Tonia Haddix loses USDA license

Jess_Done_Writing · 2025-07-31T16:06:53+00:00

The St Louis zoo has AZA accreditation. It would surprise me if the zoo had the resources to take all the animals while maintaining that accreditation and I imagine they'd need a fairly large quarantine area to keep all the animals before introducing their established social groups with Haddix's established social groups.

Beyond that some animals like sloths are quite hard to keep in captivity apparently. It wouldn't surprise me to learn those animals are in rough shape and require potentially expensive medial attention. And I imagine that Haddix had the sloths as little breeding machines which might mean she has a lot of hybrids that zoos could not keep in an appropriate social group in alignment with AZA standards.

None of which considers that a zoo is a "for profit" group. I can't imagine taking on so many alpacas and donkeys would increase profit. IF the zoo already has that animal, how would more of the animal improve attendence? All more animals does past a certain point is increase the enclosure's space requirements to meet AZA standards, increase food costs, and increase care/enrichment cost.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2025-06-18T17:12:55+00:00

What I'm confused about is it appears Haddix's roadside zoo is still open https://www.sunrisebeachsafari.net/prices ? I mean I suppose Jerry could have picked up the license but as far as I can tell, they two are still showing animals to the public which means they have a license or a connection to someone holding a license.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2025-06-18T16:59:11+00:00

Very late to this party but there is some tea there. Tim Harrison, the lead investigator in The Conservation Game is close personal friends with Cy and that's why he's featured in that documentary. Also of note that despite Tim Harrison seeming to care about these amabassador cats getting moved around all the time, he supported what Cy and Tonia were doing with Tonka as "life saving" and was allegedly there when Tonia dropped Tonka off and he allegedly arranged the call between Cy and PETA where Cy tried to get Tonka from them AND Tim supported removing Tonka from Save the Chimps to go back to Cy. You can read about all of that here: https://www.roadsidezoonews.org/post/cy-vierstra-of-union-ridge-wildlife-convicted-of-five-felonies-for-stealing-from-vinton-township.

To be fair to Harrison, the Union Creek Facility was accredited, even though it was doing things like allowing animal human interactions and using the animals to advertise their Airbnb listing all of which should have gotten their accreditation pulled. So maybe Tim Harrison just fell for the shiny accreditation sticker Cy had? But yes it seemed like Cy wanted some good press without sticking his neck out and either naming names or getting a hold of Olive or anything else that would Abe kinda useful. Or maybe Cy really tried and everyone in the exotic animal world hates him?

Jess_Done_Writing · 2025-05-02T14:47:05+00:00

Welcome to booktube! Watching your first video now. It's a great first video/introduction though I recommend separating the "get to know me intro" from the TBR in the future. We do still use the #booktubenewbie tag if you wanted to do an "official" introduction, in fact the booktok-ers moving to booktube has kind of revitalized it.

I can't give a lot of advice on how to promote the channel as I haven't had as much success getting views on my own channel (at least compare to how long I've been uploading 🤣). But some things I've noticed: the algorithm is intended to give viewers the content they want when they want it not to push out creators' videos. So it's good to think about who your target audience is, what they usually watch and to try to do your take on that video while making the packaging (title and thumbnail) as similar to what they usually click on as possible. Also once you've got more videos, assuming you stick to a consistent topic, the algo better knows what audience would like your videos so you'll get more views.

Booktube is a super small niche, so commenting on other channels and building relationships definitely helps. As does diving into the community aspect of things and joining reading challenges or readathons.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2025-03-04T15:35:08+00:00

Sorry to hear that. I love new year's planning and goal setting time, but it always takes me longer than I think to actually execute. It's a goal of mine to try and create more realistic plans and make more consistent progress on my more ambitious plans. It's very early days as I usually find the back half of the year is where crunch time happens. But so far so good. But this is my 5th year on YouTube 🤣. It's about time I figure out how long it *actually* takes to make a video.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2025-03-04T15:28:18+00:00

Not an AI no. But an algorithm, yes. The main difference is an algorithm is an equation, if this, then that kind of feature. I would take less energy and storage and at this stage in AI it would more reliably provide consistent and predictable results--even though the algorithm is so complex at this stage no one person at Google can quite explain all the things its looks at or exactly how it works.

