Lion Shot in Eastern Ontario
Quote:
A lion was shot and killed after it escaped its enclosure at the Papanack Zoo east of Ottawa on Sunday, apparently because of human error.
Ontario Provincial Police were called to the zoo in the community of Wendover, a 45-minute drive northeast of downtown Ottawa, at about 4:20 p.m. ET.
An adult male African white lion had escaped and was walking in the unfenced park entrance area, OPP said in a release.
The zoo is closed to the public for the winter season, but staff were present.
Officers helped zoo staff contain the animal, but it was "executed" by the zoo owner shortly before 5:30 p.m., OPP said.
"The risk to the public of trying to sedate the lion was simply too high, as the sedative takes too long too kick in, and this would have put everyone at risk," zoo spokesperson Kerri Bayford wrote in a statement posted on the zoo's Facebook page early Monday morning.
An investigation is underway, Bayford wrote, adding that the lion's escape appears to have been caused by human error.
"Since taking over ownership at Papanack Zoo just under two years ago, we have worked tirelessly to improve the facility and living conditions of the animals," Bayford wrote. "Unfortunately, it looks like this was a case of human error, and we are going to be debriefing with all our staff to determine exactly what happened."
No people or other animals were injured.
Full zoo statement
It is with great regret that I have to announce that today at approximately 5:19 p.m. our male lion breached it's primary perimeter fence. Police were called immediately and within minutes our staff, with police present, made the decision to euthanize the lion on our property.
The risk to the public of trying to sedate the lion was simply too high as the sedative takes too long too kick in and this would have put everyone at risk. Our zoo is closed to the public during the winter and there were no public on the grounds.
Since taking over ownership at Papanack Zoo just under two years ago we have worked tirelessly to improve the facility and living conditions of the animals. Unfortunately it looks like this was a case of human error and we are going to be debriefing with all our staff to determine exactly what happened.
Furthermore, we have started doing a full audit of all of our large carnivore exhibits. We have already been reaching out to other experts in the field to go over our current policies and protocols and exhibit designs to ensure that an incident such as this will not happen again.
Once debriefing with all our staff we will be making a full statement as to what happened to lead to this tragic event today. Our staff couldn't be more upset about this and I would greatly appreciate if all concerns are directed to myself personally, Kerri Bayford. I look forward to shedding more light on the sad events of today.
Sincerely,
Kerri Bayford
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...-zoo-1.3468702
What, no outrage?
