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USDA Zoo Report Finds No Animal-Care Issues in Toledo, Ohio

Posted on: Friday, 29 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

Jul. 29--Federal inspectors on a routine inspection Tuesday of the Toledo Zoo cited several structural problems, including a hydraulic door that had "crashed down" months ago while being raised in a hippo pen.

But zoo officials said they were proud to pass muster when it came to animal-care practices.

An inspection report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, released Wednesday, outlined several violations of the USDA's rules regulating zoos.

The most striking violation was the one regarding the hippo gates in the indoor housing area, which "was reported to have malfunctioned and lost hydraulic power and came crashing down," the report stated.

Daron Graves, the zoo's associate curator of large mammals, said he told the inspector about the incident, which occurred in late March.

"When a keeper was opening the gate, the gate came crashing down flat to the ground," Mr. Graves said. "It was a blessing no animals were there."

Mr. Graves said his department stopped using the gate, and contractors were brought in to look at it that week.

"It took us awhile to figure out that what we had is no longer made," Mr. Graves said. Engineers were brought in to design a better system and bid for it - a process that has taken several months.

"This has been a big concern for the vets and the mammal department," Mr. Graves said. "If you rush it and duplicate what you had, 10 years down the road you may have the same failure. They're trying to make a fail-safe system."

The USDA ordered the zoo to replace it by mid September - not just that gate, but all five gates in the indoor hippo holding area, all reported to be over 20 years old.

Mr. Graves said he expects a third bid to be in within a week, and the repair job to take six to eight weeks.

Until then, he said, a keeper will stand within the hippo area while the gates are raised, to make sure the animals are not in danger.

Some gates block off others, allowing keepers to raise them without fear of animals being close.

The report also cited five vials of injection medications in the veterinary pharmacy that had expired by several months. Zoo officials said the medications have been disposed of properly.

The only other violation found was minor: frayed rubber strips around a door in the rhinoceros area. Mr. Graves said he would have that repaired within a week.

"As far as the place being shabby or the animals being cared for, we came out clean. It was a good inspection," Mr. Graves said. "We had our act together."

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Source: The Blade

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