Ocean Park is being criticised for its shoddy handling of three wild boars that got trapped in a water ride, which allegedly resulted in two of the animals dying.
A spokesperson for Ocean Park told Apple Daily that park staff found a small wild boar trapped in the flume of Raging River on May 18. The ride was temporarily suspended as staff took the injured piglet away, and it reportedly escaped the park and was seen fleeing into the hills.
Around 20 minutes later, staff conducted another search after receiving a report of two more boars at Raging River but turned up empty-handed, and the ride was resumed.
The next morning, park staff found two boars apparently drowned to death in one of the ride’s water catchments, but failed to notify their immediate superiors until a week later.
Representatives for Ocean Park say the case has since been referred to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, which will investigate how to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future.
A concern group for Ocean Park’s treatment of animals has hit out at the amusement park for failing to halt the ride, its delayed response in reporting the case to the AFCD, and the lack of preventive measures in place.
“Wild boars are native to the Southern District and they’re well known for coming down the hillside to look for food,” the group said in a Facebook post. “This could have easily been prevented if the flume was elevated to be out of their reach.”
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