Animal Kingdom Cleared by USDA

The U.S. Agriculture Department on Wednesday said it would not take any action against Disney (DIS - news) for the deaths of two dozen animals at its new Animal Kingdom park in Florida.

``There were no violations of the Animal Welfare Act,'' USDA spokesman Patrick Collins said. ``Sometimes things happen that are unfortunate but are not necessarily in violation of the law.''

The USDA is closing the case, Collins said. He said the Animal Welfare Act aims to punish those who intend to harm or neglect their animals, which the USDA found was not the case at the Disney park.

``The people at Disney are very concerned about taking good care of their animals,'' Collins said.

Collins said the decision came after two USDA investigators studied the
animal deaths. Animal Kingdom is licensed by the USDA.

Some two dozen animals have died at Animal Kingdom or on their way to the park in the past six months.

The dead include two otters, four cheetah cubs, two rhinos and two hippos. Causes of death include infection, kidney failure and poisoning from an ingredient found in anti-freeze. Two cranes died when they were run over by a park vehicle.

Animal rights activists protested outside the Animal Kingdom park when it opened its doors to the public for the first time on Wednesday.

Richard Farinato, director of captive wildlife protection programs for the Humane Society of the United States, said he was not surprised that the USDA found that Disney did not violate the Animal Welfare Act, since the laws are ``not exactly the toughest of standards.'' However, he said it was clear the animals were not given the proper care.

``Some of these animals died under what could only be called negligence,'' Farinato said.