Christchurch’s Orana Wildlife Park: MPI promising regular checks, tiger found underweight

MPI will be conducting more regular checks of Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park. Photo / Orana Wildlife Park

• Popular Christchurch zoo investigated by MPI following raft of new allegations
• Claims include several animals’ deaths going unreported, including a giraffe found dead in enclosure
• Investigation finds facility adequate aside from one slightly underweight tiger
• Orana Wildlife Trust Board says they ‘have nothing to hide’

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will carry out more regular checks of Christchurch’s Orana Wildlife Park after a fresh probe found a tiger to be slightly under-weight.

The investigation, which came after allegations of poor animal welfare standards, found the facility to be “fit for purpose”.

MPI’s assessment follows a string of reports to 1News from more than 20 serving and former staff members alleging animal deaths going unreported at the park.

Though the investigation has cleared Orana Wildlife Park of current animal welfare concerns, it is not out of the woods yet.

MPI’s compliance and response director Glen Burrell said “we have required the zoo to provide us with its records, including all deaths and injuries to animals and what follow-up actions were taken, which we will assess”.

“This work will take more time,” he said.

The tiger enclosure is one of the highlights for visitors to Orana Wildlife Park. Photo / Kim Free

MPI will also undertake more regular checks of the zoo’s performance against its animal welfare requirements.

“These checks will take place at least quarterly, instead of annually, and will increase in frequency if we find evidence of animal welfare issues,” said Burrell.

Burrell said they were overall satisfied with the standard of the zoo yesterday.

“Staff were knowledgeable and committed to their work with the exotic animals ... We also noted that the zoo’s staff were adequately trained or had relevant work experience and that there were good procedures in place for the welfare of the animals,” he said.

“Every animal on site is welfare checked daily ... These include body score condition assessments, or weighing, and monitoring of behaviour, appetite, excrement and signs of ill health or injury.

“Checks of enclosures are also undertaken for correct temperatures, hazards, clean water and automatic waterers working.”

However the rapid assessment did find one tiger appeared slightly under-weight.

“There is no evidence of neglect, and the zoo has a plan to address the issue.”

Burrell added while the zoo has six vacancies, “we consider there are enough staff to provide an acceptable standard of care to the animals”.

Orana Wildlife Park Board member Ken Hughey said “we are totally open to anyone coming and looking at the park at any time, we’ve got nothing to hide”.

“We want to continue assuring people ... what we’re probably wanting to do now is just upping the ante a bit more in terms of assurance because reputation at the end of the day is vitally important,” Hughey said.

Hughey said the Orana staff are “an incredibly dedicated bunch of people right from the top down to the gamekeepers and the volunteers”.

“They all put their hearts and their minds to the welfare of the animals and to sharing that welfare with the general public,” he said.

Hughey said they take animal welfare very seriously and will be working closely with MPI going forward.