Under fire owners confident they willl pass MPI inspection
The owners of New Plymouth’s Pouakai Zoo are confident their park will pass a Ministry of Primary Industries inspection that followed a complaint about the condition of some of their animals.
Officers of the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) inspected the site yesterday but have yet to make public what they found.
Yesterday Xincai Liu, who owns the zoo with husband Adam Horne, said there was a group of people trying to damage them.
The people who complained had not given them a chance to explain what they had seen before making their accusations, she said.
The complaint to MPI was made by Taranaki Animal Save, the local branch of a nationwide group that protests against a wide range of animal issues, including horse racing, livestock export, rodeos and the dairy industry.
The group posted photos of several animals at the zoo onto its Facebook page, including one that showed a capuchin monkey that appeared to have lost its fur as well as one peeling paint in its enclosure. It also included a photo of a bird leg that appeared to be injured.
Liu said the monkey that had lost fur was was born in 1986, so is 38 years old.
“We wouldn’t hide the older animals and ‘ugly’ monkeys away.
“They’re social animals.”
The couple had “strong support,” including from a vet, for what they were doing, she said.
“We’re doing well and we’re going to carry on and give good service to the community. My husband is now out chatting to children answering their questions.”
The zoo has been in its location near the Pouakai Range for decades and is well known for its big cats, which in the past included white tigers.
It also has monkeys, meerkats, ostriches and farmyard animals. Liu and Horne have owned the zoo since 2014.
Yesterday, Taranaki Animal Save spokesperson Summer Jayne said they received a complaint regarding distressed and injured animals and small enclosures at the zoo, prompting them to visit the facility themselves.
“It was horrifying, one of the saddest most tragic things I’ve come across.”
Jayne said a member of the public launched a petition to have the zoo closed after seeing the pictures of the animals they had posted on Facebook.
It was also their position that the zoo be closed and animals rehomed, she said.
“No animals deserve to be kept in those conditions, especially for human entertainment and for business profit, because it is a private business.”
SPCA New Plymouth Inspectorate team lead Alex Jones said because Pouakai Zoo was a commercial zoo, it fell to the MPI to investigate any complaints about animal welfare.