Sydney, August 31:An Australian zoo that sold endangered antelope to a hunting enthusiast has been barred from trading in animals until an investigation into the incident is completed, a media report said Monday.
The Sydney Morning Herald said authorities in New South Wales state imposed the ban after the Western Plains Zoo sold 16 blackbuck antelope to Bob McComb, who owns a property he wants to turn into a game reserve.
Blackbuck antelope, which are listed as threatened in India and Nepal, are prized by hunters for their large spiral horns.
The Herald said McComb, a member of pro-hunting political group called The Shooters Party, was part of a push to allow trophy hunting on specially designated game reserves, including his own property, the Dongadale Deer Park and Stud.
The newspaper said documents acquired under government freedom of information laws showed that the state-run zoo, located in the rural town of Dubbo, sold the animals to McComb for less than half their market value.
It claimed the documents also showed that assurances from the zoo that it insisted on safeguards in the sale contract preventing the antelope from being hunted were untrue.
The Herald said the New South Wales minister responsible for the zoo, Carmel Tebbutt, had demanded a report on the zoo’s trade in animals.
“In the meantime, the zoo has suspended such transactions with private operators,” it quoted the minister’s office as saying.
Western Plains Zoo said the animals were transferred to a registered deer stud for breeding purposes only and that it was fully committed to protecting animals.
“The zoo is at its heart dedicated to animal welfare. There is no history of mistreatment of animals that have been transferred from its care,” it said in a statement.
“The zoo is currently not trading animals with any private operators and a review is under way to ensure that all possible measures are taken to ensure the welfare of animals is maintained once they leave the zoo’s direct care.”
Tebbutt’s office declined to comment further on the report when contacted by AFP.
–Agencies