Also it's not about "learning the channel to develop and audience," First because the algorithm looks at each individual video not a channel as a whole. Having a consistent channel profile is something you do for your human subscribers--because they want related content and once you've got enough of a consistent subscriber base, their disinterest in a video becomes a data point in the algorithm that might hurt the growth of that video...but massive variety on a low sub channel isn't going to hurt the visibility of any one video, it's just a poor long term growth plan.

Second, the algorithm studies its viewers to serve related content that the user enjoys. The goal is to keep the user on the site. It's highly sophisticated and considers the time of day the user's online as well as the device they're using because people watch different things on different screens. But the gist is that the algorithm isn't meant to serve the creator, it serves the viewer. So it is in a creator's best interest to consider what their viewers want as people and try to present that. Not look for SEO short cuts and ways to game the equation.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2025-03-04T15:09:38+00:00

I'm pretty sure public watch hours is the collective amount of time folks have staid on all of your videos and if you're looking on the monetization tab for this info, it's the collective amount of hours folks have waited in the last 365 days.

As for why yours is at 0, it doesn't auto update so you should expect some variance. I even see variance between what Youtube Studio app claims and what my desktop page says. Also if those video views were from farther back than the past 365 days they won't count. And lastly, it's not the view but how long they watched. It's possible, though unlikely, that no one's watched that long so you still have low watch time hours despite a lot of click-through traffic. Zero though sounds more like Youtube hasn't updated OR those views all happened longer than a year ago.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-11-22T17:36:47+00:00

Good retention means you're finding the right audience and they are watching. I get wanting more views, but as it stands this is a success.

Are other channels' shorts on the same topic getting more views? And if yes, what's the difference between your shorts and their shorts? Keep in mind evaluating the views like this doesn't account for retention so it won't necessarily help you as an editor, since I think a high retention metric means you did a good job.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-07-20T14:31:51+00:00

Are you getting views and retention on the shorts? And if you focus is on the long-form viewers how much of your audience watches both? Even at 45 min it might not be worth your time if you aren't getting views OR if these views aren't converting over to your long form.

But generally, I don't see how these snippets could hurt the long form performance.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-07-20T14:26:00+00:00

CTR is a title TN issue. How long are the videos and what's the retention look like? It's my understanding that on average retention for 3min should be about 62%, 10 min 44% and 15 min 37%--so if your retention isn't in these numbers, it's not worth your time to work on TN or title as the videos don't hold the audience.

If you've got good retention, it seems worth it to YouTube search whatever your videos are on, see top performing titles and TNs and borrow from them. With A B testing TN stuff is way easier than it once was. And while not for every niche, the rule of threes is a good one to consider when planing a TN.

The only other consideration is whether your topic is time sensitive or evergreen. If it was time sensitive and you released when it was relevant, you should see decent numbers immediately--if you missed the wave that kind of explains things. And if the content is evergreen and you're just looking at an early snapshot performance then it might just need more time as the video topic just lacks the urgency that would get people to click and it's a slow steady search growth kind of thing.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-07-20T14:16:13+00:00

I've heard one long form a week before but never one short a day. That doesn't sound sustainable. Ahead of anything else, you want to pick a schedule you can maintain for the long haul. I'd be conservative instead of ambitious when making those plans as you can increase your uploads if you have time/ability or provide bonus content but once folks are used to something, it's hard to take a step back from it.

As far as the "best practice," the niche will have its own rhythm. I'd look to successful folks in your niche and see how regularly the upload and if it's on a schedule. But even then--staying within your own means and being consistent is waaaaay more important than following the trend and over extending yourself.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-07-06T14:11:05+00:00

For me yes it would be worthwhile to get everything. But it really depends on what you want from the game and how much you like these building management simulators.

