Aldergrovestar

Zoo sale raises concerns

By AL IRWIN

Black Press
Sep 08 2005

News that the Greater Vancouver Zoo is up for sale has raised fears among animal protection groups that the zoo's promise to build a new home for its baby hippo, Hazina, will not be kept.
But zoo general manager Malcolm Weatherston told Black Press Friday that work currently in progress on the hippo facility may be accelerated by a new owner. Weatherston confirmed that the zoo, with more than 900 animals, and 100 species on 150 acres with the Agricultural Land Reserve at 5048 - 264 St. in Aldergrove, is seeking a new owner.
Duck Won Park, the owner for the past 10 or 11 years, is 70. "He has put in tremendous work and tremendous upgrades to the zoo. At this point he just wants to pass it on to someone else," said Weatherston.
There is a potential buyer, and the sale will be conditional on the operation continuing as a zoological centre. No change in staff is anticipated, he said.
The Vancouver Humane Society and Zoocheck Canada is demanding that any transaction involving the zoo must put the animals' welfare first.
"If the zoo decides to cut and run without keeping its promise, Hazina (the hippo) will be stuck in a small, dark barn indefinitely. That would be outrageously irresponsible and cruel," said VHS spokesperson Peter Fricker. Weatherston said the current owner has put in more than $150,000 on upgrades and when finished, the hippo's home will be state-of-the-art, says Weatherston.
"The humane society actually overlooks all of these things," he said.
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