Nicholas Read, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, May 31, 2006

The Greater Vancouver Zoo in Aldergrove has been charged with cruelty to animals after allegedly keeping Hazina, a two-year-old hippo acquired as a baby, alone in a windowless shed with a pool so shallow she couldn't float.

The charges, laid by B.C. Crown counsel on recommendations from the B.C. SPCA, are believed to be the first against a major Canadian zoo for alleged cruelty to animals.

The SPCA and the Vancouver Humane Society will formally announce the charges, laid under the B.C. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, at a news conference later today. They carry a maximum penalty of $2,000 and/or six months in jail.

Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the B.C. SPCA, said Hazina's pen, which consists of a small pool inside a wooden shed, fails to meet the most basic needs of the hippo, which the zoo acquired as a baby in October 2004.

She had no company, Moriarty said, despite hippos being naturally social animals, and her only forms of stimulation were a rubber tire and a ball.

Moriarty's colleague, Eileen Drever, said it was only recently that Hazina was even allowed to see sunlight. "They've only just started opening the door for her, and she stands by it," Drever said.

And until the SPCA insisted the zoo place rubber on the floor, she was forced to stand on concrete.

The zoo has promised the SPCA that a new enclosure for Hazina will completed in June, but SPCA officials say Hazina has had to wait too long for it to be built, and the zoo should have been in a position to provide her with adequate care from the time she arrived.

"The charge is with respect to the fact that Hazina has had to endure 19 months in an inadequate and barren facility," Moriarty said. "As a major zoo, they have a responsibility prior to obtaining any animal to ensure that they have an adequate facility."

The SPCA was alerted to the problem by the Vancouver Humane Society, which has been critical of Hazina's care since her arrival. It was largely as a result of the humane society's criticisms of the zoo's treatment of two of its previous hippos that it was stripped of its accreditation by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums in April 2004, six months before Hazina's arrival.

Among the most serious criticisms was the size of the pool, Drever said, which is not deep enough to allow Hazina to float, thereby causing severe strain on her legs and joints.

Jody Henderson, the zoo's marketing and promotions manager, said she was aware charges were in the offing, but that the zoo hadn't "received" them yet.

However, Geoffrey Gaul, director of legal services for the Attorney-General's Ministry, criminal justice branch, confirmed Tuesday the zoo has been charged with two counts under Sec. 24.1 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, a provincial statute.

The charges allege the zoo "did permit or continued to permit an animal to be in distress."

They were sworn by the Crown on May 17.

Henderson also said there was no basis for any charge because a new $500,000 facility for Hazina is due to be completed in June.
"We're planning a celebration party for her on June 24," Henderson said. "So [the charges are] a bit of a surprise, shall we say?"

She said while it is true that "everything was not ready" for Hazina when she arrived, and the zoo "has been behind schedule in building the new enclosure," there was still no cause for the SPCA or the Crown to lay charges.

She said zoo veterinarian Bruce Burton would confirm that, but Burton was not available for comment Tuesday.

Vancouver Humane Society spokesman Peter Fricker said he was delighted that charges had been laid.

"It's unconscionable that a baby hippo has been kept alone for so long in such a confined space," Fricker said. "Hazina has spent most of her life locked up, with no chance to run freely, to feel the sun on her back or to enjoy the company of her own species.

"These charges should be a warning to zoos across Canada that they must keep animals in facilities of the highest possible standard."

Fricker also criticized Telus for using Hazina in a popular Christmas TV commercial last year for its high-speed internet service.

"The Greater Vancouver Zoo is a business that makes money by showing animals for public entertainment and it has a record of poor animal care," said Fricker. "Why would anyone give money to such a business?"

Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said Telus was aware that concerns had been raised around Hazina's living conditions, which is why it stipulated that the $10,000 it paid the zoo for using Hazina go directly toward building a new enclosure for her.

Hall said Telus also helped establish a fundraising campaign to encourage private donations as well.

"So we stepped up and tried to do something about her living conditions by funding her new habitat," Hall said.

Drever said the SPCA considered seizing Hazina last December, but was told by consulting veterinarians that the move would be too stressful for her.

She said the society was forced to begin formal cruelty investigations when efforts to work with the zoo to improve Hazina's care failed to result in any appreciable benefits.

"I thought, 'enough is enough,' " Drever said.

Moriarty wouldn't say if other cruelty charges against the zoo are in the works, but she did say the society has its eye on a number of the zoo's other animals. However, she wouldn't say which ones.

"We have other concerns with respect to some of the other animals at the zoo, but we have to concentrate on cases one at a time."

Fricker said the zoo has a bad record for caring for its animals, and that four hippos have died prematurely there. Two died in 1983 when they drowned in their pond, and two more, Gertrude and Harvey, died in 2004 and 2005 respectively, Gertrude of kidney failure and Harvey of intestinal problems.

"We should remember that this is the same zoo that kept Tina the elephant in appalling conditions for 30 years before trying to sell her, while in poor health, to another zoo in 2003." Fricker said. "Only after massive public pressure did the zoo agree to transfer her to a sanctuary."

Tina died in July of 2004, at the age of 34, less than a year after her move to the Tennessee sanctuary.

nread@png.canwest.com

HAZINA THE HIPPO

- April 2004: Zoo stripped of its accreditation.

- October 2004: Zoo acquires baby Hazina.

- December 2005: Hazina appears in a TV ad for Telus, which donates money to help build her a new home.