Zion Wildlife Park Companies Convicted For Death Of Animal Handler

Zion Wildlife Gardens Limited has been ordered to pay reparations of $60,000 to the partner of the zoo keeper mauled to death by a tiger on 27 May 2009.

Zion Wildlife Services Limited was contracted by Zion Wildlife Gardens to employ the staff and was not fined or ordered to pay reparations because it has no assets, no employees and has not been in business for a year.

“When Mr Mncube was fatally attacked the two untrained adult tigers in the enclosure were not isolated and it is simply unacceptable that a handler was permitted to enter an enclosure in those circumstances,” says Rod Gibbon, Whangarei Service Manager for the Department of Labour.

“This prosecution should serve as a serious warning to employers that irrespective of what the workplace is, they have a responsibility to ensure a safe working environment for their employees,” says Mr Gibbon.