A worker on a job training scheme was locked in a lion enclosure by a fellow worker. The two workers entered the enclosure at Belfast Zoo last week while the lions were in their den.
One worker believed to be the more experienced one left the enclosure and locked it. This left the other worker inside the enclosure in which lions were free to move around. We don't know for how long this precarious state of affairs existed but with great good fortune the worker who was locked in was unharmed. We don't know if it was accidental.
Belfast Zoo is owned by the city council. They said that they were aware of the incident and were investigating.
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| Belfast Zoo lions. Image: the zoo. |
The worker who was trapped is believed to be part of a Northern Ireland training scheme for young people and unemployed people between the ages of 50 and 64 according to the Belfast Telegraph.
The source for the story said that they were shocked at the incident. They said that "They are very lucky they weren't killed or severely mauled and left with horrendous injuries. It's just another thing that raises serious questions for Belfast Zoo. I can only imagine what was going through this poor person's mind. I mean how on earth did this happen?"
Interestingly, the zoo claims that their lions are Barbary lions, a subspecies that was made extinct many years ago in the wild and which lived along the North African coast adjacent to the Mediterranean. Comment: I would doubt whether they are purebred Barbary lions. I make this assessment on the basis that many tigers are not the subspecies as claimed by the zoo where they live. There are often generic tigers and I suspect that these lions are generic i.e. hybrid or crossbred lions. But I am speculating so it's an allegation that I make rather than a firm statement.
There is one male and two females living at Belfast Zoo.
They are a large subspecies measuring about a metre in height at the shoulder and up to 3.5 m in length. Their average weight is up to 230 kg.
A spokesperson for the city council said: "[The] council is aware of an incident at the lion enclosure at Belfast Zoo earlier this month. We take the safety of all our staff, visitors and animals very seriously, and an investigation is underway into the circumstances of this incident. We cannot comment further while this is ongoing."
The incident was reported to the Health and Safety Executive of Northern Ireland.
A spokesperson for this organisation said that they could not comment on individual companies or organisations. There are calls for the zoo to look again at its policies and procedures.
Robbie Butler, vice chairman of Stormont's all party-group one animal welfare said that, "Whilst the primary concern must be with the individual involved, it also raises concerns about animal welfare."
The zoo didn't want to comment about the incident. Allegedly there have been three breaches against three different species at Belfast zoo under the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria animal welfare standards.
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