Variance Revoked for New River Zoo



Stroud Given 60 Days to Remove Dangerous and Exotic Animals



By Ron Fitzwater



The Ashe County Board of Commissioners met in regular session Monday, April 20, with several items before



them for consideration including a request from Ashe County Project Graduation for financial assistance and passage of a resolution opposing North Carolina Senate Bill 758 to transfer responsibility of secondary roads from the state to the counties. However, it was debate over a variance that took the bulk of the board's time.



Following the standard opening procedures, Commissioners heard from Dianne Eldreth and Vickie Herman of Ashe County Project Graduation who came seeking $3,500 to offset the costs to provide the event to Ashe County High School graduates.



Project Graduation has been a graduation night tradition for 17 years, during which time no graduation night fatalities have taken place.



Following a short PowerPoint presentation, the pair requested assistance in funding the event.



"Funding in the past has not been a concern, but this year has not been so good," Eldreth said.



"This year Walmart decided that we were too big of a liability being set up in their parking lot like we have done in the past, so we were banned from Walmart. Lowes [Home Improvement] let us set up beside them up on the hill, but the flow of traffic just wasn't the same. Also, our main supporter in the past, Norman Cheek's Toyota of Boone, was sold recently, so all of that has really messed us up."



Following some complements from board members on the program, the commissioners approved a one-time donation of $3,500 to the program.



Ashe Animal Control Director Jeff Jones presented evidence before the board, which had been requested by them for the purpose of determining whether or not Keith Stroud could continue to harbor exotic animals within the county. Ashe County Ordinance 90.07, Non-domestic Animals, states, "No person shall possess or harbor any non-domestic animal(s) which are dangerous to persons or property or which have the potential of being dangerous to persons or property." Stroud has been operating the zoo under a variance to ACO 90.07.



Several violations, complaints from members of the community and two biting incidents have caused the zoo to be closed more than open for more than a year now, and Stroud was present, along with some volunteers, to try and persuade the board to rule in his favor.



"The zoo is temporarily closed pending the commissioners' review of information you directed me to obtain. As we were instructed by the board, Animal Control Officers have been to the location various times since the last meeting and we did find a drastic improvement since the last report that you received," Jones said.



Jones highlighted several troublesome issues that were identified during the inspections such as instances of untreated wounds, unexpected death and malnutrition among some, but not all, of the animals at the facility. A veterinarian used by Stroud had made the suggestion that some of the animas at the zoo be euthanized. In one case, the body of a spotted leopard, which Stroud was storing in a freezer, was sent to the Northwestern Disease Diagnostic Lab in Elkin to determine the cause of the animal's death. "Preliminary results suggest that the cause of death was hypothermia and malnutrition," Jones said. In spite of all of that, Jones commented that by all appearances Stroud was attempting to get the facility into compliance.



For his part, Stroud appealed to the board for continued leniency stating that he did care for the animals, but several factors including the poor economy and waiting for American Zoo and Aquarium Association accreditation had kept him out of complete compliance with the board's requirements for continuing the variance.



"Yes, my place was in bad shape the day they came, but I had to go out of town for some things and I did have some difficulty, but some of the animals in bad shape were animals that I had just acquired," Stroud said.



"Now I have tried to jump through all the hoops you guys want me to and I have done everything except for the [American Zoo and Aquarium Association] accreditation."



Stroud gave explanations for the violations that had been listed in the report to the commissioners and, along with zoo volunteers who spoke on his behalf, appealed to the board to not remove the variance.



The board was not moved as a whole and, with Commissioner Gerald Price casting the lone 'no' vote, the commissioners revoked the variance allowing Stroud to harbor exotic animals and gave him 60 days within which to remove the animals from the county.



Stroud, who at first seemed unclear as to what was being decided, was highly displeased with the outcome of the proceedings and angrily reacted to the commissioners' decision.



"I hope you have thought about what you are doing. I hope you'll be happy with your decision because I think you all are wrong." Leaving abruptly, Stroud fired one last shot at the board, saying, "You're all a bunch of jerks, you know that?" before storming from the courtroom.



In other business, the commissioners approved County Tax Administrator Keith Little's monthly report without debate, proclaimed April 20 through 24 the Week of the Young Child and appointed County Clerk Ann Clark to the Long Term Care Community Advisory Committee.



Additionally, the board approved a resolution to oppose North Carolina Senate Bill 758, which if passed into law would transfer responsibility for secondary roads to the counties. Commissioners believe such a transfer of responsibility could result in property tax increases of up to 10 cents.



The Ashe County Board of Commissioners meets the first and third Monday of each month at 3:30 p.m. in the small third-floor courtroom in the Ashe County Courthouse. Meetings are open to the public.



Nancy (who is wondering WTF is wrong with people in NC these days????)



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