Hollywild Animal Park has not received any formal letter of warning or notification of an “ongoing investigation”, according to park officials in a response to media queries late Wednesday.
A routine inspection from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in July resulted with four violations (non-compliant items – NCI) at the animal park. The report concluded a capuchin was wearing a long chain around her waist causing discomfort and the park failed to meet sanitation and facility standards.
“(Violations) are embarrassing and it’s the hardest part of my job,” said David Meeks, Executive Director at Hollywild. “You don’t make excuses you make adjustments.” One such adjustment will be hiring a veterinarian on staff.
A routine inspection on Feb. 5 found 15 violations and specifically cited the park for an insufficient number of adequately trained employees knowledgeable in veterinary care. Cited was an addax with an injured eye, a wolf-dog hybrid suffering from seizures that had to be euthanized, and non-human primates that were never vaccinated.
Meeks said he consulted with a vet when a horn pierced the addax’s eye and the fluid leaked out. “When you lose the liquid you lose the eye,” Meeks said. “The best we could do was keep the addax from having pain with medication. We also ask our staff to walk through the habitats before cleaning to spot inconsistencies with the animals.”
“There will be imperfections. When an inspector come she has to write what she sees. This is not a report card,” said Meeks.
The USDA found no violations during inspections from April and June.
The USDA visitor in June signed in as “investigator”, said Kim Atchley, spokesperson for the park. Typically the person is an “inspector”. “We have a signed affidavit completed by that USDA ‘investigator’ indicating all items were corrected.”
The park is federally licensed by the USDA for “exhibiting” animals.
Tonya Espinosa, spokesperson at the USDA, said, “Our goal is all our facilities are in compliance and animals are being taken care of. We inspect as often as we can and they are all unannounced.”
The firestorm began when PETA, an agency in conflict with zoos and animal parks, on Aug. 28 released an embellished version of the USDA’s findings. As a result a concerned frequent Hollywild visitor inquired about the charges to the animal park’s officials and the park felt obliged to post a response on the park’s Facebook page.
Meeks explained the USDA’s visits are both “routine and follow-up inspections”. Follow-up inspections come as part of the agency’s regular process and if it receives calls of concern from the public.”
Meeks said visitors might mistake a habitat as non-conforming. “An example is bowls of water we used for our primates. The chimps threw the bowls and they were without water. We provide suction now so they always have water. Visitors, not seeing bowls or the suction, may come to the conclusion our primates aren’t getting water.”
Espinosa said the USDA, “encourages the public to report suspected violations. We also have a lot of facilities that self-report violations.”
“Inspections have a correction date (typically 30 days) and sometimes we can correct right on the spot,” Meeks said. “An inspector told us to take down a sawed off tree to a stump. She said it could be used as a launching pad for animal. I thought it was best for a scratching pad. We removed the stump.”
Typically an investigation could result in no action, an official warning, a fine or heard by an administrative judge,” said Espinosa. “No fines have been attribute to Hollywild.”
“We are ready to get back to the business of what we do here,” Meeks said. “Our mission is to prove an interactive and enlightening experience for our visitors, as we continually improve the lives of our animals in an enriching and respectful manner. If USDA inspectors came out today, we have every expectation of a clean report.”
Meeks has invited media to Hollywild on Thursday for a question and answer session.