The stuffed liger, Shasta, is the healthiest-looking animal at Hogle Zoo, according to half a dozen protesters who gathered at the zoo to decry the recent spate of animal deaths there.
The protesters, who had expected to be 50 strong, wanted to remind the public that 11 animals have died at the zoo in the past six months.People forget the frightening message behind the string of deaths, said Anne Davis, director of the Utah Animal Rights Alliance, who organized Saturday's protest.
In an interview following the protest, zoo director Lamar Farnsworth angrily denounced the humane group's allegations that the deaths are "suspicious."
"We are doing everything we possibly can to take care of the animals," Farnsworth said. "It's ludricous for anyone to think we sit up all night trying to decide which animal will be next to die. We have the best-trained staff right now that we've had in 40 years. Unfortunately, we've had some animal deaths."
Davis has asked Gov. Mike Leavitt to order a state investigation because the state gives the zoo $1 million a year, she said. Leavitt hasn't responded to her request, she said.
But Davis said Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini assured her that if a USDA investigation into the animals' deaths reveals any problems, the city, which owns the zoo's property and buildings, may step in.
"We'd rather have the zoo taken over by Salt Lake City. This zoo management isn't accountable," Davis said.
Davis has also sent letters to local school districts asking elementary schools to boycott the zoo until the zoo's administration improves the way the zoo is run, she said.
Davis believes if the zoo's management had to account to a government for how the zoo is run, animals would stop dying. "The zoo is given a lot of money but no one to answer to," she said.
The lure of a sunny day slashed into Davis' expected ranks. "When we met last night we had 30 people there and 20 more who said they would show up this morning," said the disappointed organizer.
But the deaths at the zoo have already caught the federal government's attention. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in January that it would investigate animal care at the zoo after a giraffe, a polar bear, five Capuchin monkeys and two Thomson gazelles died.
Since then, an orangutan hung itself and a sea lion was found dead. Reports on recent animal deaths have been forwarded to USDA attorneys in Washington, D.C.
Protesters Saturday said deaths at the zoo might be halted if it required its keepers to be formally trained. Most keepers start out as volunteers and move up the ranks without any formal training in animal care, she said.