It’s all happening at the zoo

To say that the Guzoo animal farm near Three Hills has been a lightning rod for complaints over the years is like pointing out that it’s been a bit damp of late in Calgary and Toronto. One of Canada’s largest private zoos is once again in the news, this time over a video posted on YouTube that appears to depict negligent conditions at the family-owned facility. A selfdescribed whistleblower claims to have secretly shot the video over the Canada Day weekend.

Guzoo owner Lynn Gustafson has shrugged off this latest animal-abuse allegation as the work of “domestic terrorists” but he appears to be reaching something of a breaking point. A zookeeper who has faced his own share of regulatory ultimatums has responded with one of his own: the Redford government has six months to get animal welfare critics off his back or he will close the operation to the public and maintain Guzoo strictly for family and friends.

No matter whose side you take in this relentless dispute, at this point that just might be the best possible outcome.

It’s certainly far preferable to the action Gustafson threatened two years ago when the provincial government began taking steps to shut him down. Back then, before authorities backed off plans to decommission Guzoo, Gustafson mused darkly about euthanizing his menagerie, or having them stuffed.

There’s no question that many of the 400-odd animals in his care, including a lion, tiger, camels, bears and lemurs, would have been put down long ago were it not for Gustafson’s caring heart. Since Guzoo first obtained a zoo permit in 1990, the farm has taken in dozens of unwanted pets and rescue animals that would otherwise have had no place to go.

Still, you don’t need to be an animal rights extremist to have serious qualms about roadside zoos — a phenomenon that is thankfully far less common in Canada than it is in the United States. Some estimates suggest there could be as many as 6,000 tigers living in private hands south of the border, where the head of the American Humane Society has spoken of “an epidemic of private ownership of dangerous exotic animals.” Many U.S. wildlife-themed attractions fall into the kind of regulatory limbo that was so tragically exposed in 2011 when police were forced to shoot and kill dozens of exotic beasts — including lions, bears and Bengal tigers — that had been deliberately released by the owner of a private zoo in Zanesville, Ohio.

Not all private zoos are horror shows, of course, just as not all the big public ones are perfect models of animal welfare. But the constant drum of troubles sounding at Guzoo is hard to ignore. Over the years the operation has been criticized for feces-infested cages, animals in distress, animals housed in cramped pens, and inadequate food, water and shelter from the elements. Thousands of people have petitioned against it, including, somewhat ludicrously, American game show host Bob Barker.

The Alberta government ordered Guzoo shut down in 2011 over concerns about animal care, but later reversed its decision. Last fall a government spokeswoman said an inspection of the zoo’s operations in July 2012 showed no problems with the health or condition of the animals. The Gustafsons were granted a new one-year operating licence in April.

And yet the troubles persist. In May, someone cut holes in the fences around Guzoo, allowing some animals to escape. This week, more alarming images were posted on the Internet.

The beleaguered zoo has seen the Gustafsons pitted against government officials and animal rights activists for 23 years now. Maybe it’s best for all concerned that this particular animal act draws to a close.