Hybrid wolf escapes from Cork open farm which was previously criticised for recapture efforts 

A wolfdog, or hybrid wolf, at Rumley's Open Farm

The open farm from which a hybrid wolf escaped on Friday was previously criticised by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) due to “repeated” animal escapes and “very lackadaisical” efforts to recapture them.

The hybrid wolf, or ‘wolfdog’, went missing from Rumley’s Open Farm in Waterfall, Co Cork, last week and remains at large, having been sighted in the countryside about four miles away on Saturday.

A wolfdog is a hybrid produced by the mating of a domestic dog with a wolf. The escaped animal is a cross between a German shepherd and a Carpathian grey wolf, which is the largest species of wolf outside North America.

A highly critical inspection report from 2019 reveals a history of animal escapes from Rumley’s, many of which involved invasive alien species that posed a threat to local biodiversity in the area.

It said attempts to recapture animals were either drawn out, unsuccessful or resulted in the animals being shot. At the time of the inspection, a meerkat and a parrot were missing from the farm with “no robust plan” to get them back.

'Multiple escapes'

The inspection also found a number of enclosures were “at risk of imminent collapse”, creating the “potential” for further escapes. It referred to “multiple escapes” from the farm and said some of these had not been reported.

The wolfdog was spotted in the Co Cork countryside on Saturday.

Inspectors also expressed “major” concerns regarding animal welfare at Rumley’s and all of its exotic animals were rehomed with the help of the NPWS as part of a “managed closure” of this part of the zoo in 2020.

Asked about the report, Ivan Rumley said exotic animals were “complex creatures” and admitted the business had lacked “enough staff experience to give them the care they needed”.

“To be honest, we were probably a victim of our own success because, when we found that the domestic animals were so popular with our customers, we wanted to provide more for them and then decided to broaden our horizons and start keeping exotics,” he said.

“We had great assistance from the department in ensuring all of our exotic animals were rehomed accordingly to suitable accommodation where they can thrive.” 

Mr Rumley said it had been a “difficult decision” to move forward as a “domestics-only” farm, but this was “ultimately in the animals’ best interests”. He said the farm would not be getting exotic animals in the future.

In relation to the escaped wolfdog, he said the animal had got out of its enclosure on Friday after 12 years on the farm without escaping, and added it was the first recorded escape since enclosures had been upgraded in recent years.

Mr Rumley said:

This is a very shy wolfdog as he runs away when he sees anyone, which is making it more difficult to catch him. 

“We have cages up in a few areas to catch him. We would like to thank the public for all their help to capture him,” he added.

2019 report

The inspection report from June 2019, which was released under freedom of information laws, shows NPWS officials raised concerns about sanitation during their visit, noting maggots and rodent faeces were present in a food preparation area, while “large rats” were spotted elsewhere on the site.

They found meat defrosting in a sink that drained onto a children’s playground, and reported effluent from a pig enclosure was running into a duck pond. Cleaning standards in the animals’ accommodation was “poor, bordering on disgusting”, they said.

A pony was found lying on its side because its hooves had grown too long for it to stand without pain. It was fed using the same shovel that was used to remove its faeces.

A kookaburra, which was fed every second day instead of daily, was observed to be bleeding from the back of its mouth. When inspectors insisted the bird be brought to a vet, it was transported in a broken cat carrier that contained “considerable” faeces from another animal.

There was “considerable faecal contamination” in the aviaries, which contained electrical cables that had been stripped bare by parrots and contained live wires that were exposed.

Inspectors speculated a number of birds may have died as a result of electrocution, but this could not be confirmed because no records were maintained of animal deaths and “minimal” post-mortem examinations were performed.

“In discussion, it was clear the zoo operator did not understand how to fill in an animal inventory and document their stock numbers,” the inspectors noted in their report.

They added there were “no experienced nor technically competent animal-keeping staff present at the zoo”.