News
November 4, 2006 Issue Of Roadside Zoos Needs Support
By Sarah Roberts
Animals in Ontario’s roadside zoos need the public’s
support for a new bill to protect their welfare, according
to the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).
Private collectors have displayed wild animals in one
form or another for at least 30 to 40 years, Melissa
Tkachyk, Campaigns Officer for WSPA Canada, said. These
roadside zoos often welcome travellers with promises
they will see lions, tigers and other exotic animals.
But WSPA and Zoocheck Canada, among other non-governmental
organizations, have been looking into roadside zoos
because they often have substandard facilities and keep
animals in poor conditions.
“If people knew the government was licensing unsafe
roadside zoos that don’t care for their animals,
they would support mandatory standards,” Tkachyk
said.
On Oct. 23 Liberal MPP David Zimmer introduced a bill
that requires and enforces licensing and inspection
of privately owned zoos, as well as training qualifications
for operators and staff. Bill 154, The Regulation of
Zoos Act, also requires adequate standards of care for
the animals and safety for the public.
“Existing regulations are vague, unenforceable
and only apply to native wildlife. There are no regulations
for keeping tigers, lions or monkeys in your backyard,”
Zimmer said in a WSPA news release. “How useful
is a zoo licensing system that only applies to one-third
of the animals? This bill I’m putting forward
will fill that gap.”
Tkachyk has investigated the conditions of 11 Ontario
zoos, including Pineridge Zoo and Lickety Split Zoo
in London. She said the things she has seen will haunt
her for a lifetime.
In the worst zoos she saw animals with self-mutilating
behaviour, animals with little room to live, normally
social animals with introverted behaviour and excrement-filled
cages that looked as though they had not been cleaned
in weeks.
Ontario zoos make up 60% of Canadian zoos, according
to Tkachyk, who added that it’s not surprising
the province boasts more than 45 zoos – more than
any other province – when its existing laws to
protect animals in captivity and regulate zoos are the
weakest in the country.
London resident David Empey visited Pineridge Zoo, located
off Highway 21, in 2005. Empey works at the University
of Western Ontario and is interested in ethical issues.
On entering the zoo, the conditions seemed to be very
good, he commented on his website. But the opposite
soon became apparent.
“Many of the cages and other facilities are broken,
and no attempt to repair them seems to be made,”
Empey wrote.
Empey also noted other hazards, such as a general lack
of care. Fence posts with rough metal edges and posts
with nails sticking out of them were evident. Animals
were housed in cages too small for them to live an active
life.
Currently, no law requires that animals be housed in
cages appropriate to their physical abilities, Tkachyk
said.
Zoocheck Canada director Rob Laidlaw has been working
in the area of roadside zoos since 1984. A concerted
effort is required to change roadside-zoo conditions,
he said. In the past, the public tended to wait for
others to speak up, believing their comments wouldn’t
make a difference.
“If people see problems, they have to bring it
to the attention of their elected representative,”
Laidlaw said.
Now that Bill 154 has gone through its first reading,
WSPA encourages the public to contact their Member of
Provincial Parliament and express their support for
the bill. The animal rights organization also recommends
writing letters to newspapers.
The new bill also has the backing of the Ontario Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Videos from WSPA's Summer Zoo Investigations
Lickety-Split, London
WMV file, 10.4 MB
Pineridge Zoo, Grand Bend
WMV file, 6.2 MB
Greenview Aviaries Park and Zoo, Ridgetown
WMV file, 12.2 MB
More video footage of Pineridge Zoo
Monkey pacing - WMV file, 1 MB
Public safety risks - WMV file, 1.3 MB
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Media Release 
