A federal inspection this month of Hogle Zoo found a dozen maintenance, repair and sanitation violations, but nothing serious, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture official.
Veterinarian Ron DeHaven, Western regional animal-care supervisor at the USDA in Sacramento, Calif., described the violations as "routine and certainly not extraordinary, although there are quite a few of them."While there are more of them than I would like to see, I don't believe anything represents an immediate hazard or danger to the animals," he said.
The USDA inspection was conducted June 11 and 12, and DeHaven said a re-inspection is planned to ensure the identified violations are corrected. The department usually takes enforcement action only when the same problems are found during consecutive inspections.
Andrew Wallace, the zoo's spokesman and marketing director, said all the problems "have been corrected or will be corrected by the dates specified by the USDA."
Last November, the zoo agreed to pay a $25,000 fine to settle civil charges that it violated the federal Animal Welfare Act. That case stemmed from a USDA investigation into problems at the zoo in 1993 and 1994, including the deaths of two giraffes that slipped and fell, and the deaths of two gazelles killed by coyotes that penetrated the zoo's perimeter fence.