Cruelty charges over hippo treatment dropped

Two charges of animal cruelty against the Greater Vancouver Zoo, which were laid last May in connection with its care of a hippopotamus, have been stayed by the Crown.

The charges stemmed from the the hippo's confinementin a small concrete pen for 19 months at the zoo in the Fraser Valley.

Crown spokesman Stan Lowe said that since the hippo, calledHazina, is now in a much larger enclosure, there was no reason to continue with the charges.

"It was no longer in the public interest to continue with this prosecution, having achieved compliance, and a very low risk of reoffence."

A zoo official said they are not surprised the charge was dropped, but the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it is disappointed.

"The enclosure was being constructed at the time, and it's not the fact that Hazina is now in a new enclosure, it's the fact that she had to spend such a substantial amount of time in a facility that caused her distress," said SPCA spokeswoman Marcia Moriarty.

Meanwhile, zoo animal keeper Jamie Dorgan said Hazina is adjusting well to her new enclosure, and enjoying her new heated indoor pool during the cold winter weather.

"She'll go out and check things out, and then she'll come back in and jump back in the nice warm pond. That's where she will prefer to be."

The SPCA said the case highlights the need for new legislation to set standards for the care and protection of exotic animals in captivity.