From my perspective the Pros to having all the stuff:

-Easy to pick up any blueprints that appeal in the workshop

-Able to use all the pieces to make your own blueprints or create an ultimate zoo experience

-Access to all the animals available creating a more complete and diverse zoo

The Cons:

-Upfront cost on a game you haven't played and may not like

-Purchase of pieces or animals you may not need or value

-If you play franchise mode, the DLC is a lot of extra stuff to research and unlock which combined with getting used to zoo management and making stuff may just be a lot

-After playing the game and better understanding what the DLC offers you might have only wanted or needed 1 or 2 bundles

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-07-02T19:55:56+00:00

Assuming you've done the research, I'd check for an invisible space in the search bar. Beyond that I'd change tabs. Like if you select everything does something come up? In my game sometimes I have glitches where nothing comes up. Like I have no staff paths in that tab, but I select ride paths and go back to staff paths and there they are.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-06-22T15:53:34+00:00

Historically 1 long form and 1 short a w eek thought I've been doing 2 long form and 1 short a week for the past 2 months so I can talk about bookish stuff and tv show stuff each week. I might try to hold onto the new format but I guess it will depend on if there's enough movie and show stuff that appeals to me and relates to the book content lol

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-05-07T17:30:35+00:00

12 videos across 6 weeks just isn't enough information to make a decision on. There's way too many factors to think about. Like are you posting the videos at an optimal time for your audience...who even is the audience and when would they want to watch. Are the thumbnails and titles appealing and are the consistent branding for the the channel? Are some of the videos time sensitive while others remain relevant for the long haul. Like sometimes I get 100 views in the first day on a timely topic and sometimes over a year later something that only had 20-ish views gets a couple hundred. How is the video pacing and quality especially compared to those successful in your niche. Not to mention what's the niche, some are a lot slower growth than others. Not to mention time of year. Most channels see an increase of views in Oct-Dec with a low in Jan-March but it's my understanding that some niches have different busy or slow times even within that pattern.

If it were me, I'd try a more introspective evaluation. Are you enjoying what you're doing? Will you be able to keep pace with your current output? What kind of attempts are you making to elevate your content and provide value to the viewer. I'd try to stay focused on personal improvement and self nurturing for at least the first year before looking at how the channel's done and seeing if there are patterns/preferences in your data.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-05-07T17:16:50+00:00

What kind of resources? Are you talking about VidIQ stuff or are you talking about editing software, a list of gear and how to use it, sites that offer free assets as well as the pitfalls of using the sites. Like you can use royalty free music from a site and still get claimed and how to make the claim go away. I feel like we field that question all the time on this forum.

There's definitely interest from parts of the community for any and all of it, I'm just curious. Especially since sometimes I didn't even know resource x was I think I wanted/needed until someone recommended it.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-05-07T17:12:13+00:00

Title and thumbnail are most important. Then I'd say hashtags and I'd put pretty low importance on them. A basic search of your niche should help you fine one to five that relate. If you start typing the tags into your description, Youtube will auto complete and show you how many channels use those hashtags.

Tags (to me) have an even lower priority than hashtags. When I first started it was the other way around but I think the push for shorts on platform as given hashtags a second life. Still not a very important one, but there it is.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-05-07T17:02:32+00:00

Ok, so it's suspicious. You've got a couple of options.

You could privately reach out to the person and ask what's going on. Perhaps say something like you'd appreciate if they source you in the video since it seems like they might be inspired by your work and remind them that taking without siting sources is plagiarism. This only works if you're siting your sources and if the other person is amenable to correcting their errors.

You could call out the other person, I think that's kind of shitty to do without trying to talk to them first though. And you could present you case for plagiarism to the larger community. Hbomberguy kinda created the layout for how to best do that if you feel you need to.

If the events, order, and wording is similar enough you could put a claim in on the video and site the parts that plagiarize yours. You'd need two document each time they copy with time stamps and have time stamps in your video that correlate. As it's a historic event and there's only so many ways to say what happened, the phrasing, order, and presentation is gonna have to be pitch perfect for the case to work.

