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Bowmanville Zoo, located outside of Clarington, Ontario, has announced that 2016 will be its last season in operation. It claimed to be the oldest private zoo in operation in North America when it was founded in 1919, with a compliment of over 300 animals.
Visitation counts for this season were down by 65 per cent according to Angus Carroll, the zoo’s Director of Communications, the sharp decrease being blamed on animal rights activists.
While some families went to its Facebook page — it calls itself with flourish the Bowmanville Zoological Park — to say their goodbyes, a competing page run by activists denounces the zoo and its owner Michael Hackenberger and cheers its demise.
In a press release on Thursday June 23, 2016, the zoo took aim at one of its greatest detractors, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), with Carroll stating that the group and other animal rights activists’ “[u]ntrue allegations… in regards to a tiger incident have created a climate in which the zoo can no longer operate.”
This statement, and a similarly worded press release, both highlighted a recent incident regarding the alleged whipping of a Siberian tiger by Hackenberg. To counter, the Bowmanville Zoo made the statement that it “is proud of its long history of superb animal care, conservation work and celebrating the human-animal bond.”
The press release went on to add that:
“People are staying away because they believe PETA’s allegations. The fact is PETA released only a short piece of a long video, and then misrepresented what transpired in that short part. What they said is not true, but it doesn’t matter — the damage is done.”
Hackenberg stepped down from his position as the zoo’s director after being charged with animal cruelty in the tiger incident, made known to the public after the undercover video was released in December which appeared to show him striking the tiger repeatedly with a whip.
These allegations, which the zoo contends is responsible for the subsequent drop in attendance from last year, resulted in a financial crisis which found the zoo unable to continue operating.
The undercover video leak which allegedly showed Hackenberger repeatedly whipping a Siberian tiger during a training session prompted the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) to investigate and later charge him with four counts of causing an animal distress and one count of failing to comply with the prescribed standards of care for an animal. The case is still before the courts.
The video’s audio records Hackenberger boasting about the pleasure he derives from intimidating and dominating animals.
Brittany Peet, PETA’s Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement, says PETA would like to see “every single animal at the Bowmanville Zoo be sent to a reputable sanctuary where they can finally recover from their years of abuse, and get the care they deserve.”
“The man’s a bully, he’s facing prosecution for cruelty, and we think condos will look better in Bowmanville where the zoo now stands,” PETA’s blog of the incident ends.
On the activist Facebook site, commentor Jacqueline Cook speculated the same thing. She wrote, “I wonder if Hackenberger’s real intention is to sell the land to developers, make millions and come up laughing all the way to the bank?”
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