Haifa Educational Zoo employees are suspected of slowly killing guinea pigs and rabbits by freezing them to death in a refrigeration cell.
An investigation into the suspected abuse by the Agriculture Ministry last summer found that caregivers admitted to culling the furry creatures by putting them in the deep freeze rather than through euthanasia.
Due to their quick reproductive rate, the zoo must kill some of the creatures every so often to control their population. According to the Animal Welfare Act, however, zookeepers may only euthanize an animal in a manner that minimizes suffering.
The Haifa municipal Society for Culture, Art, and Sports, which funds the zoo, reported that the facility’s chief veterinarian and her two assistants were fired.
The zoo’s director expressed disapproval of the incident and said all measures will be taken to prevent a recurrence.
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