Animal Care and Management at the National Zoo: Final Report
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. F0336CC10376 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Smithsonian Institution, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US government.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
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COMMITTEE ON THE REVIEW OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION’S NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK
R. Michael Roberts (Chair),
University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
Joseph W. Alexander,
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Bradford S. Bell,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Kurt Benirschke,
University of California, San Diego, California
Janet Brannian,
University of Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Charles Capen,
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Rhetaugh Graves Dumas,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Lester Fisher,
Chicago, Illinois
Harold F. Hintz,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Maxim Kiefer,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Rebecca Remillard,
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Angell Animal Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Bernard A. Schwetz,
Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, Maryland
Thomas Yuill,
University of Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Mapleton, Utah
Stephen L. Zawistowski,
American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, New York, New York
Consultant
Samuel H. Preston,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Staff
Jennifer Obernier, Study Director
Jamie Jonker, Study Director (until June 2004)
Tanja Pilzak, Research Associate
Donna Lee Jameison, Senior Project Assistant
Kathleen Beil, Administrative Assistant
Norman Grossblatt, Senior Editor
Susan Vaupel, Editor
Kori Brabham, Intern
Johnny Hernandez, Intern
Tasha Sassville, Intern
BOARD ON AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
May Berenbaum (Chair),
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
Sandra Bartholmey,
University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois
Deborah Blum,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
H. H. Cheng,
University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
Barbara P. Glenn,
Biotechnology Industry Organization, Washington, DC
Linda F. Golodner,
National Consumers League, Washington, DC
W. R. (Reg) Gomes,
University of California, Oakland, California
Perry R. Hagenstein,
Institute for Forest Analysis, Planning, and Policy, Wayland, Massachusetts
Janet C. King,
Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, California
Daniel P. Loucks,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Whitney Macmillan,
Cargill, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
Terry L. Medley,
DuPont Agriculture and Nutrition, Wilmington, Delaware
Ole Nielsen,
Ontario Veterinary College, Canada
Alice N. Pell,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Bobby Phills,
Florida AandM University, Tallahassee, Florida
Sharron S. Quisenberry,
Virgnia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia
Sonya B. Salamon,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
G. Edward Schuh,
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Brian J. Staskawicz,
University of California, Berkeley, California
Jack Ward Thomas,
University of Montana, Missoula, Montana
James H. Tumlinson,
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
B. L. Turner,
Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
STAFF
Robin Schoen, Director
Karen L. Imhof, Administrative Assistant
INSTITUTE FOR LABORATORY ANIMAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Peter A. Ward (Chair),
University of Michigan Medical School, Pathology Department, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Stephen W. Barthold,
University of California, Center for Comparative Medicine, Davis, California
William C. Campbell,
Drew University, Madison, New Jersey
Jeffrey Everitt,
GlaxoSmithKline Research and Development, Comparative Medicine and Investigator Support, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
Michael F. Festing,
Leicestershire, United Kingdom
Estelle B. Gauda,
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
Janet C. Gonder,
Pinehurst, North Carolina
Coenraad F.M. Hendriksen,
National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Central Animal Laboratories, Bilthoven, Netherlands
Jay R. Kaplan,
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Comparative Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Hilton J. Klein,
Merck Research Laboratories, Department of Laboratory Animal Resources, West Point, Pennsylvania
William Morton,
University of Washington, Regional Primate Research Center, Seattle, Washington
Randall J. Nelson,
University of Tennessee, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Memphis, Tennessee
Abigail Smith,
University of Pennsylvania, University Laboratory Animal Resources, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Michael K. Stoskopf,
North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, North Carolina
Peter Theran,
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Angell Animal Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
STAFF
Joanne Zurlo, Director
Kathleen Beil, Administrative Assistant
Preface
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration, chaired by U.S. Representative Robert W. Ney (Ohio-18th district), is responsible for oversight of the Smithsonian Institution, which administers the National Zoological Park (National Zoo) and the Conservation and Research Center (CRC). Following a hearing held by the Committee on March 5, 2003, in which House Representatives questioned the zoo director regarding concerns about animal care and management, Congress requested a science-based review of the quality and effectiveness of animal care and management at the zoo by the National Academies. In response to this request, the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources and Institute for Laboratory Animal Research convened a committee to conduct the review. The detailed charge to the committee is as follows:
