Jackson Jambalaya

Rotten food fed to animals.  Mold.  Few employees.  Expired drugs.  Rat infestations.  Such were described in a USDA report on the Jackson Zoo.   The report speaks for itself: 

* The facility is failing to maintain their veterinary hospital that houses the Black Vulture in good repair. At the time of the inspection, the APHIS official observed approximately three inches of standing water in the hospital hallway and offices. The building smelled strongly of mold. The ceiling of the hallway and office had wet insulation hanging down and exposed rotten wood. The ceiling area in front of the sheltered housing for the Black Vulture enclosure was patched with plywood and smelled of mold. The roof has a hole that is approximately two feet in diameter. The roofing tiles are missing in some areas with the gutters pulling away from the roof. The treatment room smells of mold with black fuzzy organic material visible in the corner near the scale. 

* The facility does not have appropriate facilities to comply with the Animal Welfare Regulations. * The facility is maintaining expired Ciprofloxacin, Meloxicam, Sucralfate, Epinephrine, Dexamethasone, and Noromectin in their pharmacy available for use for regulated animals. * The facility has substantial evidence of pests. In the animal diet preparation area and bedding storage building, the floor behind the bedding has a heavy accumulation of rodent feces. There are rodent feces and urine on bags of unopened feed. The building also has an accumulation of cobwebs behind feed storage and on the ceiling. This building stores food and bedding for all animals.

While the facility has instituted the use of rodent traps, it isn’t an effective method of pest control.

* At the time of the inspection, the inspector identified a backed-up drainage pipe in the Ruffed-Coat Lemur building. The facility manager stated the drainage system in this building is clogged and is not functioning. * Almost all the enclosures on the property are surrounded by tall weeds, grass, and overgrown bushes. Many of the weeds and grasses have grown to more than 10 feet in height around the enclosure housing a Colobus monkey. * the facility manager stated that he does not have sufficient help to facilitate adequate animal care, husbandry, cleaning, and maintenance of the facility. This is evident in numerous areas of the facility, as noted by the areas of disrepair and ineffective pest control throughout the facility documented in this report. There are currently nine employees to carry out all aspects of animal care for 85 animals.