In addition, the Tampa Bay Times reported that longtime ZooTampa employee Jennifer Galbraith quit after 15 years over the way Dr. Ray Ball, the zoo's head veterinarian, allegedly treated manatees. But that's not why FWS has started an investigation — apparently he released a manatee under his care at Homosassa Springs State Park into the wild while it still had open wounds that continued to bleed. That tipped off authorities that something might not be quite right with Dr. Ball's methods.
An October 22 letter to ZooTampa lists the allegations.
Among the allegations: That Ball used experimental drugs to treat manatees. That Ball incorrectly performed thoracocentesis, aka a "chest tap" and, because of that, he killed two manatees. When manatees break their ribs — often a result of a boat hitting them — those ribs can puncture their lungs. Thoracocentesis is a procedure wherein a veterinarian uses a needle to allow air or fluid to escape. Done incorrectly, it can re-puncture the lung, as Ball is accused of doing. That Ball fed hay — which is useless, nutritionally speaking, to the marine mammals — to manatees because captive manatees, in his opinion, were gluttons (we're paraphrasing).
Even worse: "On more than one occasion, Dr. Ball performed in-field amputations of manatees' flippers, at times without treatment for infection and pain, and at times releasing the manatees with exposed bones."
Yeah.
Remember, he's innocent until proven otherwise.
But, if FWS finds truth in the allegations, ZooTampa could lose its marine mammals permits, which would be… awkward, given they've recently spent a good chunk of change renovating their manatee water filtration system — funded by taxpayers, to the tune of $3 million.
Ball may not work with manatees until FWS concludes its investigation.
“These allegations of veterinary malpractice against manatees are extremely concerning, and if true, should lead to serious consequences for the facility and the veterinarian," Matt Liebman, Animal Legal Defense Fund Director of Litigation, told Creative Loafing. "Anyone rehabilitating injured animals has a moral and professional obligation to ensure these animals get the care they need to recover, not cause them to suffer even more.”
This article appears in Nov 1-8, 2018.