Oregon Zoo justifies keeping elephants captive by claiming to contribute towards “in-situ” elephant conservation. They claim this by funding the Sabah Wildlife Rescue Unit, as well as vacation training trips of zoo personnel to Borneo. Well, it’s starting to appear that the funds were mismanaged: injured wildlife not receiving care & treatment and the veterinary staff not being paid or equipped with resources to do their job. In addition, they are also allegedly enabling workplace harassment by the chief Dr. Sen Nathan.

Local groups in Malaysia are asking for a thorough audit of the funds mismanagement. The government is now investigating the allegations.

A veterinarian who quit her job at the Sabah Wildlife Department cites in an open letter, numerous cases of flagrant financial and ethical violations. The letter is to be read in full, but this particular paragraph sums up the sad consequences of the mismanagement.

Our sincere thanks to the whistle-blower for boldly bringing these facts to light despite the risk of retaliation.

It is interesting that this Dr. Nathan is the same person who had the gall to stake claim for Chendra, back when we started calling for her retirement to a sanctuary after her miscarriage. He lied then that Chendra was doing well, contrary to all evidence that she was suffering from severe foot disease, obesity and a bout of tuberculosis that preceded the miscarriage. We even put up a post to refute the lies he spewed. Sadly, it doesn’t come as a surprise to us that someone with such a sordid character is chosen by the zoo to work closely with.

One would hope that Portland tax payers’ money did not go to fund this sleazy person’s whims. FOZE is calling for a thorough audit of the funds that were provided to WRU in Sabah, and establish how much of it has been mismanaged. Since Oregon Zoo is funded through tax-payer money, it is imperative that they are transparent on this issue.