Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida zoo has been fined more than $14,500 after a worker was injured by a 4,000-pound (1,800-kilogram) white rhinoceros earlier this year.
The Florida Times-Union reported Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the Jacksonville Zoo with failing to protect workers from recognized hazards when they train and feed the rhinos. It says the zoo also didn't follow the rules of notifying the federal agency within 24 hours of the employee's hospitalization.
Zoo officials say they're appealing the citations and fine.
Zoo Executive Director Tony Vecchio previously said the 50-year-old rhino, Archie, bumped a female zookeeper with his horn in February . Officials say the worker spent a night in a hospital and has since returned to work.
Vecchio said Archie has been at the zoo since 1975 and called the injury an isolated incident.
___
Information from: The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.