Report clears Dublin Zoo of animal welfare allegations

Dublin Zoo has welcomed an inspection report from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) which found 14 of 15 allegations made against it on animal welfare were unfounded.

One allegation related to the death of a sea lion in 2004 was “in part supported” but the inspectors found the issues raised have since been addressed by the zoo.

The sea lion, named Kipper, died due to dystocia or obstructed labour.

The inspectors found Dublin Zoo’s veterinary and management team did take steps to assess and support the animal, but the primary challenge at that time was a lack of available technical experience.

The report also noted that zoo inspectors raised concerns about the sea lion’s facilities in a September 2012 report and the sea lion cove which opened in 2015 allows improved management of the animals.

They say the new facility allows improved management of the sea lions and there have been huge advances in marine mammal medicine over the intervening 20 years.

They say that whilst they do not dismiss the case it “does not reflect either the current sea lion management systems employed today nor does the inspection team recognise that the Dublin Zoo team would have done nothing at the time of the event as implied in the allegation”.

Allegation over sloth welfare ‘unfounded’

Another allegation concerning the welfare of sloths was found not to be supported and “was considered unfounded”.

However, it did raise concerns in the opposite direction.

The allegation was that a thermostate in the accommodation for sloths was set too high and this impacted on their welfare.

The inspectors found that report value of 30C was within the upper limit of the temperature range recommended for sloths and they were able to move outside if the internal temperature was too high for them.

It also found there was no evidence that their welfare had suffered during the period covered by the allegation.

A review of available literature led the inspectors to recommend the zoo should reassess its current lower temperature range limit of 22C and potentially raise it to 25C.

They also suggested the zoo should look at raising the temperature threshold where action should be taken from 18C to 22C or 25C.

Dublin Zoo welcomes report

Of the other 13 allegations, the NPWS inspectors found there was no evidence of failings on animal welfare.

There were nine that were considered to be primarily human resource concerns where keepers felt their opinions had been dismissed or they were not involved in the decision making process.

The investigation team “overall found that Dublin Zoo promoted animal welfare throughout their operational practices”.

Welcoming the report, Dublin Zoo said: “Allegations in this report were made without consulting Dublin Zoo to verify their legitimacy, causing considerable distress.”

It said the zoo “continuously aims to enhance and set new benchmarks for our animal welfare management program.

“The collective understanding of animal behaviour is ever evolving, and at Dublin Zoo we do our utmost to ensure we adhere to and, where possible, exceed best practice at all times.”