USDA inspection report reveals animal deaths at Jungle Reef in El Paso
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection report revealed several violations were found at Jungle Reef, located in El Paso's Shoppes at Solana, which included the death of two animals.
A female adult budgie, a type of bird, died three days following an initial discovery of a possible health problem that was not reported to a veterinarian, and a female Bennett's wallaby was killed by a "crush injury" from a gate, according to the report.
The USDA report, released in August, detailed their failure to "promptly report health issues to the attending veterinarian" which "resulted in delayed veterinary intervention that could have stopped the progression of the bird's decline."
It adds this prolonged discomfort or suffering for days.
Video footage shows a nine month old Bennett's wallaby named "Jupiter" was killed by a crush injury when it placed its head inside a gap on the hinge side of the open primary enclosure gate, and the gate closed while the animal's head was in the gap, according to the report.
USDA report explains this occurred while workers were bringing a large load of hay inside the enclosure while the young wallaby was allowed roam free in the area.
The attending veterinarian was notified, but the animal died from it's injury after only a few minutes.
Following this incident, the facility installed a guard covering to prevent future entrapment of animals during gate operation, according to the report.
The report also reveals other violations at Jungle reef which include improper feeding and failure to provide animal care records for four adult rabbits.
The report notes Jungle Reef did correct these issues at the time of the inspection conducted on August 20.
ABC-7 has reached out to Jungle Reef following these findings, but have not heard back.
In an article released by our news partners, El Paso Matters, owner of Jungle Reef, Jon Hepworth, was asked about Jupiter's death.
“We had a former employee, who is no longer with us, not watch, she opened up the door and it crushed her. It was awful. It was the saddest thing," Hepworth told El Paso Matters.
"Hepworth said he and staff are still recovering from the trauma of Jupiter’s death, but are considering acquiring another wallaby as a companion for Wally," El Paso Matters reports.
“Being in the animal world is very fickle. You’re going to have people that hate you no matter what you do,” Hepworth told El Paso Matters. “It doesn’t matter how good I get. I am always learning and, every year, I always get better. It doesn’t matter how good I get, you’re going to get reviews. You’re going to get people that don’t want to see these animals in captivity – that’s just the truth of it.”
