SPCA heroes help give Hazina the hippo hope

Here's hoping Vancouver's most famous hippo gets a new home.

Hazina the baby hippo, star of those cute Telus ads from a while back, is the subject of a huge animal rights cause celebre in our pet-friendly town. Local media gave a lot of coverage to her plight this week (Check one AFP summary here).

Prosecutors are finally charging the Greater Vancouver Zoo with animal cruelty for keeping their 450 kg celebrity alone in a dark shed on a concrete floor for nearly two years. Four other hippos have already died at the zoo prematurely.

Normally, I don't spend too much time thinking about animal rights. I'm an unrepentant meat eater and I have no compunction about wearing a cow hide leather jacket in the winter. But needless suffering for any form of life is just tragic.

Hazina's keepers (captors?) should see what life is like in a confined space for a long time. If justice is done, they will.

tags: Vancouver, Greater Vancouver Zoo, Telus, Hazina, hippo, hippopotamus, zoo, cruelty, animal rights