the animals won't be celebrating
Date: August 19, 2005
Zoo’s 35 th anniversary celebration a travesty, says humane society
On Saturday, August 20, the Greater Vancouver Zoo is holding a celebration to mark its 35 th anniversary, but the Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) doesn’t think there’s much to celebrate.
VHS spokesperson Peter Fricker says the zoo has a poor record of caring for animals. “ We remember Tina the elephant's 30 miserable years there, the premature deaths of four hippos and numerous broken promises to improve conditions at the zoo. To celebrate a record like that is a travesty.”
Fricker said the zoo’s treatment of Hazina the baby hippo is the latest example of its failure to keep promises on improved animal care. The hippo has been confined alone in a small barn for 10 months, waiting for construction to start on a new hippo facility. “The new facility has been promised many times but there’s still no sign of it,” said Fricker.
VHS is calling on the zoo to make the completion of the new hippo accommodation its number one priority. The society is critical of the zoo’s purchase of a new miniature train. “They need to put animal welfare ahead of frivolous new attractions,” said Fricker. “If they’re incapable of building an appropriate hippo enclosure, they should transfer Hazina to a better facility elsewhere.”
