Animal welfare organizations and local residents will file a report against the Wilhelminapark petting zoo in Best and councilor Rik Dijkhoff. The animals on the farm were allegedly neglected and abused. The organizations requested internal documents about this from the municipality, and the contents were the final straw for them to file a report.
Last autumn, several reports were received about abuses at the petting zoo in Best, because the animals were allegedly poorly cared for. After an inspection by a veterinarian and the National Animal Welfare Inspection Service (LID), it turned out that some animals were, for example, too fat.
A number of accommodations also no longer met the requirements. But there was more to it. Local residents said against Studio040 that illegal breeding took place and that pigeons had been beheaded. Images showed rabbits in small cages and a wallaby lying dead on the grass.
The municipality did not intervene, but later it did
The municipality owns the petting zoo. The organizations had already knocked on their door before, but according to Alderman Dijkhoff there was no ‘incorrect action’ by the manager.
He came back to that later. The municipality had animals transferred and the enclosures adapted. A veterinarian, experts and the LID continued to monitor the farm. According to the municipality, the situation was a lot better after that.
Problems remain, organizations say
More than six months later, the Animal Emergency Aid Committee, the House of Animals Foundation and local residents say that not enough has been done. “The management is still the same. And that management is animal unfriendly,” says spokesperson Sandra van de Werd on behalf of local residents and the organizations.
“For example, animals that are too fat are locked up for a long time, while you should give them exercise. Visitors are blamed for being too fat because they are supposed to feed them, but that is not true.”
Internal pieces were the final straw
The organizations requested all information about the treatment of the animals, including internal documents, with a Woo request – a request to the government to make documents or information public. According to Van de Werd, what it said was the final straw to report the crime.
“You read that all kinds of things are being done to improve the image of the farm and the municipality, but almost nothing about animal welfare. For example, it says that lame and sick animals are immediately collected to ‘rehabilitate elsewhere’. Out of sight of people. Bizarre. Sick animals should be allowed to recover in their familiar environment.”
The Animal Emergency Assistance Committee files a report against the managers of the petting zoo, but also against Alderman Dijkhoff.
Response from the municipality of Best
The municipality of Best says that it understands the concerns about the petting zoo in the Wilhelmina Park. Animal welfare is important, the municipality says. She does not want to say anything about a possible declaration now.
The municipality does respond to the criticism of the alderman: “The alderman regrets that the petting zoo did not switch to contemporary guidelines in a timely manner and has made efforts to obtain a quality mark. He does not recognize accusations that he has consciously maintained animal abuse.”
According to the municipality, improvements have already been made. For example, animals have been checked, cages have been adjusted and some animals have been housed elsewhere. The municipality is now investigating whether the petting zoo can continue to exist or whether it should close.