News-Letter

National Zoo director Lucy Spelman left her post amid controversy. (courtesy of http://natzoo.si.edu) [Click to enlarge]

Last week, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., witnessed the resignation of their controversial director Lucy Spelman. Spelman resigned due to a report published by the National Academy of Scientists (NAS), stating that her oversight caused the death of rare animals.

The NAS is a collection of biologists, scientists and zoologists that study different organizations dealing with live animals.

Last year, reports found animals were dying at the zoo. The organization investigated and found several well-publicized species, including two red pandas, died after eating rat poison buried in their yard by exterminators trying to get rid of rodents.

According to The Washington Post, a NAS panel report released Wednesday said many animals are not receiving adequate preventive care, including physical exams, vaccinations and tests for infectious diseases. It also faulted the zoo for shortcomings in the animal nutrition program, which the report said had contributed to the high mortality.

The death rate at the zoo has dropped from just over 10 percent to seven percent in recent years, the report said. But according to CNN.com, the panel chairman Michael Roberst stated that those rates were not compared to other zoos, though that is something the panel hopes to do before publishing its final report this summer.

The report also said that the problems with adequate preventative care dated back to 1998, where records of vaccinations and other examinations were filed badly. Some of these medications may not have even been administrated.

Other animals that have died as a result of maltreatment include the highly prized African zebras and the Australian kangaroo, which were imported from overseas.

Tourist attraction, according to the Post, has not waned. Administrators, in a recent interview with the Post, stated that visitation will not decrease due to controversial reports on maltreatment.

Currently, the zoo is operating under a provisional accreditation from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. They will decide in the following weeks whether to extend that accreditation for the usual five-year term, something it declined to do last year.

In a recent interview with the Post, Spelman stated that she was unsure of her next career venture.

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