Orana Park safety ‘under review’

Press, 24 April 1980, Page 6

Orana Park safety ‘under review’

An onlooker at the reset jf a young girl who was mauk 1 by a lioness at Orc 1a Park on April 19 has cal’e for a public irquuy into safety measures at the k.

Mr R. 1 Cook, of Christ-, church, s..id yesterday. that the present inquiry into the incident was being conducted in secret. Inadequate safety measures, not park staff or the girl’s parents, were to blame for the incident, he alleged. The Ministry of Agriculture has given an assurance that safety precautions at the park will be reviewed. The Ministry’s regional veterinary officer (Mr H. G. lockdale) said that sever; measures, including the '.commissioning of more 'fetive posters, were being wed with the park’s ma ffißrit. There was no JiSm and it was oishrm natWr Cook had be® left with t® impression, Iqjfrsaid. ® “The not close® we are calling iff some art to see i? they can come up\with mor?, effective notices,said M Stockdale. “It mayHbe a que tion of putting kflip mo., notices.” Mr Cook suggesqkl th-

another barrier be erected thus placing thr .e -erices between the lions and the public, as was th-.- case in the drive-through section of the park. Alternatively, one fence could be electrified as a deterrent to be th the lions, and the public.

Mr Stocxdale said that another barrier would be a possibility but he ruled out an electric fence: the public would net accept the risk of suffering a shock and a •shock could just as easily throw a person on to the fence r.s away from it. The park’s management was investigating the erection of fencing of finer mesh round all animal pens to stop people from putting their hands into , the pens. A fine-mesh netting was put on the barrier round the £ ’ pen almost immediafter the incident in / j Melanie Dickinson, f 1 two, was mauled. J ’r Cook said that at the J eof the incident the fence f I consisted onlv of three

strands of No. 8 wire. Although he had not seen how the child had got through the fence he believed she had simply crawled under or through the wire.

Mr Stockdale said that this was possible but that it would probablj r never be known for certain how she had got so close to the lions. Bus drivers who regularly take sightseeing tours to the park have signed a statement saying that the safety conditions and park staff are beyond reproach. The statement, signed by 23 drivers, says, “As much as we sympathise with the child, we feel that parents should be more diligent in their supervision of children in the park. The park wardens are forever emphasising the safety regulations to the visitors as these are constantly being disregarded.” The injured child was last evening reported to be in a comfortable condition in the Christchurch Hospital.