“A committee of experts will be appointed to assess the quality and effectiveness of animal management, husbandry, and care at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. and the Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia. The study will identify strengths, weaknesses, needs, and gaps in the current infrastructure and provide recommendations on changes needed to ensure effective management and care of the NZP's animal collection. The study will provide a description of the system currently in place, the elements and characteristics of that system, and the changing nature of concerns surrounding the system. The committee will examine the historic and recent problems with animal health and animal science practices at the zoo, including recent reports on zoo operations and a scientific examination of the causes of recent animal deaths. The committee will review the NZP within the context of the larger zoo community, identifying unique aspects of the environment in which the NZP operates. The committee will evaluate the communication and coordination of the various divisions of the zoo that impact animal care, analyze the use of resources, and outline attributes of an enhanced system to ensure the health and well-being of the animals at the NZP. In addition, the committee will evaluate recent and ongoing changes in zoo operations. An interim report identifying the most pressing issues in animal care and management and aspects of the system in need of immediate attention, will be delivered at the end of the initial 6 months of the study. A final report that provides a comprehensive assessment of the zoo, outlines attributes of an enhanced system to ensure the health and well-being of the animals, and includes the committee's final recommendations, will be delivered at the end of 12 months.”
In view of the complexity of the National Zoo, any review of it, even the current one, which is focused narrowly, requires a wide array of expertise. Accordingly, those recruited to form the Committee on the Review of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park included persons experienced in zoo management and operations, nutrition, veterinarian medicine, pathology, industrial management, leadership and group relations, toxicology, safety issues in the workplace, animal disease, zookeeping, animal welfare, and animal physiology. Dramatic changes have occurred in animal care and management at zoos over the last few decades as procedures have become more science-based and as deeper knowledge about the captive needs of individual species has
appeared in peer-reviewed, accessible literature. Accordingly, professional standards have changed, and the bar on accreditation has been raised substantially. More is demanded of staff in training and expertise. The design of exhibits is expected to be educational and humane and to be responsive to the needs of the captive animals they hold. Specific regulatory standards have been established by the Animal Welfare Act and are enforced by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and by the requirements of the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. National Research Council reports provide science-based guidelines for all institutions that maintain animals, including industry, universities, and zoos on animal nutrition (the Animal Nutrition Series) and the care and use of animals used in research (Institute for Laboratory Animal Research publications). Additional standards and guidelines have been developed by professional organizations such as the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, the Zoological Registrars Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Nutrition Advisory Group of the AZA. Many of those organizations have annual proceedings that contain new and revised opinions on how to care for zoo animals and manage them appropriately. The committee has reviewed much of that literature and has judiciously used various sources of information to formulate its findings.
In addition to its reliance on published information on how zoos should operate, valuable information was obtained from experts at two National Research Council-sponsored workshops and from previous evaluations of the NZP by AZA, USDA, and the Smithsonian Institution itself. Committee members visited the zoo’s Rock Creek Park (Washington, DC) and Front Royal, VA, campuses to view the facilities and to meet staff members on all levels of management and animal keepers. The first visit to the Rock Creek Park campus was in August 2003 at the beginning of the committee’s deliberations, the second in April 2004, a few weeks after the publication of its interim report. Some of the meetings were arranged and organized by the Research Council staff; others were informal and spontaneous and occurred as the result of chance encounters when committee members were walking through the grounds and buildings. Committee members had open access to the entire NZP operation and had the opportunity to inspect the facilities much as the public views them but also behind the scenes in areas that the public rarely visits. Many one-on-one interviews with NZP employees were conducted to gain insight into perceived weaknesses and strengths of the NZP operation. In addition to those interviews, NZP staff members were encouraged to submit information to the committee through Research Council staff in such a manner that their identities could be protected. Their impressions were discussed during the committee’s deliberations, and lists of concerns were identified. As a result, several thousand pages of records and documents were requested from NZP management and were carefully reviewed. After its earliest deliberations in the late summer and fall of 2003, the committee decided which concerns were most pressing and described them, with a series of recommendations, in its interim report, Animal Care and Management at the National Zoo: Interim Report.
