Dublin Zoo has disputed allegations made in the Seanad about animal welfare.
The animal park says the claims are wholly misleading and contain inaccurate clinical assessments.
It comes after Labour Senator Annie Hoey detailed concerns raised by former and current zoo staff in the Seanad yesterday, including about animals going missing.
She also spoke about Harry the Silverback Gorilla who died in 2016 and how staff were worried about his behaviour and that he'd lost weight;
"Keepers repeatedly asked for a vet to examine him and eventually a vet was called and he died shortly after. This is one of the hardest stories for me to hear from the many staff I spoke to, as the pain in their voice over how Harry was treated in the run-up to his death, was unbearable."
She says she sanitised the details of what happened;
"But I saw the photos of Harry at the end and he suffered greatly."
In a statement, Dublin Zoo says "at no time did any member of staff come forward to Dublin Zoo regarding issues raised in the Seanad"
It went on to say "Dublin Zoo is widely recognised as having a world-renowned standard of animal care. The physical and psychological wellbeing of animals in our care is the number one priority, and ensuring every animal lives out its life to the full is paramount to Dublin Zoo. "
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