Poor Quality Poop Results In Woodland Park Zoo's Fecal Fest Being Cancelled

By Rebecca Whitham 

Seattle, WA - March marks the time of year when garden enthusiasts anticipate getting their supply of Zoo Doo. However, the green thumbs in town will have to do without the highly coveted compost this spring season.

Woodland Park Zoo has canceled this year’s Spring Fecal Fest because of unacceptable levels of the herbicide clopyralid (klo-PEER-uh-lid) in its supply of Zoo Doo. The good news is that the zoo has isolated the source, and Zoo Doo should be ready in bulk quantities by the fall.

“Through our regular testing procedures, we traced the persistent herbicide to specialized animal feeds for our non-primate herbivores (plant eaters),” explained EJ Hook, Woodland Park Zoo’s maintenance operations manager. “In response, we’ve made changes with our feed supplier and switched to organically certified feeds. We expect to see the changes in future test results.”

Hook said the herbicide did not pose a risk to the zoo’s animals. The distribution and use of Zoo Doo was canceled, rather, because the existence of the herbicide could pose a danger to some garden plants.

Clopyralid is commonly used on hay and wheat fields for the control of broadleaf weeds (non grass-like weeds). Unlike most other common herbicides, it does not break down in the heat of the composting process, but remains active to the detriment of susceptible plants, primarily members of the pea, sunflower and tomato families.

“We deeply regret that Zoo Doo will not be available for our many loyal users,” said Dan Corum, aka Dr. Doo, “but we want to ensure that we can deliver a safe and high-quality product for our customers. Cancelling the Fecal Fest this spring is the most responsible decision for us to make. Gardeners can be assured that they will get the quality they expect from Zoo Doo when it’s available again this fall.”

Zoo Doo is a fully composted blend of animal manures mixed with straw bedding, grass, leaves and wood chips from the grounds of Woodland Park Zoo. The non-primate herbivores, such as elephants, hippos, giraffe, zebra, elk and more, contribute to Zoo Doo. Twice a year, bulk amounts of Zoo Doo are available through the Fall and Spring Fecal Fests when lucky customers are randomly drawn from mailed-in entry cards.

Two-gallon containers and pints of Zoo Doo reserved from last fall remain available at the ZooStore during regular zoo hours. Call the ZooStore at 206.548.1535.

One million pounds of Zoo Doo is produced each year, saving the zoo $60,000 a year in disposal costs and generating income for the zoo. Call 206.625.POOP or visit www.zoo.org for more information.

The Zoo Doo program is part of Woodland Park Zoo’s sustainability initiative to improve the zoo’s energy efficiency, reduce waste, save water and minimize the zoo’s ecological footprint. For more information about the zoo’s green efforts, visit: http://www.zoo.org/greenzoo/index.html

601 North 59th Street * Seattle, Washington 98103, USA * 206-548-2500 * 206-548-1536 * TTY 206-548-2599 * www.zoo.org