1. NC Zoo Response to Animal Escape

2. NC Zoo  Large Land Mass (2000 acres)  Rural Location  Heavily Wooded

3. Primary Containment

4.  Approximately 1500 animals of 225 species  Several “Dangerous Species”

5. Secondary Containment  8 foot tall perimeter fence

6. 14,500 Linear Feet of Perimeter Fence

7. Escaped Animal Recapture Procedure  Written Document  Quarterly Drills  Firearms Training for Key Personnel

8. Incident Commander Operations Commander Weapons TeamVeterinary TeamCapture Team Park Rangers Zoo Com (Internal and External Communications) Media Relations Outside Agencies

9. Incident Commander  Oversees all Operations  Makes Key decisions  Interfaces with outside agencies  Coordinates Zoo teams

10. Outside Agencies  Randolph County Sheriff’s Department  State Highway Patrol  North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission  North Carolina Forestry Service  Eastside Volunteer Fire Department  Notified if Animal Breeches Perimeter Fence or Serious Injury or Death

11. Operations Chief (Capture Coordinator)  Coordinates all aspects of animal recapture Weapons Team (Dispatch animal if necessary) Veterinary Team (Dart Animal if possible and necessary) Animal Keepers (gather necessary equipment, man gates, assist with capture of non-dangerous animals)

12. Park Rangers  Communications  Crowd Control  Traffic Control  First Responders in case of injury (Rangers are EMTs)  Call 911 to notify outside agencies if necessary

13. ZooCom  Part of Ranger Section  Monitors all radio traffic  Records Radio Traffic During Event  Documents events as they occur  Coordinates Communications

14. Media Relations  Brief State Agencies as Necessary  Brief News Media as Necessary

15. First Tier Dangerous Animals

19. Second Tier Dangerous Animals

21. NC Laws Governing Keeping of Exotic Animals

22. No State-wide Legislation  North Carolina is one of 20 states that has no ban or state-established rules on owning exotic animals  The state makes it illegal to own indigenous wild animals such as cougars, bobcats, deer, squirrels or skunks.

23. Attempted State-wide Legislation  In 2007, Sen. Ed Jones, D-Halifax, introduced a bill that would ban private ownership of wild animals after a Wilkes County fourth-grader was killed by a tiger kept in his aunt's backyard, but the bill was met with instant opposition

24.  After an Ohio man freed dozens of lions, tigers, bears and other dangerous animals before killing himself, Ohio changed its' law regarding keeping exotic animals. This law was based on the NC proposed legislation

25. N.C. SESS. LAWS §153A-131 - Possession or harboring of dangerous animals  A county may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the possession or harboring of animals which are dangerous to persons or property. No such ordinance shall have the effect of permitting any activity or condition with respect to a wild animal which is prohibited or more severely restricted by regulations of the Wildlife Resources Commission.

26. NC Counties with Exotic Animal Ordinances  Cabarrus  Chatham  Davidson  Forsyth  Gaston  Lee  Montgomery  Orange  Randolph  Surrey

27. N.C. SESS. LAWS §160A-187 - Possession or harboring of dangerous animals  A city may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the possession or harboring within the city of animals which are dangerous to persons or property. No such ordinance shall have the effect of permitting any activity or condition with respect to a wild animal which is prohibited or more severely restricted by regulations of the Wildlife Resources Commission

28. NC Cities with Exotic Animal Ordinances  Charlotte  Garner  Havelock  North Topsail Beach  Sylva

29. N.C. ADMIN. CODE tit. 2, r. 52B.0212 - IMPORTATION REQUIREMENTS: WILD ANIMALS  Skunk  Fox  Raccoon  Ringtail  Bobcat (includes Lynx and other North and South American felines as cougars, jaguars, etc.)  Coyote  Marten  Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

30. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission NC ST § 113-294  State law prohibits holding any wild animal or bird in captivity without a license from the Wildlife Resources Commission. Before the Commission can issue a license authorizing a person to keep a wild animal or bird in captivity, it must determine that the animal or bird was acquired lawfully and will not be kept merely as a pet. An approved facility must be provided.

31. Incidents (Escapes and/or attacks) involving exotic animals in NC (1990- 2012)  Big Cats11  Reptiles11  Primates8  Wolf/Hyrdid2  Emu2  Serval2  Water Buffalo1  Coati1

32. Locations of Incidences