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Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21812, 18 June 1936, Page 10

When Joey, the Dunedin sea-lion, died at the Wellington zoo on May 5 it was announced that he had been poisoned. In spite of a careful analysis of the sea-lion’s internal organs no proof was forthcoming fo support this theory, and the Wellington. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is now seeking a public retraction of the poison announcement. “In view of the fact that a careful analysis of the remains of the sea-lion had revealed no trace of poison, the committee considered that it would only be courtesy on the part of the official responsible for the unsubstantiated accusation against the citizens of Wellington publicly to express regret for the unwarranted aspersion,” says a statement issued by the society. The announcement that the sea-lion had been poisoned was made by the curator of the zoo, Mr J. Langridge, after a preliminary examination of the dead sea-lion, made by himSelf, Colonel A. R. Young, the zoo’s honorary veterinary surgeon, and Mr H. Lesoeuf, a Government veterinary officer. “The society is barking up the wrong tree,” said Mr Norman, the town clerk of Wellington, on Tuesday. “We received a certificate from Colonel Young that the sea-lion had died as a result of poison, and the certificate still stands. The tests that were made did not reveal the nature of the poison. On the other hand, they did not show that the sea-lion had not been poisoned. The position remains that the certificate supplied to us holds good.” I *