It's a zoo out there. And its time is up.

2009-04-22

Shelley Fralic, Vancouver Sun

In what has become a sad refrain, the Greater Vancouver Zoo is once again in the hot seat.

In early March, the zoo lost four zebras, all dying within days of each other of a stress-related exertional myopathy. Essentially, the zebras died of panic attacks, a predator-prey response likely triggered by two Cape buffalo introduced into their enclosure.

The deaths weren't made public until Monday, prompting the SPCA to launch an inquiry. It is certainly not the first time the zoo has been dogged by controversy.

The facility initially opened as the Vancouver Game Farm in 1970, on 120 acres in Aldergrove, and was owned and operated by the Hines/Oakes family until it was sold in 1991.

In the mid-'90s, it underwent many changes, including construction of new habitats, a picnic area and playground, miniature train and, in 1998, a North America exhibit with bears, wolves, elk, deer and bison.

More change came with another new owner, in 1999, including a stronger focus on conservation, perhaps to appease the growing societal aversion to incarcerating animals for human enjoyment.

Today, the Greater Vancouver Zoo, which is majority-owned by retired Korean businessman Duk-Wan Park, houses about 600 animals representing more than 100 species, from big cats to camels, wallabies, rhino, antelopes, monkeys, emus, giraffes, birds and reptiles.

In the late 1990s, the zoo became the target of animal welfare activists decrying the deplorable conditions in which many of its animals were housed.

In May 2006, it was charged with animal cruelty, a Canadian first, for failing to provide adequate facilities for its new baby hippo. The charges were stayed, but the zoo lost its accreditation for two years.

Tina the elephant developed a common foot infection and was sent to a U.S. sanctuary where she died in 2004. In 2006, a giraffe died soon after being born and, in 2007, Hazina the hippo died after being transported to the Calgary Zoo.

Last year, a resident eagle that performs in the raptor show was killed by a lion, and a male spider monkey was slaughtered and its mate abducted after a vandal broke into their cage.

No matter where you stand on the issue of zoos, as entertainment and/or education, the reality is that their time has come and gone, as has the capture and display of marine mammals, but for rehabilitation and rare species breeding under specific governed circumstances.

The Greater Vancouver Zoo has simply not aged well these past 40 years, especially not in the court of public opinion.

Though a lovely piece of property, with Edenic spots, it is today mostly a dusty, scruffy place, the air heavy with listlessness.

Wander by the laconic lions lolling about in their enclosures, as far from oglers as possible, and you can almost feel the pervasive languor, as if the captors, as well-meaning as they might be, have given up hope along with their hostages.

And the cost? Holy highway robbery, that yawning tiger must be eating filet.

Entrance fee: $32 for one adult and one child. Parking: $4. Train ride: $5 each. Food: Expensive, and awful.

The concession stand, and the adjoining eating area, are gross inside and out, so desperately in need of a good scrubbing that one wonders how much care is afforded the animals if so little attention is paid their visiting human benefactors.

Ironic, too, that on a visit this past Sunday, the zoo was jammed with families, but the most popular attraction, by far, was the playground.

Some things aren't forever.

The Greater Vancouver Zoo is one of them.