Tallinn Zoo management split over the future of its animal collection
Tallinn Zoo Director Kaupo Heinma and the zoo's six department heads disagree over which animals should be kept and in what conditions. The department heads have decided to appeal to city leaders.
A conflict has emerged between Kaupo Heinma, director of Tallinn Zoo in Estonia's capital, and the zoo's six department heads over which animals should be kept in captivity and under what conditions. The Estonian weekly Eesti Ekspress reports that the dispute concerns the zoo's future animal collection, and the department heads have decided to turn to Tallinn city leaders.
The collection plan and welfare
This summer, the department heads gave the director a draft collection plan. It sets out which species should be bred, phased out, acquired or moved to other zoos.
A animal welfare specialist hired last year marked many species in red, concluding that their current enclosures do not provide adequate living conditions. According to the report, Heinma agrees with that assessment in some cases. He argues, for instance, that elephants should no longer be kept in Tallinn. They can spend time outdoors in warm weather, but when temperatures fall they must retreat to a relatively small elephant house.
Where the sides differ
The department heads say the director treats animal welfare in overly absolute terms. Former zoo director Mati Kaal compared the issue to people being able to live happily both in a castle and in a one-room apartment in Mustamäe.
An even sharper disagreement concerns animals whose conditions have been judged inadequate. The key question is whether they should remain in their current enclosures until old age or whether those enclosures should be emptied as soon as possible.
Last Tuesday, the six department heads reportedly concluded that further talks with the director would be unproductive and decided to appeal to Tallinn city leaders. Tallinn Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan said he is not yet ready to take a position on the dispute.