The final report of the committee details a more comprehensive evaluation of animal care and management at the zoo. This is an especially opportune time to explore the weaknesses and strengths of operations at the zoo, and the committee hopes that its final report will provide a balanced evaluation to provide a foundation on which the National Zoo can move forward with confidence to make it a first-rate institution. We believe that the report will also be of value to other zoos, many of which may have problems similar to those discussed in the interim and final reports.
R. Michael Roberts, Chair
Committee on the Review of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park
Acknowledgments
This report represents the integrated efforts of many people. The committee thanks all those who shared their insights and knowledge to bring the document to fruition. We also thank those who provided information at our public meetings and who otherwise participated in our public sessions.
During the course of the committee’s deliberations, many people gave generously of their time to provide advice and information that were considered in its deliberations. The following deserve special thanks:
Robyn Barbiers, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois
Greg Bauman, National Pest Management Association, Raleigh, North Carolina
Kathryn A. Bayne, Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, Rockville, Maryland
Val Beasley, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
Mark Edwards, Zoological Society of San Diego, San Diego, California
David Evans, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Nathan Flessness, International Species Information System, Apple Valley, Minnesota
William Foster, Birmingham Zoo, Inc., Birmingham, Alabama
Michael Hutchins, American Zoo and Aquarium Association, Silver Spring, Maryland
Don Janssen, San Diego Wild Animal Park, San Diego, California
David Jessup, California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, California
Lynn Kramer, Denver Zoological Gardens, Denver, Colorado
Denny Lewis, American Zoo and Aquarium Association, Silver Spring, Maryland
Marty MacPhee, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Orlando, Florida
Terry Medley, DuPont Agriculture and Nutrition, Wilmington, Delaware
Tom Meehan, Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, Illinois
Linda Munson, University of California, Davis, California
Christian Newcomer, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Craig Reed, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia
Lee Simmons, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha, Nebraska
Henry Sims, Jr., University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Lucy Spelman, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC
Andrew Teare, Jacksonville Zoological Gardens, Jacksonville, Florida
Paul Tesluk, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Steven Thompson, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois
Eduardo Valdes, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Orlando, Florida
Paul Vinovich, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC
Ann Ward, Fort Worth Zoo, Fort Worth, Texas
Richard Watkins, US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC
Rosanne Whitehouse, University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thomas Wood, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
The committee is especially grateful to the staff members of the National Zoo who took time to speak with the committee about the zoo and its operations and who provided information essential for the committee’s work. The staff’s candid, timely, and thoughtful input greatly facilitated the committee’s efforts. The committee also appreciates the National Academies staff members who worked diligently to maintain progress and quality in its work. The study and the resulting reports would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the two study directors, Jamie Jonker and Jennifer Obernier. A special acknowledgement is also due to Bill Kearney (director, Media Relations), who helped guide the committee through the challenges associated with a highly publicized subject.
The report has been reviewed in draft form by persons chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards of objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following for their review of this report:
Val Beasley, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
Scott Carter, Detroit Zoo, Royal Oak, Michigan
Victoria Clyde, Milwaukee County Zoo, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Ellen Dierenfeld, St. Louis Zoo, Saint Louis, Missouri
Cindy Driscoll, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Oxford, Maryland
Timothy Gage, University at Albany, Albany, New York
Larry Glickman, Purdue University, Department, West Lafayette, Indiana
David Jessup, California Department of Fish and Game, Santa Cruz, California
Marcie Jones, Lakeside Nature Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Fred Quimby, Rockefeller University, New York, New York
Thomas Meehan, Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, Illinois
Craig Reed, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia
Bruce Rideout, Zoological Society of San Diego, San Diego, California
Mark Stetter, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Paul Tesluk, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Steven Thompson, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by John Dowling, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts and Harley Moon, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the author committee and the institution.