NAPLES DAILY NEWS (Florida) 06 December 07 Zoos, owners of dangerous animals subject to a few new rules (Julio Ochoa)
Local zoos should have no problem complying with new state requirements for owners of potentially dangerous animals.
The rules, adopted Thursday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, will require owners of venomous snakes and other dangerous animals such as lions, tigers and bears, to keep a list of names and addresses for all contiguous landowners and neighbors. Animal owners also must have a disaster plan, describing what they will do if a hurricane, flood or fire occurs.
“This is one added measure that the licensee will know who their neighbors are and reach out to them and explain to them what the requirements are,” said Capt. John West, an investigator for the FWC’s captive wildlife division.
Should an animal escape, the owners are required to notify the FWC, which would then notify surrounding homeowners.
The rule was not created to single out zoos, West said. It’s more for private homeowners who keep potentially dangerous animals on their property, West said.
The rule arose from concerned homeowners who had no idea they were living next door to potentially dangerous animals.
“When things escape, it’s usually because of a lack of attentiveness of the owner or a structural failure,” West said. “The animal doesn’t attempt to get out.”
Most zoos already have safeguards and evacuation plans in place, said David Tetzlaff, executive director of the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens.
The 43-acre Naples Zoo is surrounded by an 8-foot fence with barbed wire. It’s venomous snakes are kept under lock and key.
“For a snake to even get out, they have to go through three locked doors and their enclosure,” Tetzlaff said. “We treat them very, very carefully.”
In order to get accredited, the zoo has to meet a very rigorous set of requirements, including having an emergency plan for escapes, hurricanes and floods, he said.
“Our feet are held to a different fire,” Tetzlaff said. “When a zoo is accredited, you can guarantee that these plans are in place.”
To meet FWC’s requirements, the Naples Zoo will have to keep the phone numbers for Collier County and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida on hand.
Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs will have to notify its neighbors to the north.
The Bonita zoo, which is fewer than 5 acres, also is surrounded by an 8-foot fence, as is required by federal law. It has bears, crocodiles and lots of venomous snakes, said owner/operator David Piper.
“We’ve been here since 1936 and never had an animal get out,” Piper said.
Over the years a few animals have escaped from the Naples Zoo but none were potentially dangerous. About five years ago, an antelope escaped and two years ago a scared guenon monkey swam across a canal to the mainland.
“My hope one day is that zoos are treated differently than private owners,” Tetzlaff said. “An accredited zoo is not the same as a backyard enthusiast.”
Zoos, owners of dangerous animals subject to a few new rules

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