Court orders Ouwehands Zoo to prove it legally acquired endangered hornbills

Ouwehands Zoo until the middle of April to prove it legally obtained two rufous hornbills which were donated to the Rhenen animal park in 2009. If it fails to do so, Nature and Nitrogen Policy Minister Christianne van der Wal will be allowed to seize them, the District Court in Midden-Nederland ruled on Tuesday.

The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) conducted a sample search of ten types of animals, including the two birds, in 2021. It was concluded from the study that the zoo could not prove that the hornbills were born and bred in captivity. There was a lack of papers demonstrating the animals' heritage, which constitutes unlawful possession.

Ouwehands Zoo said this is not the case, and the zoo could assume that the animals had been bred once they were donated because they had closed leg rings. When this is true, there is not supposed to be further administrative obligation, the zoo argued. Ouwehands Zoo said the birds were donated by someone from the Czech Republic who further explained the legal origin of the hornbills.

However, the minister and the court did not agree that closed-leg rings were enough evidence to prove this. Closed rings with papers from the breeder could prove that the birds were bred in captivity, but the zoo did not have those papers.

The birds have gotten used to their location in the zoo and their carers, and there are fears that they would not adapt well to a new location, according to the Ouwehands Zoo. However, the court dismissed this notion, saying that is not a good enough reason to keep the birds there. International rules state that an animal must be taken away from anyone who has obtained it illegally.

The minister could transfer the birds to somebody else after seizing them. This would give them the same status as if they had been acquired legally.

Ouwehands Zoo was disappointed and angered by the court's decision and said it will appeal. "We will do everything to protect the animal welfare of the hornbills," said the director, Robin de Lange.

"The ministry has indicated that the birds will go to an as yet unknown storage facility. This move will be stressful, and the new location will be no better than the current enclosure. It is expected that they will disappear into a small enclosure somewhere behind the scenes."