Zoos Victoria ‘devastated’ over accidental animal deaths, reviews practices

Zoos Victoria says it has taken immediate action and learnt valuable lessons after a number of incidents resulted in the deaths of animals, including 17 possums who were accidentally baited.

Acting CEO Rachel Lowry said staff at Werribee Open Range Zoo were devastated over the incident and practices had been changed to ensure it never happened again. 

It was one of a number of incidents over the past year, detailed in the latest annual report. 

She said the organisation was transparent in the deaths so that other zoos around the world could learn from their mistakes.

‘Unfortunately an accident occurred where the baiting was laid in clumps rather than dispersed, as a consequence of that 17 possums died,’ she told Tony Jones.

‘It was absolutely not the result we were after.

‘We were devastated, it prompted immediate action.’

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