State auditors who have been looking into Hogle Zoo's business practices have also raised questions about some Bighorn Sheep the zoo sold to a private party.
It's entirely possible, they say, the private party resold the animals to a hunting ranch to be hunted and killed by paying customers.
John Hollenhorst has more on this story.
The issue arises out of an old problem at zoos: What to do with baby animals.
Here at Hogle, officials believe they have strict policies to make sure the animals get good homes.
But in the case of eight Desert Bighorns, they may have been worth more dead than alive, at least to someone.
You may be surprised how often Hogle Zoo sells animals...about 170 in the last five years, everything from meerkats and lizards, to giraffes and camels.
Wayne Welsh/Legislative Auditor General: "THEY HAVE BEEN BREEDING MORE THAN THEY NEEDED AND SO THAT'S WHY THEY HAD TO SELL THEM."
Auditors say nearly all the animals get appropriate homes in accredited zoos.
Kimberly Davidson/Utah's Hogle Zoo: "WE DO THE BEST WE CAN, AND I'M VERY CONFIDENT IN MY DISPOSITION POLICY AS BEING VERY STRINGENT, PROBABLY ONE OF THE VERY BEST IN THE UNITED STATES."
But auditors have serious concerns about the sale of eight Bighorn Sheep in 1997 and '98.
Hogle sold them to the private Hemker Wildlife Park in Minnesota for prices ranging from $150 to $1,000 a sheep.
Owner Mark Hemker signed agreements not to resell them for private hunting.
Recently, auditors sent a veterinarian to Hemker's property and he couldn't find any of the Hogle sheep. Hemker was allegedly beligerent and refused to explain or document their fate.
WAYNE WELSH/LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR GENERAL: "WE ONLY HAVE SUSPICION. WE DON'T HAVE ANY EVIDENCE. BUT IT'S A POSSIBILITY THEY WERE SOLD TO GAME RANGES WHERE THEY WERE USED AS TARGETS FOR GAME SHOOTING."
A few days ago, Hemker told Hogle officials he still has two of the sheep, but six died of pneumonia.
Kimberly Davidson/Utah's Hogle Zoo: "IF HE SAYS THEY DIED, WE KNOW THAT CAN HAPPEN. WE KNOW THAT'S A PART OF LIFE, THAT IS A PART OF THE PROGRAM."
A book called "Animal Underworld" traces a so-called Black Market in exotic animals.
Customers on hunting ranches pay big money to shoot Bighorns.
Especially if they have, well, big horns.
The book calls Mark Hemker "exactly the sort of middleman that... is an inappropriate trading partner for accredited zoos."
Hogle officials say they've seen no evidence Hemker is a middleman. But they did stop doing business with him in 1999 because he provided no documentation of the first two pneumonia deaths.
Auditors say the zoo needs to be more careful who they do business with.
