Humane Society Files Complaint Against Zoo in the Death of Animals : Animal Care: It says the zoo and a transportation company are guilty in death of four animals.

The Humane Society of the United States has filed ethics complaints against the San Diego Zoo and an animal transport company, alleging that both are guilty of “gross negligence” in the treatment of four San Diego Zoo animals that died en route to a Massachusetts zoo in April, officials said.

Lisa Landres, a Humane Society investigator based in Washington, said her office has filed the complaints with the ethics committee of the American Assn. of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA), which is looking into the deaths of the four carnivores that were trucked to the Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro, Mass.

In addition, she said, the HSUS has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for alleged violations of federal animal welfare regulations.

“San Diego (Zoo) made an unwise choice,” Landres said, explaining that she believes carnivores of this type--a fishing cat, a sloth bear and two palm civets--should be shipped by air, not by truck. “It’s a combination of making a very bad choice and then having a transporter who obviously did not feed or water the animals. . . . The whole thing was preventable. We’re talking gross negligence.”

San Diego Zoo officials, who on Wednesday had expressed outrage over the animals’ treatment and called for an AAZPA investigation of the shipper, the Zoological Animal Exchange, on Thursday rejected the suggestion that they were partly to blame.

“The facts are that 13 healthy animals were put on a truck in San Diego, and four of those arrived dead on the East Coast,” said Jeff Jouett, a zoo spokesman. “The issue is the quality of care received in transit, not whether the animals went by plane or by truck. The hauler was licensed by the USDA, was registered with the AAZPA, and came with good references from zoos who had used them before.”

He added: “Lisa Landres has no experience moving carnivores of any type for the San Diego Zoo. And it’s disappointing but predictable to see a lobbying organization like HSUS take a stance without knowing the facts or having an understanding of the issues involved.”

Landres, a one-time San Diego Zoo elephant keeper, resigned last fall because, she said, the zoo was punishing her for being outspoken about the beating of the elephant Dunda in 1988. She said Thursday that her former employer is passing the buck.

“San Diego needs to take a little responsibility here,” she said. “They knew this was a bad decision. Ultimately, they were their animals. They are the ones who loaded them on the truck. They were responsible.”

The four animals that died were part of a larger shipment hauled by the Zoological Animal Exchange, a hauler based in Natural Bridge, Va. On the same truck were several other San Diego Zoo animals, including six Nubian ibex, a wild goat species, for the Bronx Zoo in New York and a Sumatran tiger for Zoo Atlanta in Georgia.

Spokesmen for the Bronx Zoo and Zoo Atlanta said Thursday that their animals arrived in good condition and have remained healthy. But Dennis Branchaud, the superintendent of parks in Attleboro, Mass., who oversees the Capron Park Zoo, said that, when the truck pulled up in late April, his staff was horrified to find their four animals, a gift from the San Diego Zoo, dead of apparent dehydration.

A woman who answered the telephone at the Zoological Animal Exchange said the company’s owner, Eric Mogensen, would not comment on the complaints.

Jouett said a San Diego Zoo curator had recommended that the animals be flown instead of trucked--a process that is generally believed to be less stressful for animals that are traveling long distances--but that the three receiving zoos did not heed that recommendation.

“We fly animals whenever possible. It is our preference. But it is not always possible,” he said. “But to say that carnivores shouldn’t be trucked is ridiculous. The pertinent issue is how the animal is cared for from point A to point B. Whether it is eating meat or eating hay has absolutely nothing to do with it.”

The San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park is the largest mover of zoo animals in the world, Jouett said. Last year, the zoo alone moved 410 mammals. Two died, both of them herbivores.

“We’ve used trucks, planes, boats, and animals arrive alive and well if the transporter is qualified, competent and experienced,” Jouett said. “We had every indication and reason to believe when the driver left here that the animals were in capable hands. Our impression now is that is not the case.”

James Doherty, the general curator of the Bronx Zoo, said that his staff had arranged to transport only the ibex via the Zoological Animal Exchange, which he had used before.

“We made the arrangements for the ibex to be picked up and, as far as we knew, they were the only animals on the truck,” Doherty said, noting that it is quite common for hoof stock to be trucked. “We knew nothing about Zoo Atlanta or the other zoo. . . . I don’t know of anyone at Capron Park Zoo. I’d never heard of it before. I knew nothing about a tiger going to the Atlanta zoo.”

He added, “It’s unfortunate the way it came out.”

Dr. Terry Maple, the director of Zoo Atlanta, said his staff had arranged with San Diego to “piggy-back” on the Bronx Zoo’s scheduled shipment.

“There was no debate about it. We said, let’s use the shipper that’s already coming,” said Maple, who said that this week he heard for the first time that San Diego would have preferred flying the animals. “I understand (now) that San Diego felt that the shipment of animals should have been flown. That was not an option that we discussed with the sender that I know of.”

Branchaud, meanwhile, said that, although he signed off on the choice of the Zoological Animal Exchange, which he had used before, he was not involved in arranging the transport. He said all he knew was what the San Diego Zoo told him--the date he could expect the animals to arrive.

“All I knew is they were coming on that date,” he said. “We were just the ones who had to discover the sad news.”

“We’re extremely upset over the whole business. It hurt us quite a bit,” he said. Recently, he said, the San Diego Zoo has replaced one of the dead animals with a healthy sloth bear. It arrived by plane.

The USDA regulations regarding animal transportation specify that live animals be offered fresh water at least every 12 hours and fresh food at least once in each 24 hour period, and that a sufficient quantity of food and water accompany the animal during transit. Drivers are also required to visually observe the animals no less than once every four hours.

The USDA also requires that the owner of the animal, in this case the San Diego Zoo, provide written instructions to the hauler concerning the food and watering requirements of each animal being transported. Jouett said this was done.

“The animals traveled with keeper transfer documents that included their diets and care requirements,” he said. “We explained the individual animals’ personalities and care requirements to the driver. We offered containers of water, meat, feeds, hay, feline diet and were told by the driver, ‘No, thanks, I’ve got it under control.’ ”

A spokeswoman for the AAZPA, Karen Asis, said she could not confirm or comment on any formal investigation, but acknowledged that the case “is under serious consideration by the AAZPA.” She said the group’s ultimate recourse would be to suspend any member found guilty of wrongdoing. But it is unlikely any action could be taken before this fall, she said.

San Diego animal rights activists said the animal deaths raise questions about how well the AAZPA is monitoring its members.

“How many incidents does it take to prove that we must have an independent body to govern Zoo activities,” Sally Mackler, director of San Diego Animal Advocates, said in a statement.

Times staff writer Pat McDonnell contributed to this report.