By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Every one to three years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services performs surprise inspections on some 8,000 zoo facilities around the nation. Earlier this month it was the Brit Spaugh Zoo's turn. Zoo Curator Ashley Burdick said the USDA found no non-compliant items.
"They are looking for the standards they put out by the Animal Welfare Act," she said. "They are regulating our mammals - our cats, bears, and primates. They're looking to make sure the animals are healthy, that their exhibits are in good repair - there's no rust, that we're taking good records, that our animals are getting the enrichment they need, they have the space they need.
"They also look at our kitchen and vet clinic to make sure those are all clean, and that we're keeping our food storage and other storage items in a good way. They also check the drugs we have for the animals and make sure nothing is outdated."
The Animal Welfare Act sets standards for the humane care and treatment of certain animals that are exhibited to the public, sold for use as pets, used in research, or transported commercially. Brit Spaugh Zoo received no non-compliance items, but was instructed to fix some rust on an old exhibit ahead of the next inspection.
Burdick credited her staff for keeping the facility clean and following the protocols that lead to the proper treatment of all the residents.
"We just make sure we're cleaning at a high standard every day, making sure that we're doing our best every day for the animals," she said. "Most of our policies we have in place that we follow daily are on the guidelines they set."
Some of those guidelines include disinfecting certain areas at least once a month and providing enrichment entertainment to the animals.