USDA charges unlicensed animal exhibitor Scotch Plains, NJ (US) Date: May 1997 Disposition: USDA Citation Persons of Interest: Harold D Kafka Deborah Kafka

Case ID: 6323 Classification: Unlawful Trade/Smuggling Animal: captive exotic View more cases in NJ (US) Login to Watch this Case

In May 1997, the U.S. Department of Agriculture charged licensed animal exhibitors Deborah and Harold Kafka, doing business as Scotch Plains Zoo in Scotch Plains, N.J., with violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

APHIS inspectors found that the Kafkas failed to:

-- maintain programs of disease control and prevention, euthanasia, and adequate veterinary care under the supervision and assistance of a doctor of veterinary medicine;

-- store supplies of food so as to adequately protect them against deterioration, molding, or contamination by vermin;

-- construct and maintain facilities for nonhuman primates that included a structurally sound perimeter fence at least six feet in height;

-- keep the premises clean and in good repair;

-- maintain structurally sound housing facilities and keep them in good repair so as to protect the animals from injury, contain them, and restrict the entrance of other animals;

-- maintain complete records showing the acquisition, disposition, and identification of animals;

-- provide a sufficient distance or barrier between animals and the general viewing public;

-- develop, document, and follow an appropriate plan for environmental enhancement adequate to promote the psychological well-being of nonhuman primates;

-- provide animals with wholesome and uncontaminated food;

-- keep water receptacles clean and sanitized;

-- keep primary enclosures clean and sanitized;

-- establish an effective program for the control of insects, external parasites, and birds and mammals that are pests;

-- provide a suitable method to rapidly eliminate excess water from outdoor housing facilities for animals;

-- store supplies of food for nonhuman primates in a manner that protects them from spoilage, contamination, and vermin infestation;

-- construct indoor housing facilities with lighting appropriate for the species involved and sufficient to permit routine inspection and cleaning;

-- provide animals kept outdoors with adequate shelter from direct sunlight and inclement weather;

-- provide for the removal and disposal of animal wastes so as to minimize vermin infestation, odors, and disease hazards; and

-- notify the APHIS animal care sector supervisor of an additional site of their business within 10 days of the change.

References

USDA -  May 21, 1997

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