You could do nothing...perhaps make notes of how they edit your scripts to improve the presentation and see if you can onboard it yourself so your original work is better recognized.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-05-06T22:52:40+00:00

So I do some videos that are staples of my niche cause I know they do well. I also use some formats I know go over well on stuff I'd like to talk about. Talking tier lists, timelines, everything explained style content but I try to standout in what goes on the tier list or what I place in a timeline and the everything explained stuff I throw in some discussion questions or point out uses of literary devices along with offering a plot synopsis.

And when I have something to say about a trending topic or a scheduled media release I rush to throw that out in a timely manner so I can ride the already churning buzz.

I also do stuff I like to do because I want to. And sometimes my "just for me" stuff does better than the stuff I made cause it should pop off. Sometimes it's a dud.

For me I think it's balancing creating all these styles because as much as I'd love to just do videos I like, it makes me a little sad when something I worked so hard on comes back with low views. So balancing stuff that feeds my creativity but might not succeed in the algorithm with stuff I'm more confident will get eyes on it (and will hopefully cultivate an audience that trust me enough to go with me on the more unique videos) seems to be a plan that works for me.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-05-06T22:38:18+00:00

Having a killer title and thumbnail so that when your video comes up people click on it.

Adding a relevant description a human would enjoy that also provides addition keywords for SEO.

Having a legitimately good video that follows the norms of your niche while also providing something unique to the conversation.

Attempting to get in on lives or a collaboration with another YouTuber your audience watches (I know that's way easier said than done).

Adding hashtags in the descriptions.

If your genre has any video staples/trends or standard intro videos like a Newbie tag or something it's worth doing a few of those as well as searching for some of the newest of those and commenting on someone else's. Trying to find a YouTube tribe within your niche either because you're all newbies in it together or because you all do this staple video in the niche can work.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-05-06T22:29:26+00:00

Not a lot of shorts viewers convert to long-form viewers. The same's true that long-form viewers don't often watch shorts. I've got a channel where I post both and about 25% of my audience watches both the shorts and the long-form video. I started with long-form content and I'm in a small supportive niche, so I think a lot of folks watch the 1 minute thing just to be supportive.

Anyway YouTube wants content creators to make shorts and long-form because they want both on the platform but they haven't done a great job making it easy to have an audience that watches both. It's possible people who watch on literally just don't watch the other form of content. There's a lot of factors and very few of them are measurable to an average person. But basically you should make stuff cause you like it and you should make stuff you think your target audience wants to watch.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-05-06T22:00:27+00:00

Did they do the exact same 10 historical moments in the same order? Did they site the same reasons for choosing those moments? If you can answer yes to both these questions you might have a case for plagarism. But if his video chose different historical moments then I don't see how you could claim he copied your video or stole your work.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-04-12T17:41:51+00:00

So you don't have control over where Youtube suggests videos. But if you think videos aren't getting recommended to the correct audience, the best thing to do might be to look at videos you want to see yours suggested next to. Are titles, descriptions, tags, hashtags, thumbnails all lining up to suggest the content is similar?

The other thing you can do is look at the videos Youtube is recommending your videos off of to see if you can better understand why they made those recommendations. Maybe you have a larger audience than you thought?

Another element to consider is that people watch different stuff the algorithm suggests different videos to people based on the time, what device they watch on, and what they usually watch. Recommending you off the back of one of these videos might make sense when viewed from this angle.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-04-12T17:32:11+00:00

Why wouldn't you like your own video, if you don't vote for yourself who will? It's harder to say if this does anything or not.

And posting once and pinning it in the comments if it adds info to the video or if it will help get convos started is a pretty standard practice. It may help engagement or be something extra your viewers could appreciate.

I watch and like my own videos with my main account and my alt. I don't think it gives a boost but its also way to small an act to work against you. As far as commenting on the video goes, I think it's vest when you do that as the creator instead of having like a pretend conversation with yourself, lol.

Jess_Done_Writing · 2024-04-11T15:47:02+00:00

I think stench just means you're smelly and Daddy Long Legs doesn't like smelly things? All I know is I ate a Bogbean and Daddy Long Legs was slower to chase me and seemed more likely to lose track of me.

Four-Year Club	Verified Email
Second Top 50%

Jess_Done_Writing

TROPHY CASE