Langley Advance: Aldergrove: Zoo cruelty case proceeds

The owners of the famous hippo Hazina opened her new enclosure on the eve of their court appearance for cruelty to animals.

by Matthew Claxton,

The owners of Hazina the hippo will be in court this week to face charges of cruelty to animals, just days after they officially opened her new enclosure.

The Greater Vancouver Zoo in Aldergrove has been charged by the SPCA for failing to provide proper housing for the juvenile hippo.

The first scheduled court appearance is today (June 27) in Surrey Provincial Court.

While the court date approached, the zoo held a grand opening on Saturday, with hippo cake, face-painting, and gifts for visitors.

Hazina spent 19 months in a temporary enclosure while waiting for her large new space to be finished.

Even though the new building was almost finished, the SPCA decided to bring charges against the zoo last month, the first time a major Canadian zoo has been charged with such an offense.

"We just wish she would have been in that enclosure 19 months ago," said Marcie Moriarity, the B.C. SPCA's general manager of cruelty investigations.

The SPCA sent a representative to the zoo last Thursday to check out the new space, and the organization is pleased that Hazina now has a pool deep enough that she can completely submerge.

"We feel the enclosure is adequate," Moriarty said, and there will be no new charges relating to Hazina's living quarters.

The hippo appears to be adapting well to her new environment, said Moriarty.

The new 1.2 acre enclosure is much larger than the old one.

The zoo reports that this is one of the largest hippo enclosures in Canada, cost more than $500,000 to build, includes a heated pond and large outdoor lake, and can house up to four hippos in its indoor facility.

The zoo maintains that, although the new enclosure is better, Hazina was under no stress in her old home and her previous pool was deep enough to take pressure off her legs.

Hippos must spend a good portion of each day floating in water, as their enormous weight can't be supported for long on land.

The design and construction of the space was dogged by delay after delay. Zoo spokesman Jody Henderson said it required a new well for its own water supply, and construction of a new electrical pad to handle the pumps.

As early as January of 2004, zoo officials said a new hippo enclosure had been in the works for some time and would be built soon. By that April, officials were saying it would be finished by the end of the year.

Repeated delays were announced, the most recent due to wet weather that slowed construction earlier this year.