led to a heightened demand for a greater variety of public forms of entertainment to be made available. The need for public entertainment, as well as the requirements of scholarly research, came together in the founding of the first modern zoos. Whipsnade Park Zoo in Bedfordshire, England, opened in 1931. It allowed visitors to drive through the enclosures and come into close proximity with the animals.


title: Zoo

text: The Zoological Society of London was founded in 1826 by Stamford Raffles and established the London Zoo in Regent's Park two years later in 1828. At its founding, it was the world's first scientific zoo. Originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study, it was opened to the public in 1847. The Zoo was located in Regent's Park - then undergoing development at the hands of the architect John Nash. What set the London zoo apart from its predecessors was its focus on society at large. The zoo was established in the middle of a city for the public, and its layout was designed to cater for the large London population. The London zoo was widely copied as the archetype of the public city zoo. In 1853, the Zoo opened the world's first public aquarium.


title: Zoo

text: Dublin Zoo was opened in 1831 by members of the medical profession interested in studying animals while they were alive and more particularly getting hold of them when they were dead.


title: Zoo

text: Downs' Zoological Gardens created by Andrew Downs and opened to the Nova Scotia public in 1847. It was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. By the early 1860s, the zoo grounds covered 40 hectares with many fine flowers and ornamental trees, picnic areas, statues, walking paths, The Glass House (which contained a greenhouse with an aviary, aquarium, and museum of stuffed animals and birds), a pond, a bridge over a waterfall, an artificial lake with a fountain, a wood-ornamented greenhouse, a forest area, and enclosures and buildings.


title: Zoo

text: In German states leading roles came Berlin (1841), Frankfurt (1856), and Hamburg (1863). In 1907, the entrepreneur Carl Hagenbeck founded the Tierpark Hagenbeck in Stellingen, now a quarter of Hamburg. His zoo was a radical departure from the layout of the zoo that had been established in 1828. It was the first zoo to use open enclosures surrounded by moats, rather than barred cages, to better approximate animals' natural environments. He also set up mixed-species exhibits and based the layout on the different organizing principle of geography, as opposed to taxonomy.


title: Zoo

text: The Wrocław Zoo () is the oldest zoo in Poland, opened in 1865 when the city was part of Prussia, and was home to about 10,500 animals representing about 1,132 species (in terms of the number of animal species, it is the third largest in the world). In 2014 the Wrocław Zoo opened the Africarium, the only themed oceanarium devoted solely to exhibiting the fauna of Africa, comprehensively presenting selected ecosystems from the continent of Africa. Housing over 10 thousand animals, the facility's breadth extends from housing insects such cockroaches to large mammals like elephants on an area of over 33 hectares.


title: Zoo

text: In the United States, the Philadelphia Zoo, opened July 1, 1874, earning its motto "America's First Zoo." The Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens in Chicago and the Cincinnati Zoo opened in 1875. In the 1930s, federal relief programs provided financial aid to most local zoos. The Works Progress Administration and similar New Deal government agencies helped greatly in the construction, renovation, and expansion of zoos when the Great Depression severely reduced local budgets. It was "a new deal for animals."


title: Zoo

text: The Atlanta Zoo, founded in 1886, suffered neglect. By 1984 it was ranked among the ten worst zoos in the United States. Systematic reform by 2000 put it on the list of the ten best.


title: Zoo

text: By 2020, the United States featured 230 accredited zoos and aquariums across 45 states, accommodating 800,000 animals, and 6,000 species out of which about 1,000 are endangered. The zoos provide 208,000 jobs, and with an annual


title: Zoo

text: budget of $230 million for wildlife conservation. They attract over 200 million visits a year and have special programs for schools. They are organized by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.


title: Zoo

text: Japan's first modern zoo, Tokyo's Ueno Imperial Zoological Gardens, opened in 1882 based on European models. In World War II it was used to teach the Japanese people about the lands recently conquered by the Army. In 1943, fearing American bombing attacks, the government ordered the zoo to destroy dangerous animals that might escape.


