WP: Chicago Zoo Under Fire Over Deaths (some previously unpublicized)

[DeepModem Mom]

Chicago Zoo Under Fire Over Deaths
Inquiries Multiply As Criticism Mounts
By Kari Lydersen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 27, 2005; Page A03


CHICAGO -- The first thing visitors see entering Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo is the elephant enclosure, empty since the well-publicized deaths of the three elephants in less than two years. The deaths have fueled a national debate over whether elephants should be housed in northern climates.

But the elephants' deaths are only the most publicized after a rash of animal deaths in the past six months at the Lincoln Park Zoo, a free zoo north of downtown beloved by generations of Chicagoans. Three langur monkeys, a camel, three gorillas and a 17-day-old marmoset are among the other animals that have died recently, and a gibbon's arm was amputated. Critics attribute the deaths and amputation to poor conditions and negligence.

The critics, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), have called for a change of management. Zoo President and CEO Kevin Bell offered to resign, but the zoo's board did not accept his offer. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investigating the zoo, and the Cook County state's attorney's office is monitoring the USDA investigation. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association is completing an audit, and the Chicago City Council is considering a nonbinding resolution to prohibit elephant exhibits.

"According to whistleblowers who have come to us, there is a problem with inexperienced keepers and insufficient training," said PETA staffer Debbie Leahy. "And the vet care seems to be what suits the zoo, not what's best for the animals."...Mayor Richard M. Daley, who has called the zoo one of the city's "jewels," has defended Bell and the zoo and said there is no need for an investigation....

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PETA said several zoo employees have come to them with information about previously unpublicized animal deaths, including those of the camel and the marmoset, which the zoo later confirmed....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052601471.html

[Sannum]

1. what is going on over there?

:(