Zoo cruelty charges dropped Construction of hippo enclosure at Aldergrove facility satisfactory to Crown

John GORDON/Langley Times

Hazina, the Greater Vancouver Zoo's hippo, eats breakfast in her heated enclosure Wednesday. B.C.'s Attorney General's office announced this week it will drop charges of animal cruelty - related to Hazina's care - against the Langley zoo.
By Monique Tamminga
Times Reporter
Jan 26 2007

Charges of animal cruelty have been dropped against the Greater Vancouver Zoo, and the B.C. SPCA isn't happy about it.

The criminal justice branch of the provincial Ministry of the Attorney General stayed the two counts of cruelty to Hazina the hippo, arguing that it's no longer in the public's interest to pursue a trial since the large animal's outdoor enclosure has been built.

Hazina spent 19 months inside a temporary pen with access to a small wading pool. She took on celebrity status when she was featured in a popular Christmas Telus commercial.

"By staying the charges, this says to the zoo that as long as they eventually provide proper care for their animals, they won't be charged," said B.C. SPCA Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations.

"The primary reason the charges were stayed was because Hazina's enclosure is now built.

It took 19 months to build it and in that time she had to live in substandard conditions."

Moriarty also believes the Crown's decision suggests there is a double standard when it comes to the treatment of domestic versus exotic animals.

A Prince George dog owner was just convicted of animal cruelty after the SPCA has seized his dog because it was left out in freezing temperatures without any shelter.

"Even if that dog owner did offer shelter, he still would have been charged because the dog suffered," she said.

"So, why doesn't this apply to exotic animals?"

Moriarty thinks this case points to the "dire need for [provincial and federal] legislation of the keeping of exotic animals."

Currently, someone can have any exotic pet living in a tiny shed in the backyard in Langley and no one can do anything about it.

"There isn't even minimum [living] standards that zoos have to adhere to," she said.

The Vancouver Humane Society is also calling for the provincial government to start regulating the keeping of exotic animals. The VHS is writing the environment minister urging the protection of captive exotic animals.

Moriarty believes that the people of B.C. will be disappointed in Crown counsel's decision to drop the charges. However, the SPCA is happy with the look of Hazina's new home, she said.

Zoo animal care manager Jamie Dorgan isn't surprised the charges were dropped.

"There was no evidence of cruelty. Hazina has never had health problems.

"It was ridiculous," said Dorgan.

The inside enclosure Hazina lived in was meant to be temporary, but several delays dragged out the completion of the new one.

"The new enclosure for Hazina has definitely taken much longer to build than all of us had expected, but again we can't emphasize enough that we have taken the extra time and care to provide the best facility for our hippo's needs," wrote Dorgan in a letter to The Times in June 2006.

The new Hippo Haven, which opened June 24, 2006, has both an outdoor and indoor enclosure, and is about one-half a hectare (1.5 acres), roughly the size of a football field.

The facility was built large enough to accommodate four hippos. Hazina is getting a companion in the spring or summer, said Dorgan.

Hazina is the fifth hippo the Aldergrove zoo has acquired since 1983.

Asked whether the charges and negative attention has impacted attendance at the zoo, Dorgan replied that visitor numbers are up.

"We actually had five per cent more people come in 2006 than in 2005," he said.

"The criticism we receive is usually from people who have never visited the zoo.

"People who come here support what we're doing and say so."