title: Zoo

text: When ecology emerged as a matter of public interest in the 1970s, a few zoos began to consider making conservation their central role, with Gerald Durrell of the Jersey Zoo, George Rabb of Brookfield Zoo, and William Conway of the Bronx Zoo (Wildlife Conservation Society) leading the discussion. From then on, zoo professionals became increasingly aware of the need to engage themselves in conservation programs, and the American Zoo Association soon said that conservation was its highest priority. In order to stress conservation issues, many large zoos stopped the practice of having animals perform tricks for visitors. The Detroit Zoo, for example, stopped its elephant show in 1969, and its chimpanzee show in 1983, acknowledging that the trainers had probably abused the animals to get them to perform.


title: Zoo

text: Mass destruction of wildlife habitat has yet to cease all over the world and many species such as elephants, big cats, penguins, tropical birds, primates, rhinos, exotic reptiles, and many others are in danger of dying out. Many of today's zoos hope to stop or slow the decline of many endangered species and see their primary purpose as breeding endangered species in captivity and reintroducing them into the wild. Modern zoos also aim to help teach visitors the importance on animal conservation, often through letting visitors witness the animals firsthand. Some critics and the majority of animal rights activists say that zoos, no matter what their intentions are, or how noble they are, are immoral and serve as nothing but to fulfill human leisure at the expense of the animals (which is an opinion that has spread over the years). However, zoo advocates argue that their efforts make a difference in wildlife conservation and education.


title: Zoo

text: Human beings were occasionally displayed in cages at zoos along with non-human animals, to illustrate the differences between people of European and non-European origin. In September 1906, William Hornaday, director of the Bronx Zoo in New York—with the agreement of Madison Grant, head of the New York Zoological Society—had Ota Benga, a Congolese pygmy, displayed in a cage with the chimpanzees, then with an orangutan named Dohong, and a parrot. The exhibit was intended as an example of the "missing link" between the orangutan and white man. It triggered protests from the city's clergymen, but the public reportedly flocked to see Benga.


title: Zoo

text: Human beings were also displayed at various events, especially colonial expositions such as the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition, with the practice continuing in Belgium at least to as late as 1958 in a "Congolese village" display at Expo '58 in Brussels. These displays, while sometimes called "human zoos", usually did not take place in zoos or use cages.


title: Zoo

text: Zoo animals live in enclosures that often attempt to replicate their natural habitats or behavioral patterns, for the benefit of both the animals and visitors. Nocturnal animals are often housed in buildings with a reversed light-dark cycle, i.e. only dim white or red lights are on during the day so the animals are active during visitor hours, and brighter lights on at night when the animals sleep. Special climate conditions may be created for animals living in extreme environments, such as penguins. Special enclosures for birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, fish, and other aquatic life forms have also been developed. Some zoos have walk-through exhibits where visitors enter enclosures of non-aggressive species, such as lemurs, marmosets, birds, lizards, and turtles. Visitors are asked to keep to paths and avoid showing or eating foods that the animals might snatch.


title: Zoo

text: Some zoos keep animals in larger, outdoor enclosures, confining them with moats and fences, rather than in cages. Safari parks, also known as zoo parks and lion farms, allow visitors to drive through them and come in close proximity to the animals. Sometimes, visitors are able to feed animals through the car windows. The first safari park was Whipsnade Park in Bedfordshire, England, opened by the Zoological Society of London in 1931 which today (2014) covers 600 acres (2.4 km). Since the early 1970s, an 1,800 acre (7 km) park in the San Pasqual Valley near San Diego has featured the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, run by the Zoological Society of San Diego. One of two state-supported zoo parks in North Carolina is the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. The Werribee Open Range Zoo in Melbourne, Australia, displays animals living in an artificial savannah.


title: Zoo

text: The first public aquarium was opened at the London Zoo in 1853. This was followed by the opening of public aquaria in continental Europe (e.g. Paris in 1859, Hamburg in 1864, Berlin in 1869, and Brighton in 1872) and the United States (e.g. Boston in 1859, Washington in 1873, San Francisco Woodward's Garden in 1873, and the New York Aquarium at Battery Park in 1896).


