Orana Wildlife Park boss says claims about animal welfare can be ‘discounted’

Monday, 22 July 2024

Orana Wildlife Park’s boss says the zoo has evidence that can “discount” the majority of serious claims levelled at it about poor welfare of animals.

On Sunday, a 1News investigation revealed former and current zookeepers said they had concerns about both the welfare and deaths of animals, and alleged some deaths had been kept from the public.

In response, the Ministry for Primary Industries visited the zoo on the outskirts of Christchurch on Monday to carry out a “rapid animal welfare assessment”, and opened an investigation into the death of an antelope.

The Orana Wildlife Trust board said its side of the story has not been fairly represented.

Lynn Anderson, who sits on the board and is chief executive of the trust, which owns the park, insists the park has been transparent and the animal injuries and deaths raised by 1News could be explained.

Urging people not to lose faith in the park, she told The Press: “We have taken all of the matters that have been raised very, very seriously, and we are in a position to provide evidence and full information that would discount the majority of the very serious claims that have been raised against us.

“I can assure you, as CEO, absolutely no animal deaths whatsoever are swept under the rug.”

MPI has to be notified about all exotic species that die, she said, and the Department of Conservation told about deaths of native species.

The 1News investigation put a spotlight on the injuries and deaths of three animals in particular.

Ijefe, an antelope who died in March, was a “very nervous” animal, according to the park’s vet and board member Ben Davidson.

He required special treatment and had recurrent injuries to his lip. An anonymous staff member told 1News he panicked during an attempted relocation, running into a fence.

However, Davidson said he was sedated and relocated “perfectly”, passing away two days later for unknown reasons.

The cause of Ijefe’s death was inconclusive and is being investigated by MPI.

There was also the case of Mahali, a gorilla who in 2021 began to lose weight and had a change of behaviour, concerning staff.

A keeper told 1News they repeatedly told the managers and vet - who thought it was a common virus - they thought something more serious was going on.

Davidson said Mahali showed signs typical of a flu type virus. He died of a condition so rare in gorillas that it is not mentioned in any text books, he said, and required extensive post-mortem investigations involving MPI and specialist labs to reveal.

The type of intervention which may have saved him was so risky it may have killed him sooner, Davidson said.

The death of Mabuti, a giraffe who dislocated his neck, was also a cause for concern.

Anderson said the park cared for 1000 animals, adding: “Sadly, it is a reality that we will have animals die … as they do in any zoo, on any farm, and even domestic pets.”

She said she was glad MPI was on site, because the park was openly asking for external experts to look over their work.

“So that the public aren’t just relying on our word, but they are hearing from others that Orana has nothing to hide,” she said.

Anderson would not say on the record what she thought about as many as 20 former and current staff members making allegations to 1News.

However, she previously told The Press that the park was commissioning an external review into workplace culture and efforts were being made to improve morale.

Morale was on the agenda for an emergency board meeting on Monday night, as well as the complaints raised in the media, she said.

MPI said Orana Park had been passing its “robust” annual audits, but it was taking the latest allegations from staff seriously. A report on the rapid assessment is expected by Wednesday.

Glen Burrell, MPI’s head of compliance and response, said: “We want to be assured that all animals are well and healthy.”

MPI’s last audit was in December, and found the zoo was meeting requirements, had appropriate staffing levels and no animal welfare issues were identified, he said.

He said the last five investigations for historical complaints - dating back to 2017 - found no breaches of the Animal Welfare Act.

Orana Park recently secured $500,000 in public funding for three years from the Christchurch City Council.

It followed a popular campaign by the park, in which Anderson said the park was facing an “inevitable demise” without public funding.

The funding is subject to an external review into the organisation’s operations, which elected members agreed to commission after the council and media received a letter from a whistleblower expressing concern for animal and staff welfare.

The letter - the contents of which Anderson refuted - also mentioned concerns about vehicle maintenance.

It prompted a WorkSafe investigation, which on June 13 resulted in two improvement notices being issued.