Surge in visitors boosts zoo’s hopes of survival
Attendance plummeted after allegations were made about mistreatment of its animals
A sudden burst in attendance and outpouring of support for the Bowmanville Zoo is sparking hopes that the embattled facility may be able stay open after all.
The privately owned zoo, which is home to a number of exotic animals, including lions, lemurs and tigers, announced last month it was shutting down at the end of the 2016 season.
Zoo officials said allegations made by animal rights groups, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), over the mistreatment of animals at the hands of the former director had kept crowds away and attendance was down by more than 65 per cent from the previous year.
But since the June announcement, the zoo has seen a “strong swell of support from the community” and attendance is now only down “about 25 per cent from prior years,” said spokesman Angus Carroll.
“I can tell you that attendance is up in recent days and that is great,” Carroll said. “Nevertheless, we are not out of the woods. Attendance is still below last year and not where it needs to be to make the zoo viable,” he said.
“We are looking at every option,” he said, adding that the final decision to stay open or closed for good will be made at the end of the summer.
For nearly 100 years, the zoo has been a part of the Bowmanville community and has brought a number of exotic animals from small-town Ontario to the big screen. Tigers from the zoo have been featured in Hollywood films such as the Life of Pi and The Interview.
But the zoo began getting negative attention in 2015 when a former owner, Michael Hackenberger, was filmed on live morning television swearing at a baboon for failing to complete a trick.
Then, in December, PETA released a video that appeared to show him hitting a tiger with a whip during a training session.
This April, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals charged Hackenberger with four counts of causing an animal distress and one of failing to comply with the prescribed standards of care for an animal. The case is currently before the courts.
But even with the controversy surrounding the zoo, the closure announcement came as a shock to the community, said Ward 3 Clarington Councillor Corinna Traill.
“The zoo is the gem of the ward,” said Traill, who said she worked at the zoo as a teenager and only saw it uphold “the highest standards of animal care.”
Traill said that while she is “100 per cent against animal cruelty,” she says she’s “disappointed the zoo is having to close based on what are, at this stage, allegations.”
Others in the community share her sentiments. Since the news of the closure broke, a Facebook group expressing support for the zoo has popped up, as has a GOFUNDME campaign soliciting donations to pay for the care of the animals at the zoo. It has raised $400 in 12 days.
Clarington council also recently passed a motion to allow the zoo to put up banners outside the property highlighting some of the animals that have lived there.
“We are willing to work with the zoo as community partners,” said Traill. “And there is a small part of all of us who hope this won’t be the last year,” she said.
But online, momentum is also growing to see the zoo closed and the animals sent to reputable sanctuaries and “not another zoo or performance facility.” An online petition has garnered almost 25,000 signatures.
PETA president Ingrid Newkirk said supporters should not forget “that he (Hackenberger) uses intimidation as a tactic to dominate wildlife,” she said in an email.
“The Bowmanville Zoo is shutting its doors because compassionate people, who are in the majority, reject animal abuse and recognize that the international public no longer accepts confining wild animals for human entertainment.”
But it appears to be business as usual at the zoo, which is running a summer camp, recently opened a lemur enclosure and welcomed the birth of a lion cub.
But Carroll said closing plans are already underway and “calls have been made to other facilities about taking animals.”
“As you can imagine, certain animals — such as large predators — require special handling and care and can only go to certain types of facilities. It will take many months of work to find homes for all the animals, but we believe we will eventually,” he said.
Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums said it hasn’t been approached to help with the relocation of animals, although it has offered to assist.
The Toronto Zoo said it hasn’t been contacted either.