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During last week’s hearing on the animals seized from the Natural Bridge Zoo, the topic of previous inspections by the USDA was raised by the zoo’s attorney.
Mario Williams asked Amy Taylor of the state Attorney General’s Office if she knew that the zoo was regularly inspected by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
She responded that Virginia’s standards are significantly higher than the USDA’s. She went on to cite, though, a 2015 report from the USDA, which found the zoo in violation of attending veterinarian and adequate veterinary care standards.
While the contents of the USDA inspections were not discussed in court, The News-Gazette looked into the three most recent inspection reports and the 2015 one alluded to by Taylor.
Inspectors this year reported only two “noncritical” noncompliant items at the zoo, one in January and one in June.
In June, according to the USDA report, “An inspector present on June 16, 2023, witnessed several enclosures that allow direct public contact with the animals without a readily identifiable attendant present. A large number of enclosures only have a primary enclosure fence, either metal chain link or horizontal wood beams, that allow the public to directly contact the animals through the fencing gaps.”
The zoo was given two weeks to correct this, “By ensuring there is either a responsible, knowledgeable, and readily identifiable employee or attendant present at all times during periods of public contact or sufficient distance and/or barriers between the animal and the general viewing public.”
In the inspection report filed last January, officials had noted a habitat in need of maintenance.
“A shelter in the muntjac pen near the gift shop is in a state of disrepair,” reads the report. “Sharp edges, holes in the floor, unstable ceilings, and paint can cause injury or harm to the animals.”
The zoo was again given two weeks to correct the issue, which does not appear on later reports.
A pre-license inspection in July of 2022 found no noncompliant items.
According to the January 2015 USDA report mentioned in court last week, “The Program of Veterinary Care (PVC) for this facility lacks specific guidance for the care of animals. Several species of animals are maintained by the facility by not listed on the PVC,” and “Thirty-five individual animals were identified by APHIS officials in need of veterinary care at the time of inspection.”
The USDA also took issue with expired medications and the fact that “gunshot” was included under the PVC’s means of euthanasia.
In a follow-up inspection in March, the number of animals in need of veterinary care was down to seven. Issues with veterinary care are also noted in May and December of that year, but at a level the USDA considered “noncritical”.
Records of an August 2016 inspection note more animals, including a monkey, sheep, and several goats, in need of veterinary care, and found the zoo’s veterinary records lacking.
This inspection also flagged insufficient enrichment, particularly for the zoo’s primates, and a number of facility issues, including habitats in need of repair and failure to maintain the perimeter fence.
