The Hamilton City Council has pleaded guilty over the death of a senior zoo staff member who was killed by a tiger.
Hamilton Zoo curator, Samantha Kudeweh, was killed in the enclosure of Sumatran tiger Oz on September 20 last year.
In March, WorkSafe New Zealand announced it would prosecute the council for failing to take all practical steps to ensure the 43-year-old was not exposed to hazards arising out of working with Oz.
This morning, council representatives Lance Vervoort and chief executive Richard Briggs sat in the public gallery of the Hamilton District Court as their lawyer, Mark Hammond, entered a guilty plea on behalf of the council to the charge.
Judge Sharon Otene convicted the council and remanded it to reappear for sentencing on September 13, a week before the anniversary of Mrs Kudeweh's death.
The charge carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
A restorative justice conference will also be held between family and council executives.
Mrs Kudeweh's husband, Richard, her sister, Desiree and brother Fraser, along with her mum, Judy, were in court this morning to hear the council admit its guilt.
Outside court, Mr Kudeweh said their family had lost a much-loved member because of the council's carelessness.
"Our kids Billy and Sage have lost their mum, Judy and Lindsey have lost their daughter, Fraser and Desiree have lost their sister, I lost my wife. Obviously the rest of our families, friends and workmates have lost beautiful Sam as well.
"For us, we understand Sam is not coming back and it is very important to us that the people who are responsible own up to that, and do something about it. Today the people responsible for the health and safety breach that ultimately killed our Sam have been made to take responsibility for that."
However, it shouldn't have taken nine months for the council to accept what happened, he said.
"Hamilton City Council leadership, who are ultimately responsible for the health and safety breach, could have owned that responsibility since September 20 last year. They haven't, and in turn have done so much more damage to us because of it."
Mr Kudeweh said there had been "many opportunities for those people to own that responsibility", including by making crucial changes after a near-miss involving a tiger and a staff member in 2013.
"In 2013 an animal keeper made a mistake. A gate was left open within the tiger complex. The tiger went through that gate then proceeded to follow the keeper through a number of gates. Eventually that tiger caught up with the keeper, fortunately the keeper was able to get out of that situation without harm. This was a major wake-up call."
He said every effort should have been made then to make sure it never happened again.
"It wasn't. Sam was killed."
- By Belinda Feek of the New Zealand Herald
