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Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns

By Toronto Life
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The Toronto Zoo is temporarily closed, because about 400 of its unionized workers are on strike. According to CUPE Local 1600, the zoo’s union, the main point of disagreement is job security: the workers want the city-run zoo to continue a longstanding commitment not to allow the zoo’s complement of full-time, permanent staff to dip below 150 employees. Zoo management would prefer to do away with the staffing minimum.

Most unions rely on strikes for leverage, but the Toronto Zoo’s employees have another weapon at their disposal: terrible animal puns. The placards on the picket lines are laden with so many zoo-related groaners that it’s a wonder city hall didn’t cave to workers’ demands days ago. Here are some of the worst we could find.

Okay, yes. “Seal” has two meanings. So far, so good:

Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns
Photo by @FredHahnCupe/Twitter

 

Cute hippo drawing. We like:

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Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns
Photo by @FredHahnCUPE/Twitter

 

This one is a little offensive to penguins, but otherwise okay:

Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns
Photo by @FredHahnCUPE/Twitter

 

“Turtley?" That’s not a word, but it still scans. We’ll let it slide:

Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns
Photo by @CUPEOntario/Twitter

 

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“That’s all rhino” is definitely pushing the limits of intelligibility, but it... kinda makes sense?

Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns
Photo by @CUPE9112/Twitter

 

The sign on the left is okay, but the “gnu” thing is pretty confusing. The “150 clause” is a provision of the zoo workers’ collective agreement that prevents zoo management from having fewer than 150 full-time, permanent workers on staff:

Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns
Photo by @aamandaellenn/Twitter

 

Good god no:

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Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns
Photo by @CUPE9112/Twitter

 

Now you’re just inserting animal names into sentences for no reason:

Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns
Photo by @lahzsa/Twitter

 

Some truly terrible puns here. But hey, that’s the level of yak painting we’d expect from a zoo professional:

Toronto Zoo workers are on strike, and their strategy includes torturing management with bad animal puns
Photo by @FredHahnCUPE/Twitter

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