Zebra zoo deaths spark investigation
Greater Vancouver Zoo lost four zebras to suspected stress in early March
Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Provincial animal-cruelty investigators were expected to launch an investigation at the Greater Vancouver Zoo today into the cause of the sudden deaths of four captive zebras.
The zebras at the Aldergrove zoo died within days of each other in early March of a stress or panic-related ailment known as exertional myopathy.
Zoo staff have speculated the source of the stress was the presence of two large Cape buffalo, which had been introduced into the zebras' enclosure shortly before the animals died.
"We're assuming that what happened is that the zebras were afraid, like they would be if they saw a predator," Jamie Dorgan, the zoo's animal care manager, told Global TV on Monday.
Dorgan said the zebras had been introduced to other animals in the past without any problems, adding that their deaths came as a shock. "We didn't expect it," he said.
News of the zebra deaths also surprised officers with the B.C. SPCA. Eileen Drever, senior animal protection officer, learned of the incident when she was contacted by the media.
In an interview Monday with The Vancouver Sun, Drever said she intended to launch an investigation immediately to determine if cruelty charges were warranted.
"Clearly these animals were stressed," she said.
Peter Fricker of the Vancouver Humane Society said the animals' deaths were another tragedy at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
Four hippos at the zoo have died prematurely over the past 20 years.
In 2006, a baby giraffe died just eight days after its birth, while last year, a captive golden eagle was killed and eaten by a lion during a raptor show. The zoo also saw the death of a male spider monkey in 2008. The monkey was beaten to death and his female mate was stolen during a break-in.
Over the years, the zoo -- which is majority-owned by retired Korean businessman Duk-Wan Park -- has faced criticism for the conditions in which many of its animals are kept. Cages, pens and aquariums have long been cited by animal welfare groups as too small and outdated for many of its animals, including Arctic wolves, crocodiles, snakes, lions and tigers.
The zoo's decision in 2003 to sell an aging, ailing elephant named Tina to a zoo in Ontario, where she would be used in circus-type shows, prompted public outrage.
(Tina was ultimately sent to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee, where she died less than a year later of a congenital heart defect.)
Three years later, the business became the first major Canadian zoo to face charges under the B.C. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in connection with the housing of Hazina, a two-year-old female hippo, in a dark shed with a pool so shallow she couldn't float. The charges were stayed by the Crown in 2007 when Hazina was moved to a new enclosure and a second hippo was brought in.
Phone calls to the zoo were not returned Monday.
Last year, the zoo -- which had earlier lost its national accreditation status over animal welfare controversy -- renewed its membership in the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Fricker said the zoo has brought in two new zebras to replace the ones that died.