The Ministry for Primary Industries is investigating allegations of animal mistreatment at a Taranaki zoo.

Pouakai Zoo’s owners, however, say they “love our animals and abide by all rules and regulations”.

Ministry for Primary Industries director of compliance and response Glen Burrell said a complaint over the welfare of the animals at the zoo had resulted in an investigation, and an MPI official would visit the site today.

“We take animal welfare seriously and will investigate complaints where there are concerns about the mistreatment of animals.”

The zoo keeps lions, meerkats, gibbons, chinchillas and capuchin monkeys at the Hurworth site, south of New Plymouth.

The capuchin monkeys in Pouaki Zoo.

The zoo is privately owned by Xincai Liu and Adam Can Horne, who took over the business a decade ago.

Taranaki Animal Save activist Summer Jayne said a member of the public came to her alleging the mistreatment of animals.

Jayne claimed the capuchin monkeys were suffering from hair loss and were constantly scratching due to a skin condition.

They also demonstrated behaviours, she alleged, related to “zoo psychosis”, which included pressing their heads against walls, throwing wood at the cage and compulsively peeling paint from the walls.

“Stressed donkeys are paddocked just a few metres away and in full view of five African lions, lethargic and depressed animals without any space to run or display natural behaviours,” Jayne claimed.

“This neglect of basic hygiene standards raises questions about the zoo’s commitment to providing a suitable environment for its animals.”

Donkeys and lions at Pouakai Zoo.

Zoo owner Adam Can Horne said they had received “a lot” of complaints in the past.

“We love our animals and abide by all rules and regulations.”

He talked to the guests openly if one of the animals was sick or injured and used it as an “educational opportunity”.

He was upset the activists did not engage with them directly and instead decided to lay a complaint with MPI and added they had received harassment on social media.

A capuchin monkey peels the paint off the walls in its enclosure.

Animal welfare trust Helping Animals Help You said it had offered to take in the capuchin monkeys. Founder Carolyn Press-McKenzie said they started taking in primates in 2007.

“We’ve established somewhere safe for monkeys to go where they can retire away, where they are off display.”

She said it was important to provide monkeys with foliage that replicates their natural habitat. Photos from the Pouakai Zoo show barren concrete and fraying ropes.

Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall visited the Helping Animals Help You primate habitat two years ago and said she “loved the enclosure”.

A spokesperson for the SPCA said as the zoo was a commercial business, it was “outside their remit”.

An investigation has been launched into the welfare of capuchin monkeys and other captive animals at the zoo.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.