19 March 2007

Zoo whistleblower reveals attacks and abuse

Group maintains position. Zoo downplays incident to protect programme.

The seriousness of the allegations against Wellington Zoo, revealed yesterday by the Sunday Star Times, can not be fobbed off or dismissed says animal advocacy group SAFE. SAFE received the allegations (below) from an inside source. The groups says the zoo is endangering lives by allowing its lucrative cheetah encounter programme to continue.

“These allegations are extremely serious as they accuse Wellington Zoo of animal abuse, reckless endangerment of public safety and misconduct by zoo management following an incident where zoo personnel were attacked by a cheetah”, said SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek.

The informant claims the incident occurred in August 2006 and that:

- a zoo keeper sustained bite wounds to his neck when the head animal trainer lost control of a cheetah that the trainer had brought to a staff meeting. Before the trainer was able to regain control of the animal the cheetah also attacked a volunteer, biting them on the ankle.
- after restraining the animal the head animal trainer delivered hard, closed-fisted punches to the face area of the cheetah.
- within days of the attack staff took the same cheetah to a local school to appear in front of children.
- zoo visitors were permitted to have direct contact with the same cheetah soon after the attack.
- staff who witnessed the attack were ordered by zoo management to not discuss the incident and to keep it quiet.

SAFE today lodged a complaint with MAF requesting an immediate investigation of these claims.

“SAFE hopes MAF will suspend all direct public interactions with the cheetahs at Wellington Zoo while under investigation. If these claims prove to be correct Wellington Zoo management must be held accountable and the cheetah encounter and rent-a-cheetah programmes terminated.”

For more information contact: Hans Kriek on 027 446 2711.

LETTER AND COMPLAINT FOLLOW:

19 March 2007

MAF
Attn Stephen Butcher
Team Manager,Operational Standards
Biosecurity
PO Box 2526
Wellington

Dear Mr Butcher

Re: OFFICIAL COMPLAINT - WELLINGTON ZOO CHEETAH PROGRAMME

SAFE has recently received written testimony (attached) that refers to an unprovoked attack involving one of the cheetahs held at Wellington Zoo. The incident is understood to have taken place in August 2006.

SAFE has confirmed the complainant’s identity but is unwilling to disclose their details at this time. SAFE believes the information provided by the complainant is reliable, truthful and has been expressed out of a genuine concern for public safety and the animals’ wellbeing.

Assuming these allegations occurred as reported, SAFE wishes to know whether the Ministry was notified of this incident? If not, was Wellington Zoo legally required to report the incident? If the Ministry was notified, we wish to know why your department has allowed the continuation of these programmes in light of these serious allegations.

If the substance of this complaint is new to the Ministry we ask that your department immediately suspend all public interaction with the cheetah in question while your department undertakes its investigation.

I wish to be kept informed of any actions taken by your department in relation to this complaint. I also request under the Official Information Act all documentation and correspondence the Ministry has on file relating to the cheetahs at Wellington Zoo dating back to 1 January 2003.

Yours sincerely

Hans Kriek
Campaign Director

26 February 2007

SAFE
PO Box 13366
Christchurch

To whom this may concern

I am writing in regards to the current practices employed by the Wellington Zoo with their hands on policy with some of the animals.

As SAFE is aware cheetahs from the zoo are able to be rented for private functions. Members of the public can pay to have a “hands on” experience and the cheetahs can regularly be seen walking on leads through the zoo. There have been a number of items in the media over the last year that have brought the treatment of the cheetahs into question and have required the zoo to defend its practices. Through this, the zoo has stood by the benefit to the animals, the enhanced experience for the public and the complete safety for those involved.

After much frustration and concern an incident last August has prompted me to contact you to let you know that there is most definitely a cause for concern.

Details of the event

• A staff meeting was held in the keeper tea room in August 2006.

• The head animal trainer, Gerry Whitehouse-Tedd, turned up to the meeting with a cheetah.

• One of the keepers, who was seated with his back to the door, turned around to see them coming in and at that point the cheetah attacked him by biting him on the back, near his neck, puncturing his skin and causing him to bleed.

• The keeper immediately shook the animal off, got up and went outside.

• The trainer told him to come back and face the cheetah (for training reasons). The keeper refused to do this.

• Management immediately went into damage control, and stated there was nothing to worry about - the trainer knew what he was doing and he now had the animal under control.

• Soon after they had finished telling those at the meeting that all was ok, the cheetah then attacked one of the zoo volunteers also at the meeting.

• The volunteer was bitten on the ankle area.

• After these attacks the head animal trainer was then seen to restrain the cheetah on the ground with his leg/body weight and give the cheetah a few hard closed-fisted punches to its head/face area. At least 3 or 4 meeting attendees witnessed this.

• Some of the staff present expressed their dismay of the events however they were effectively gagged by zoo management about the incident.

• The trainer was given disciplinary action (a warning) for the incident but continues to have close contact with a range of animals.

• There have been other previous incidents (reported & unreported) regarding abuse (physical & verbal) to animals by the same trainer who uses dominance and punishment to control the animals.

• Because the injury to the keeper was not considered to come under Serious Harm by OSH standards, zoo management were able to report it at a level similar to if he had just scratched himself. The keeper was off work for weeks due to the physical and psychological ramifications of the attack.

• Only a week after the incident, TV3 aired a story showing the cheetah at one of the local schools. The encounters based at the zoo were also continuing, despite the extra risk to the public etc. There was always a risk in doing encounters, but now the cheetah had actually attacked people.

• In the TV3 story, it is also interesting to note that while the head trainer is talking to the children, the cheetah is lying down, relaxed in front of him. As soon as the trainer’s hand comes ‘too close for comfort’ to the cheetah’s head, the cheetah flinches and jumps up, ‘sending the trainer off balance (temp. loss of control again ‘and in a room full of children’).

• Zoo management have a well-known history of using tactics to keep staff quiet. This incident was no exception.

• Main issues of concern are:

1) Safety of staff and public

2) Animal welfare (with regards to these ‘hands on’ practices and contact with the head trainer.)

Ironically, the zoo has been quoted many times saying that the safety of staff/public and animal welfare is their top priority. This incident is an example that shows this is not the case, and the practices continue and the public are none the wiser to what really goes on.

I am informing you of this in the hope that you may intercede before someone else is seriously hurt or worse, and to help stop any more abuse of the animals at the zoo or at least to help make the public aware so they can be the judge of their true safety under the watch of Wellington Zoo.

The individuals involved in the events and the drivers of these “hands on” practices with the animals need to be held accountable. With a new amphitheatre being built at the zoo they promise an increase in this kind of thing for the animals. For the sake of the animals and the people involved, the zoo needs to be taken to task and the public made aware.

Thank you.

Name withheld by SAFE

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