Edinburgh Zoo - Controversies

Controversies

Organisations that remain critical of Edinburgh Zoo's work include the Animal Liberation Front, who have voiced their distaste for the quality of the enclosure that formerly housed Polar Bears. The Born Free Foundation has also stated several times that the Zoo fails in its conservation work, as well as opposing the Zoo's plans to house Elephants.

Edinburgh Zoo received a public backlash on Twitter after the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) ordered the Zoo to cull three red river hog piglets after an unplanned birth. A protest took place under the #savethehogs tag on Thursday 3 February 2011. The Twitter campaign was started by OneKind, with major support from Captive Animals Protection Society. On Friday 4 February 2011, it was announced that the #savethehogs campaign had been successful and the Zoo would attempt to re-home the piglets.

Following various internal issues and allegations relating to senior staff, the Zoo was subject to investigations relating to its charitable status. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) held an inquiry into the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, and one director was fired while two others were suspended. The Zoo suspended its chief operating officer and acting chief executive Gary Wilson while it investigated allegations made against him.

In July 2011, the Zoo's monkey house had to be closed after a Gelada escaped from its enclosure. The animal vaulted an electric fence as it tried to escape whilst visitors looked on.

The Zoo also came under criticism for plans to charge £20 per person for visitors to watch the autopsy of an animal. A OneKind spokesman criticised the idea, largely due to the timing of the event, which was scheduled to take place two months after the Zoo announced a £2 million loss in profits, making the autopsy seem like a "Money-making drive".

In February 2012, the Zoo was told to conduct a full review of its financial controls following an inquiry into complaints about how the Zoo was run in 2011. The report by the OSCR cleared the Zoo of misconduct but found "areas of governance that could be improved".

In May 2012, several hundred zoo visitors were forced to seek shelter after a family of hogs escaped from keepers and ran amok. Those who had taken refuge in the monkey house later described scenes where zoo workers pursued the animals with various equipment including brushes and dart guns.Though the drama lasted over an hour, the adult hogs were recaptured unharmed.

On 22 August 2012 a rare Scarlet Ibis escaped from the Zoo and went the loose in the city after a squirrel had chewed a hole in the netting at the top of its cage. Keepers noticed it was missing and later that day it was spotted more than 3 miles away in Dundas Street, near the city centre. The ibis was missing for nearly a week before being recaptured four miles from the zoo.

In September 2012 Zoo customers were herded indoors when a Heck bull escaped from its enclosure. The 600 kg animal with three feet long horns was loose for over 40 minutes, until zoo workers and vets managed to restrain him by using tranquiliser darts.