Zoo claims Hazina the hippo was not mistreated
Lawyer says zoo staff 'heartbroken' by accusations; he wants charges dropped
Hazina the hippo wallows in her new, large pond at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, August 01, 2006
The Greater Vancouver Zoo is trying to convince the SPCA to drop its animal cruelty charge, saying there is no evidence that Hazina the hippo was mistreated or subjected to distress.
The zoo's lawyer Glen Orris, speaking outside Surrey Provincial Court Monday, said staff are "heartbroken" over being accused of mistreating the two-year-old hippo.
"These charges reflect on every person associated with and who works with the zoo," said Orris. "Every person there takes these charges personally. It is an inference that these people are not doing their jobs."
The animal cruelty charge was laid in May after the Vancouver Humane Society complained to the SPCA that Hazina was being kept alone inside a small temporary facility for 19 months with a pool too shallow to support her weight. It is believed to be the first time a Canadian zoo has been charged with mistreating an animal.
Orris insists Hazina was never in distress and that her concrete pen was a temporary necessity while the zoo faced delays in constructing a new $650,000 enclosure and heated pool.
He hopes the SPCA will drop the charge before it reaches court on Sept. 6.
But Marcie Moriarty, the BCSPCA's general manager of cruelty investigations, said the case should go to court because the zoo, based in Aldergrove, needs to account for its actions.
"I think it's definitely highlighted the issue that places like zoos that keep animals for public viewing have an obligation to ensure that they provide adequate accommodation," she said.
"That was a 19-month delay [in moving Hazina to a suitable pen] and that's unacceptable. They should have been planning ahead before they purchased the animal.
"We feel one of the benefits of a charge and possibly a conviction is a sense of responsibility that before obtaining animals a proper enclosure should be built. We feel that is a valuable outcome."
The zoo has has a run of bad luck in recent years, including losing its accreditation with the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums in April 2004 due to concerns about how the zoo's previous hippos -- Harvey and Gertrude -- were being treated.
The zoo also lost two hippos in the winter of 1983 when the pair crashed through their ice-covered pond and drowned.
Last month, the SPCA launched another cruelty probe after a baby giraffe died eight days after its birth. It questioned why the zoo chose to breed the aging mother -- a 17-year-old cow that had never before given birth.
In 2004 the zoo caved to public pressure and reversed plans to sell Tina, a 30-year-old elephant with health problems, to another zoo. Instead, she was sent to a sanctuary in Tennessee, where she died last year.
But the cruelty charge involving Hazina, which the zoo acquired as a baby in 2004, has posed the greatest challenge for zoo, which is privately owned by retired businessman Duk-Wan Park.
The charges came months after the hippo became a star when she was used in a series of catchy television commercials for Telus. The zoo was paid $10,000 for the ads, along with $25,000 from the sale of Telus Hippo plush toys.
Orris said the zoo admits it was slow in finishing construction of the enclosure, but said Hazina's temporary facility was acceptable.
"The situation she was in at the time was adequate for her, but it was not ideal," he conceded.
"Maybe it's a message to us that we didn't act quick enough as far as the SPCA is concerned. That's regrettable. If we could have done it sooner, we would have done it sooner."
But Peter Fricker, a spokesman for the Vancouver Humane Society, said the zoo warranted the charge because it "is probably one of the worst in Canada in our view in terms of animal care standards."
"The Greater Vancouver Zoo has not put animal care first. They see themselves as mainly as a place of public entertainment and we see them basically exploiting animals for profit and not putting investment in animal care first."
Jody Henderson, the zoo's marketing and promotions manager, said the zoo has experts recognized in providing the best care. It would never knowingly put an animal in distress, she added.
The zoo also believes it will benefit from the publicity around the case, Henderson said, because people will learn that it did nothing wrong.
"We're proud of what we've provided for Hazina, and what we're doing for the rest of the animals at our zoo," she said.
Hazina certainly appears to be enjoying her new home. On Monday she was out playing in a large pond while crews were installing new gates inside the new brick enclosure.
GREATER VANCOUVER ZOO
Number of visitors per year: 250,000.
Cost of operation: $2 million annually.
Number of staff: 58 in summer, 20 during winter.
Size: 120 acres.
Ownership: Privately owned by retired businessman Duk-Wan Park.
HISTORY OF TROUBLE
1983: Two hippos drown after crashing through the ice on their pond.
August 2003: Gertrude, a third hippo, dies of a kidney defect.
April 2004: Zoo stripped of its accreditation over its treatment of Gertrude and Harvey, a male hippo.
July 2004: Tina, a 34-year-old elephant, dies less than a year after her move to the Tennessee sanctuary.
October 2004: Zoo acquires baby Hazina.
January 2005: Harvey, a male hippo, dies of a twisted intestine.
December 2005: Hazina appears in a TV ad for Telus, filmed in her temporary enclosure.
May 2006: Zoo charged by SPCA for keeping Hazina alone in the enclosure, with a pool too shallow to support her weight.
June 24, 2006: Official opening of a $650,000 new enclosure for Hazina, including a heated pool.
June 29, 2006: A baby giraffe dies eight days after birth, causing the SPCA to open a second investigation. Veterinarians later conclude the calf died naturally from pneumonia as a result of complications from birth.
Sept. 6, 2006: Court date set for Hazina's cruelty to animal charge, to be heard in Surrey Provincial Court on Sept. 6.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006
Cruelty charges to court
Hippo's housing riles humane society
Bonnie Trusler, senior animal keeper at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in Aldergrove, yesterday feeds Hazina the hippo a bucket of apples in her new enclosure.
Lora Grindlay, The Province
Published: Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Cruelty charges against the Greater Vancouver Zoo are unwarranted and won't stand up in court, the zoo's lawyer said yesterday.
Glen Orris hopes talks between the Aldergrove zoo and the SPCA will lead to the dismissal of charges under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
"We're hoping to resolve this amicably between the SPCA and the Vancouver Zoo and, hopefully, we'll have that done by Sept. 6," Orris said outside Surrey Provincial Court where the case was put over to Sept. 6.
"If we can't do that, then perhaps we'll have to fix a trial date.
"I don't really see the need for this case to go forward. We don't want to engage in a contest with the SPCA. We'd like to work with them -- we don't want to work against them."
Orris said the two sides "believe in the same things."
"Our concern is the same as the SPCA's and the same as the humane society's -- it's the welfare of the animals."
The two charges, under Sec. 24.1 of the provincial act, allege the zoo "did permit or continued to permit" Hazina the hippo "to be in distress."
The charges were laid after the Vancouver Humane Society said the zoo failed to provide proper housing for Hazina by keeping her in an inadequate shelter for 19 months while a $500,000 enclosure was built.
Hazina, who was featured in Christmas ads for Telus, was moved to the new habitat in June.
Peter Fricker of the Vancouver Humane Society called the Aldergrove zoo "one of the worst in Canada, in our view, in terms of animal-care standards."
"They see themselves as mainly a place of public entertainment and we see them basically exploiting animals for profit and not putting animal care . . . first," Fricker said.
"I think it's important that there's a message sent to zoos across Canada, this zoo in particular, that it needs to raise standards for animals -- that it shouldn't acquire an animal unless it has good accommodation in place.
"If there is a successful prosecution, it will send a very strong message not only to this zoo but to zoos across Canada that they will be held to account for the conditions they keep their animals in."
The zoo could be fined if found guilty.
lgrindlay@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2006