National Zoo's Record Eyed Anew
Questions are being raised again about the treatment of animals at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
CBS News Correspondent Joie Chen
several animal deaths that some call troubling over the last few years have tarnished the zoo's reputation, and some outsiders are calling for change.For months, zoo visitors have focused on the future, Chen observes, oohing and ahhing over new cheetah cubs, and wondering whether the pandas will soon be parents.
But an old concern threatens to drown out the upbeat news.
In a review of zoo records, five animal experts told The Washington Post there are new causes for concern. The report details the deaths of five animals last year, including several whose illness weren't accurately diagnosed and treated in time to save them.
"The thing that alarmed me most," says Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the U.S., "is that here it goes again, that the National Zoo, which has had this series of problems, has yet another set of problems."
Zoo officials insist the newspaper is making up a controversy.
"Reporting on the deaths of five animals out of 700 or so that were treated last year by a veterinary staff … to be honest, it struck me as kind of old news," says David Evans, the zoo's interim director.
A certain number of animal deaths is unavoidable, even expected, in a collection as large and diverse as the one at the National Zoo, Chen points out. But no one can say exactly how many deaths are normal.
No one suggests deliberate wrongdoing, she adds, and zoo officials acknowledge that treating wild animals is a challenge.
Notes Evans: "Your doctor is always going to be dealing with human beings. One species. Last year, our vets treated 250 different species."
Still, says Chen, critics fear the latest deaths may be a sign that officials are doing too much, too quickly as they try to bring new life to the old zoo.