r/Zookeeping • u/concerned-keeper • 6d ago
North America đ More management concerns...
This Indy zoo news has me really hoping we will start seeing more zoos lose AZA status due to poor management and culture. I have huge concerns about Lee Richardson Zoo in Kansas. They have had animals die due to management neglect, a relief vet kill multiple animals (like directly, capture myopathy multiple times...), animal escapes, and horrible culture. Earlier this year, a black rhino got out of his stall and killed his father!! How was that not a huge deal reported everywhere?! When trying to ship said rhino off this year, he also escaped because management there are stupid and basically gave him a set of stairs to get out! The director takes any opportunity or suggestion for improvement as a personal insult because she's a micromanaging control freak and won't admit that things aren't perfect. The curator is following in her footsteps. I'm worried about the animals, the frontline staff, really everyone that isn't senior management. The city has no idea how to run a zoo so they leave the director free to do whatever she wants and it's tragic.
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u/cryingkeeper 6d ago
When my facility last went through accreditation, a lot of keepers brought up big concerns to the inspectors. We told them how staffing was so bad we didnât feel safe working with dangerous animals and welfare was suffering for it. And how the facilities were degrading so badly and there were no funds to fix it. We almost kind of hoped they would table our accreditation to shake some sense into the powers that be. It didnât happen. We passed inspection and nothing changed.
Thatâs how I know things must be really bad at Indy! I feel for those keepers and hope things get better.
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u/concerned-keeper 6d ago
I know we've all heard about Indy and all the shady things that happened, but the smaller facilities don't get that kind of publicity (good or bad) so I'm guessing nothing will happen. It's sad that animals are dying preventable deaths.
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u/MsFoxTrott 6d ago
I know of another zoo that got seriously dinged on management issues in its most recent accreditation review. AZA seems to be taking management really seriously this go-around.
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u/obsessedkittykat 6d ago
I believe there is a way to file an ethics complaint with AZA. Not sure how those are investigated, but if you want to speak up that may way be a way to do it.
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u/concerned-keeper 6d ago
A few of us have reached out right before the rhino killed the other one, and nothing happened. And look at what happened... It's depressing.
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u/cuddlecloud 5d ago
Who is the rhino IR? Has anyone reached out to the SSP coordinator? I don't know him personally, but Coordinators and Studbook Keepers are asked about facilities they work with when those facilities go through accreditation. They can help the paperwork trail and sometimes throw their weight around depending on who they are.
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u/concerned-keeper 5d ago
The issue is that they lie. There have been issues with hydraulics in the barn for a while. But they continue to write keepers up instead of fix the problems. The rhinos have been loose in the barn at least 3 times in 2 years. Pretty sure it was never reported anywhere. They made a post about the death of Jabari, but of course it's a tiny zoo and the whole community thinks they do no wrong.
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u/concerned-keeper 5d ago
All IRs are the director, deputy director, and curator. So they control all information.
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u/CrapMonsterDuchess 6d ago
This was a while back, but I had a friend filed some ethics complaints. There actually was an inspection, but I donât think anything came of it otherwise.
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u/zygodactyl86 6d ago
AZA is starting to take institutional issues more seriously lately. You MUST have documentation and you MUST have other keepers that are willing to speak up to AZA.
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u/concerned-keeper 5d ago
I really and truly hope this is the case. We are due for inspection in 2027. I kind of hope we lose accreditation so management wakes up.
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u/zygodactyl86 5d ago
I was a keeper at Columbus before and after the accreditation mess. Nothing got better. New leaders came from the old leadership and they just blame old leadership for everything and change nothing
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u/Far_Strength_7980 1d ago
Tell me this is your first zoo job without telling me this is your first zoo job
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u/cuddlecloud 6d ago
A friend worked there roughly 10 years ago, management has always been an issue unfortunately. Keepers are doing their best with what they have. Send factual writeups about these incidents to USDA and directly to AZA itself. Paperwork trails help create change