Petting zoo at centre of kangaroo controversy not coming back to Aurora

The petting zoo at the centre of a kangaroo controversy will not be coming back to the Aurora Chamber Street Festival, or any Aurora Chamber event.

Brian McCartney, president of Law Insurance Brokers Limited, said his company hired and sponsored Tiger Paws Exotics to run the petting zoo.

Tiger Paws Exotics will not be coming back next year, McCartney told CityNews on Monday.

The sentiment was echoed by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce.

“We will no longer be allowing the petting zoo at the street festival […] and Tiger Paws Exotics will not be included in any Aurora Chamber event going forward,” Sandra Watson, events manager at the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, said Monday.

McCartney said it’s the first time his company has received any complaints in 15 years.

A kangaroo laying down in a pen during the street festival sparked controversy over the weekend, with many attendees complaining about its treatment.

“Tiger Paw has done it for seven years, including the petting zoo portion and pony rides,” McCartney said.

Over the weekend, people at the street festival said it was too hot for the kangaroos, there was little shade, and the pen was small.

Stephanie Nikolach, who was at the festival with her boyfriend and his sister, said Monday “there were a lot of signs that something wasn’t right.”

“If I saw a dog in a car like the way this kangaroo was acting – it was literally foaming out of mouth, I would have broken the window open and save the dog,” Jonathon Cole, her boyfriend, said over the weekend.

McCartney said the majority of complaints came from the kangaroo exhibit and he would be contacting some of the people who complained.

“Yesterday was a cool day, it was overcast and it was windy,” McCartney said. When the sun came out, he said Tiger Paw did put up a shade.

The animals “had food, they had water,” he said.

“We’re here for the whole event. Most people come in for five-to-10 minutes and it’s tough to take a snapshot. I witnessed all the animals getting food and water, as well as interacting with the public. However with that said, we do take the complaints and concerns [seriously], and we will be looking into it and taking action accordingly.”

Cole said there were two porcupines in a cage and that they were fighting each other to get shade.

He was so alarmed at the hot conditions and small pens, he called the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA). Cole said that after the OSPCA visit, all of the animals had adequate shade.

Nikolach said they also confronted the man who ran Tiger Paw, Tim Height, but he was not receptive.

“Once we confronted him and he realized we cared about the animals, he began to just kind of sass us and tried to make us seem like we knew nothing about animals,” she told CityNews.

Like Cole, she was happy with the speed of the OSPCA’s response, but had hoped they would have done more.

“I’m really happy with how quickly they went about it, but I wish they could’ve done something more and try to shut it down right then and there,” she said.

OSPCA inspector Brad Deward told CityNews on Monday that an officer was dispatched to the festival. However, he couldn’t say whether the OSPCA had investigated Tiger Paw before.

He did say an OSPCA zoo inspector would be doing a follow-up.

“What happens when one fails to provide the standards of care will depend on a number of factors that make up the process of an investigation. A person, owner, care giver or guardian may face charges,” Deward said.

Watson, of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, said she is in contact with the OSPCA.

“We reached out to the OSPCA to find out what their plans is as far as the investigation. […] We do not condone animal cruelty in any form,” she said.

Read the article Brian McCartney, president of Law Insurance Brokers Limited, sent to the Aurora Chamber of Commerce: