Necropsy to probe whether giraffe at Fort Langley zoo froze to death
2009-12-16
CanWest News Service
Hypothermia may have killed a Masai giraffe that died recently at a Fort Langley
zoo, says the veterinarian who tried to save it.
The Province first reported on Sunday that the B.C. SPCA is investigating
allegations, including animal cruelty and neglect, about Mountain View
Conservation and Breeding Centre, after a group of eight current and former
employees recently filed an extensive list of complaints with authorities.
The SPCA went to Mountain View after Sunday, Dec. 6, to investigate the giraffe
deaths.
Their carcasses were sent by Mountain View to a lab for necropsy, said the
SPCA’s Marcie Moriarty. Veterinarian Dr. Bruce Burton told The Province he
treated one of the giraffes, a four-year-old.
“When I got there, it was down [on the ground and] the [body] temperature was
low,” Burton said.
He said a possible cause of death could be hypothermia, but “to say it was just
hypothermia would be pre-judging.”
Burton said underlying health conditions may have caused the death, not the
cold.
Necropsies for both giraffes are under way at the Animal Health Centre in
Abbotsford, Burton said.
On Tuesday, Mountain View’s founder and CEO, Gordon Blankstein, told The
Province he does not believe the giraffe treated by Burton was found in a cold
state.
“That’s not what I understand,” he said, adding he would not comment further
before necropsy results. Before the recent giraffe deaths, a group of eight
current and former animal handlers, including former Mountain View manager
Thomas Knight, alleged to authorities that veterinary care is too often with-
held at Mountain View because of Blankstein’s cost-saving focus.
Among other allegations, the group claimed:
- Heat is a serious issue at Mountain View. Gordon Blankstein does not like to
pay for heat for the animals, but wants tropical animals.
As a result, many of the animals at Mountain View have died from exposure to the
cold over the years. They listed zebras and giraffes among those suffering from
heat issues.
On Tuesday, Blankstein said heat has never been a problem for any exotic animals
at Mountain View. After The Province’s first report, another manager who says he
was laid off from Mountain View, Douglas Richardson, stepped forward to back up
the concerns of the eight employees.
Richardson said he was recruited by Blankstein in June 2003 and fired in
September 2004.
Richardson says he has 30 years’ experience around the world as a zookeeper and
is now animal-collection manager for Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland.
“I can confirm that similar events as detailed in your article happened there
during my tenure, in particular Blankstein’s efforts not to call the vet when
required, which I ignored – possibly one of the reasons I was terminated,”
Richardson wrote in an e-mail.
“One of the main animal-welfare problems I tried to deal with was the lack of
heating for the giraffes. . . . If heating in the giraffe area is still an
issue, it is not surprising that the female and calf died recently.”
Blankstein said Richardson’s claims are not factual and Richardson is “another
person that we have let go.”
“We have people that we let go that have grudges to make,” he said.
On Tuesday, Blankstein said of The Province’s first story: “You’ve been fair [in
reporting].”
Blankstein stressed that he cares deeply about animals at Mountain View, and
added that Mountain View will have veterinarians make more regular “preventive”
visits to the zoo, instead of being called “as needed,” as is done currently.
“[We're looking at] how we can improve things,” Blankstein said.
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