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| Black Leopard - Panthera pardus |
Thirty-six endangered big cats at Northland's Zion Wildlife Garden could be killed off if an urgent hearing goes ahead.
Their fate was to be decided in the High Court next month, but the park's receivers Rabobank have applied for a hearing to be held tomorrow.
Evgeny Orlov, lawyer for park operator Patricia Bush, says if the hearing goes ahead the cats will be moved or euthanased.
"They're applying for a court order to kill them, that's not only inhumane, that's ridiculous that you have one of the biggest collections of cats in Asia, if not in the world, they're all endangered, they're beautiful animals and even looking at them makes you cry.
Evgeny Orlov says the cats' owner Ms Bush is distraught at the bank's move.
Is Rabobank crazy? To even contemplate killing these endangered animals is fucking unbelievable! Many of the big cats are included on the International Union for Conservation's Red List of Threatened Species.
Zion Wildlife Gardens has 3 Bengal (Panthera) Tigers - Endangered, 7 Royal White Tigers - Endangered, 1 Leopard pardus (Black Panther) - Near threatened, 2 Asiatic Cheetahs - Vulnerable, 14 Asiatic (Panthera) Lions - Vulnerable and another 10 White Lions, which makes them even more unique.
I really do hope Rabobank will see some sense and retract their despicable court action that could potentially have these endangered big cats killed.
The Northern Advocate reported:
Evgeny Orlov, lawyer for park operator Patricia Busch, said he was more than surprised by the move.
"I'm angered and offended that they could even contemplate asking for an order to kill 36 wild animals that are perfectly healthy," he told APNZ.
"If they want the animals to be killed or thrown away, why not just give them to Ms Busch, withdraw from these proceedings and let her move them to a place where they will be looked after, where they will be safe."
Mr Orlov will argue in court tomorrow that Rabobank does not have the right to ask for any order over the animals.
Rabobank should think about the international scandal this is turning into, with the despicable idea causing New Zealand worldwide embarrassment.
In the mean time, lets boycott Rabobank for even contemplating killing these endangered big cats for a miserly $100,000 debt. What a bunch of cretins.
In the mean time, lets boycott Rabobank for even contemplating killing these endangered big cats for a miserly $100,000 debt. What a bunch of cretins.
