Court turns into circus:
A zookeeper reads a long speech, while animal activists protest outside

2007-12-19

Jane Sims, London Free Press

A zookeeper turned a London courtroom into a circus yesterday as she delivered a defiant speech about God and her own "dominion over the animals."

Shirley McElroy, controversial owner of the Lickety-Split Ranch and Zoo in southeast London, read from neatly handwritten notes on blue paper she balanced on her paperback Bible.

As she spoke, a small group of animal rights activists holding signs of protest against Lickety-Split gathered outside London's provincial offences court.

McElroy, wearing a festive knit vest, made a brief court appearance charged with possession of native wildlife without a licence under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. She faces a maximum fine of $25,000 if convicted.

McElroy planned to have the case adjourned to January, but the proceedings quickly turned into a sideshow.

Justice of the Peace Helen Gale invited McElroy to step forward when the case was called. McElroy wouldn't come to the microphone, telling Gale she would speak from the front row of the courtroom. Then she launched into her speech, speaking rapidly about her rights, Jehovah and Genesis 1:26, which refers to humans having control over all animals.

Gale repeatedly asked McElroy to step forward, then, when McElroy wouldn't listen, told her "this court is not a podium."

After several attempts to politely interrupt McElroy, Gale stood up and walked out of the courtroom, telling the clerk she would return "when she's finished."

McElroy soldiered on, saying the court wanted her to give up her "God-given right."

Once McElroy finished, Gale returned and said "with the greatest respect to Ms. McElroy, this is not the appropriate forum for Scripture to be recited."

Gale suggested McElroy wanted to make a Charter of Rights and Freedoms argument and would have to serve notice to the prosecution if she did.

Prosecutor Tammy Waugh, as agent for the Ministry of Natural Resources, said McElroy had "recently retained" a Kitchener lawyer.

Gale adjourned the case to Jan. 21 to give the lawyer time to review the case.

Outside the court, a small number of animal rights activists from a group called Friends of Captive Animals waited.

Spokesperson Vicki Van Linden said the group wants to have any animals at Lickety-Split inspected and ultimately have it closed for good.

The zoo was temporarily closed by McElroy this year after reports from both the World Society for the Protection of Animals and Zoocheck Canada. Both groups said animals were kept in small, stark cages and appeared unhealthy.

"Lickety-Split Ranch and Zoo was definitely considered one of the worst and deservedly so," Van Linden said.

The Australian media jumped on the plight of Tyson the kangaroo, who was kept in a cramped cage and has since disappeared. Friends of Captive

Animals have offered a $500 reward for "verifiable information" regarding the kangaroo's condition. Van Linden said the group fears Tyson is dead. "If he's buried somewhere, if there is any remains, we think his life should count for something. He certainly suffered and he has kind of become a flag-bearer for many other animals in Ontario we know are suffering just as much," she said.

David Critchlow, a natural resources enforcement supervisor, said officers were on the zoo property "several months ago" and haven't returned. "At the time that we were there, the conditions were adequate as far as we were concerned with relation to the native wildlife," he said.