The right decision

By —Frank Bucholtz
Jan 28 2007
Langley Times

The Crown has made the right decision to drop the charges of animal cruelty against the Greater Vancouver Zoo.

The charges were laid because of a delay in building a proper facility for Hazina the hippo. She gained significant exposure in a series of Telus commercials, and Telus in fact donated funds to the zoo for her housing, in return for her starring role in the commercial.

The zoo went ahead with the building project, but a series of delays caused construction to be prolonged and Hazina had inadequate shelter in the meantime.

The charges were laid by the SPCA, which seemed anxious to gain credibility among the hard-core animal rights groups, which have been fighting a publicity battle with the zoo for years.

These groups have an enormous advantage — they are based in Vancouver and have the ear of a number of reporters from large media outlets, who give their press releases and posturings prominence and rarely, if ever, give the zoo any chance to respond in kind.

The zoo is not perfect. Some of its larger animals have not been cared for as well as they should have. The sad case of Tina the elephant is an illustration of that.

However, it remains popular with many people and there seems to be a renewed commitment to improving conditions for animals there, as the construction of the shelter for Hazina demonstrates.

What animal rights activists fail to acknowledge is that a facility such as the Greater Vancouver Zoo offers an opportunity for families to introduce small children to species of animals that are not native to this area. This often inspires children to get involved in advocating for animals and lobbying decision-makers in Canada and elsewhere to protect and enhance animal habitat.

Most families cannot afford to go on expensive wilderness treks to Africa, or even to northern Canada, to see animals in their native habitat.

Greater Vancouver Zoo must take good care of the animals in its charge, but proceeding with this case would have been little more than political posturing.