title: Zoo

text: Roadside zoos are found throughout North America, particularly in remote locations. They are often small, for-profit zoos, often intended to attract visitors to some other facility, such as a gas station. The animals may be trained to perform tricks, and visitors are able to get closer to them than in larger zoos. Since they are sometimes less regulated, roadside zoos are often subject to accusations of neglect and cruelty.


title: Zoo

text: In June 2014 the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against the Iowa-based roadside Cricket Hollow Zoo for violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to provide proper care for its animals. Since filing the lawsuit, ALDF has obtained records from investigations conducted by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services; these records show that the zoo is also violating the Animal Welfare Act.


title: Zoo

text: A petting zoo, also called petting farms or children's zoos, features a combination of domestic animals and wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. To ensure the animals' health, the food is supplied by the zoo, either from vending machines or a kiosk nearby.


title: Zoo

text: An animal theme park is a combination of an amusement park and a zoo, mainly for entertaining and commercial purposes. Marine mammal parks such as Sea World and Marineland are more elaborate dolphinariums keeping whales, and containing additional entertainment attractions. Another kind of animal theme park contains more entertainment and amusement elements than the classical zoo, such as stage shows, roller coasters, and mythical creatures. Some examples are Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida, both Disney's Animal Kingdom and Gatorland in Orlando, Florida, Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire, England, and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California.


title: Zoo

text: By 2000 most animals being displayed in zoos were the offspring of other zoo animals. This trend, however was and still is somewhat species-specific. When animals are transferred between zoos, they usually spend time in quarantine, and are given time to acclimatize to their new enclosures which are often designed to mimic their natural environment. For example, some species of penguins may require refrigerated enclosures. Guidelines on necessary care for such animals is published in the "International Zoo Yearbook". Animal exchanges between facilities are usually made voluntarily, based on a model of cooperation for conservation. Loaned animals usually remain the property of the original park, and any offspring yielded by loaned animals are usually divided between the lending and holding institutions. For decades the capture of wild animals or purchasing of animals has been broadly considered unethical and has not been practiced by reputable zoos.


title: Zoo

text: Especially in large animals, a limited number of spaces are available in zoos. As a consequence, various management tools are used to preserve the space for the genetically most important individuals and to reduce the risk of inbreeding. Management of animal populations is typically through international organizations such as AZA and EAZA. Zoos have several different ways of managing the animal populations, such as moves between zoos, contraception, sale of excess animals and euthanization (culling).


title: Zoo

text: Contraception can be an effective way to limit a population's breeding. However it may also have health repercussions and can be difficult or even impossible to reverse in some animals. Additionally, some species may lose their reproductive capability entirely if prevented from breeding for a period (whether through contraceptives or isolation), but further study is needed on the subject. Sale of surplus animals from zoos was once common and in some cases animals have ended up in substandard facilities. In recent decades the practice of selling animals from certified zoos has declined. A large number of animals are culled each year in zoos, but this is controversial. A highly publicized culling as part of population management was that of a healthy giraffe at Copenhagen Zoo in 2014. The zoo argued that its genes already were well-represented in captivity, making the giraffe unsuitable for future breeding. There were offers to adopt it and an online petition to save it had many thousand signatories, but the culling proceeded. Although zoos in some countries have been open about culling, the controversy of the subject and pressure from the public has resulted in others being closed. This stands in contrast to most zoos publicly announcing animal births. Furthermore, while many zoos are willing to cull smaller and/or low-profile animals, fewer are willing to do it with larger high-profile species.


title: Zoo

text: Many animals breed readily in captivity. Zoos frequently are forced to intentionally limit captive breeding because of a lack of natural wild habitat in which to reintroduce animals. This highlights the importance of in situ conservation, or preservation of natural spaces, in addition to the utility of zoo captive breeding and reintroduction programs. In situ conservation and reintroduction programs are key elements to obtaining certification by reputable organisations such as the AZA.