Dublin Zoo has “vehemently disputed” claims of animal welfare concerns raised by a whistleblower to a Labour Senator.
Senator Annie Hoey told the Seanad this morning that she has had meetings with "both former and current staff members of Dublin Zoo" who made claims to her "a number of breaches of freedoms for animals" at the Zoo. The Senator said "the most detailed accounts" of such alleged breaches were recently made to her by a whistleblower via protected disclosure.
"Regarding animal welfare violations in Dublin Zoo I have been told by the whistleblower that there has been serious welfare issues, near misses, safety and management concerns at Dublin Zoo," Senator Hoey told the Seanad.
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A spokesman for Dublin Zoo told Dublin Live that they “dispute unfounded allegations of mistreatment of animals and objects in the strongest possible terms to the manner in which these allegations have been made without any engagement with Dublin Zoo. These allegations are wholly misleading and contain inaccurate clinical assessments”
Senator Hoey read to the Seanad from the protected disclosure received by her in which the whistleblower stated as follows: "Because I have exhausted all options with Dublin Zoo grievance procedures, which failed to act on my concerns, I feel I have no option but to expose my experiences of what I have witnessed in the zoo."
Senator Hoey outlined claims made by the whistleblower of welfare concerns in relation to a number of animals, including a female Zebra called Kildare.
She said: "Kildare died after complications during a tooth extraction procedure on December 2, 2020. She was darted twice and suffered from capture myopathy.
"She was kept alive even though staff requested that the animal be euthanised. The tooth was extracted and the animal was severely paralysed when she came around from the anaesthetic.
"The animal left to recover overnight. After no change, the animal was going to be hung overnight in a harness even though she was severely paralysed.
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"One staff member pleaded at the end of the second day to end the animal's suffering. Management and veterinary team were planning to leave her hanging in the harness overnight despite being severely paralysed.
"Staff were extremely distraught after witnessing the zebra's treatment and they felt they could not raise concerns for fear of reprisals. Kildare was featured on the Zoo TV series on June 26, 2022."
Senator Hoey got emotional as she began speaking about the case of the famous Harry the Gorilla.
"I want to tell you about Harry, the silverback gorilla, and I think we all know Harry because he was one of the most famous attractions in the zoo all throughout my childhood and into recent times," she read.
"Harry was a silverback male gorilla that died on May 29, 2016. Keepers consistently raised concerns leading up to his death and supported daily reports that his behaviour was abnormal. He was losing weight and his condition.
"Keepers kept asking for a vet to examine him and eventually a vet was called and he died shortly after. This has had an adverse effect on the rest of the troop.
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"This was one of the hardest stories for me to hear from the many staff I have spoken to, as the pain in their voice about how Harry was treated in the run up to his death was unbearable.
"I saw the photos of Harry at the end and he suffered greatly."
Senator Hoey also said staff members claimed that several animals have "gone missing" at the zoo. She said what she raised today is "only a snapshot of the stories" shared to her "about the failing in animal welfare at Dublin Zoo".
Dublin Zoo said that “it is important to note that at no time did any member of staff come forward to Dublin Zoo regarding issues raised in the Seanad today" and called the allegations "serious and upsetting... for which we were not contacted to fact check".
The spokesman continued: “Issues raised by members of staff regarding animal welfare at Dublin Zoo are treated with the utmost sensitivity and seriousness and are thoroughly investigated. Any disclosures are investigated immediately and rectified where appropriate. Staff can make animal welfare-related disclosures through their team, Dublin Zoo management or anonymously.
"Making serious accusations of poor animal welfare standards without engaging with the clinical veterinary expertise at Dublin Zoo or the independent bodies responsible for auditing animal welfare standards in Ireland is irresponsible and has led to a gross misrepresentation of facts.
“Dublin Zoo is widely recognised as having a world-renowned standard of animal care. The physical and psychological well-being of animals in our care is the number one priority, and ensuring every animal lives out its life to the full is paramount to Dublin Zoo.
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“Animal welfare is Dublin Zoo’s primary consideration, the foundation stone of all that we do. Only the highest standards of animal care are acceptable at Dublin Zoo and our hard-working and passionate colleagues are a testament to this. We are routinely acknowledged and heralded both nationally and internationally for our independently audited first-class animal welfare care programmes.
"These are serious and upsetting allegations, for which we were not contacted to fact check. We would encourage the Senator to view the two most recent inspection reports from the Department of Housing, Local Heritage and Government.
“The report from May 2022, which focused on animal welfare standards, found Dublin Zoo to be 'a modern facility which, in our opinion, is well run and has the welfare of the animals it cares for at the heart of each decision made by the operators'. These reports are publicly available but we will be sending copies of these independent reports to the Senator to ensure the Senator has accurate information.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to invite Senator Annie Hoey to Dublin Zoo to discuss the allegations and to learn more about the world-class animal care standards in Dublin Zoo.
"A recent report from October 2021 also found that previous unfounded whistle-blower allegations had been investigated thoroughly and Dublin Zoo provided evidence to support its assertion that such allegations were either “unfounded or where historic, had been addressed and dated to a period prior to the current management regime”. Dublin Zoo was not given the opportunity to address the allegations made today before they were made public.
“They were never raised by any member of staff through the many channels available.
“These claims have unfairly undermined the incredible hard work and dedication of Dublin Zoo’s highly committed team of employees and volunteers who live and breathe Dublin Zoo’s purpose, mandate and animal welfare, on a daily basis.”
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