The recent reports on the unfortunate death last October, of Bobo, the beloved three-year-old giraffe at Long Island Game Farm, have brought to light serious concerns regarding animal welfare.
According to the latest USDA inspection report issued on Jan. 30, Bobo was found to be malnourished and lacking adequate heat prior to his death. This revelation has sparked a discussion about the conditions under which animals are kept in captivity and the responsibilities of such establishments to ensure the health and well-being of their residents.
Just days before he died, a “Bon Voyage” party was held in September for Bobo, a popular member of the Long Island Game Farm family, who was slated to leave for the cold winter months and head to a warmer climate.
But the plan was that Bobo would be back soon, and able to live year-round at the farm. The fundraising event at the Long Island Game Farm was presented by the Foundation for Wildlife Sustainability, Inc., the game farm’s new non-profit arm.
Funds from the event were collected to support the construction of a heated and air-conditioned giraffe house large enough to accommodate two giraffes and offer year-round public programming to raise awareness of the endangered species. It would appear that the plan came too late to save Bobo, who at just three years old was considered to be still a baby.
When Bobo died, Long Island Game Farm President Melinda Novak said: “We are so heartbroken. We loved Bobo beyond measure, and he was such a fixture at the park. We had been working hard to create a permanent home for him here. Bobo will be missed terribly.”
On Tuesday, John Di Leonardo, president and executive director of Humane Long Island and an anthrozoologist and wildlife rehabilitator, stated that “the Long Island Game Farm critically violated the federal Animal Welfare Act by failing to provide Bobo with adequate heat and also violated the Act by failing to provide the 3-year-old giraffe with proper nutrition in the months leading up to his premature death from heart failure. ”
He added: “Contrary to statements from the Long Island Game Farm labeling Bobo’s death ‘sudden’ and ‘unexpected, the USDA’s inspection report reveals that Bobo had been suffering with a heavy parasite load and poor body condition for at least two months prior to his death. Bobo’s necropsy showed “serous atrophy of fat,” also known as “starvation marrow,” associated with “malnutrition” and lack of adequate heat, Di Leonardo said.
Di Leonardo underscored the inherent incongruity of maintaining wildlife in captivity—and out of their natural environmental conditions. “In the wild, Bobo the giraffe would have roamed up to 100 square miles of African grasslands and open woodlands, shared a complex social life with a herd of his own species for as long as 25 years, and spent many hours of the day and night browsing for leaves, shoots and fruits from tall trees…but at the Long Island Game Farm, Bobo essentially starved and froze until his premature death at only three years old. Abducted from his family and leased for public interactions, Bobo died alone, confined to a cramped enclosure without any other giraffes or even a tree.”
Di Leonardo said his organization planned to investigate the $568,000 grant awarded to the game farm from Suffolk County as part of the JumpSMART Small Business Downtown Investment Program last year. He added that Humane Long Island would be filing complaints with the Suffolk County Department of Health and the IRS regarding the “Bon Voyage Party” that “exploited the ailing baby giraffe in his final weeks of life.”
The case of Bobo underscores the importance of strict adherence to animal welfare laws and the need for regular oversight by authorities to prevent such tragedies. It is a sobering reminder that animals in such facilities rely entirely on their caregivers for their nutritional and environmental needs, and it is imperative that these needs are met with the utmost diligence and care.
Late on Wednesday afternoon, Long Island Game Farm president Melinda Novak defended the actions of the facility and underscored that the FDA report has been misinterpreted.
“In the following USDA inspection, there were no violations. It is very unfortunate that the USDA report has been misinterpreted and is being used to villainize Long Island Game Farm, and that the following confirmation a giraffe may in fact return to the game farm and that subsequent inspection reports showing zero violations have not also been shared. However, we can only speak to our own actions and motivations — animal care is our top priority.”
Novak added, “Our current barn facility is kept well above 60 degrees in cooler temperatures. While the outside temperatures in early October were around 58 degrees, the barn was warmer to ensure Bobo’s comfort and safety. Bobo did not freeze, nor does the USDA report indicate that he did. When the USDA report was published, Long Island Game Farm was in conversation with the inspector about the next steps. The inspector did confirm that the game farm has permission to have another giraffe in the future. We had begun raising funds for a year-round giraffe house prior to Bobo’s death with a goal toward housing giraffes year-round.”
As for the cause of death Novak wanted to clarify that, “Long Island Game Farm had initially been informed he had died from heart failure, and requested a necropsy examination from Cornell. We learned his heart was abnormally small, but other results were inconclusive.”
