Zoo sells antelope to hunter

A public zoo has sold endangered antelope to a member of a party lobbying for the right to set up game reserves for commercial trophy hunting.

Last month the NSW Environment Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, said a contract between Taronga Western Plains Zoo and Bob McComb, of the Shooters Party, stipulated the 24 blackbuck antelope would be used only for breeding.

However a Freedom of Information application by Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has revealed the contract stated the zoo accepted no responsibility for the animals after they left.

Rhiannon accused Tebbutt and the zoo of misleading the public.

The Shooters Party has a bill before Parliament which would allow private game reserves to be set up for safari hunters and permit hunters to shoot native animals in national parks.

McComb acquired the antelope over the past three years, paying $200-$370 a head - less than half their value.

Tebbutt has ordered a report into the zoo's animal trade, which it has been forced to suspend. The report will consider what further animal welfare protections should be put in place.

A zoo spokeswoman said: "The zoo is at its heart dedicated to animal welfare. There is no history of mistreatment of animals that have been transferred from its care."

But she acknowledged it had been incorrectly stated that the contract said the antelope would only be for breeding.

McComb said he bought the antelope to breed them but he did not rule out hunting them in future. The zoo said it received a personal assurance that they would never be shot for sport.