Police report offers details about escaped baboon killed at Promised Land Zoo in Branson

Operators at the Promised Land Zoo say a staff member's failure to properly lock an enclosure allowed a pair of olive baboons to escape. Although one of the animals was recovered, another was shot and killed after it bit an employee.

The monkey, a longtime fixture at the park, was deemed dangerous by zoo officials and was shot and killed by the wildlife park's owner, Jeff Sanders, according to Branson police.

Laura Sanders-Remenar, the zoo's director, said the June 22 shooting was a lawful and humane safety measure, but she knows others may think otherwise.

"Unfortunately, we expect some blowback from animal rights activists who are anti-zoo, anti-faith-based business, animal ownership and anti-Branson," Sanders-Remenar said in a written statement.

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According to a police report written by Branson police Sgt. Stanley Kaufman, Sanders-Remenar was also wary of the optics in the immediate aftermath of the shooting on zoo property.

"I only obtained one picture of the baboon as Mrs. Sanders got upset with me photographing it and was afraid we would release it to the media," Kaufman wrote. "I explained to her that this report is available to the public if requested and I had to document the incident due to Mr. Sanders discharging a firearm within the city limits."

Branson police were called to the park after the animal escaped but before it was shot.

The United States Department of Agriculture has investigated the shooting and a report is pending. The zoo passed a spot inspection the USDA conducted June 23, a day after the incident.

Promised Land said that the USDA reviewed and reapproved the zoo's safety contingences, which included testing the bitten employee for rabies, yielding a negative result.

In her statement, Sanders-Remenar acknowledged that a failure to follow zoo policy led to the escape.

 "A staff member failed to follow the training and safety protocol regarding an animal enclosure and an animal left the enclosure," she said.

'They planned on shooting it'

It was 11:15 a.m. on a Wednesday — more than two hours after the zoo's 9 a.m. opening — when an employee took to Promised Land's Facebook page to announce an abrupt closure, citing "unexpected maintenance."

Twenty-three minutes later, Branson police fielded a call from zoo management reporting the escape of two olive baboons. Two of the three sets of locks on the cage were left unlatched, according to the police report of the June 22 incident.

Promised Land said it immediately enacted its emergency procedures for escaped animals, which includes evacuating visitors.

The female baboon was recaptured. The male, which bit an employee, was still on the loose on zoo property.

Several zoo employees drove around and searched for the baboon, which was last seen entering a ravine, according to police.

"Laura said it was dangerous and they planned on shooting it if located,"  Kaufman said in his police report.

Kaufman, who said he saw two male employees looking into a wooded area of the zoo, subsequently heard three shots from a small-caliber rifle.

"Jeffery Sanders said he shot the baboon. I asked if it was dead and he said yes," Kaufman said. "Mr. Sanders drug the baboon out of the woods and placed it into his truck. I asked Mr. Sanders if he planned on testing it and he said it would depend on what the hospital needed."

A photo of the deceased animal provided by police shows blood on the ground near its head. No other wounds are visible.

No charges were filed for the discharge and Kaufman sent a notification to the USDA, which oversees zoo incidents. The baboon tested negative for rabies.

Sanders-Remenar said in a statement the baboon was "humanely euthanized in accordance with State Law and our approved program of veterinary care."

Missouri law for animal euthanasia defers to the methods approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association's Panel of Euthanasia.

"When other methods cannot be used, an accurately delivered gunshot is acceptable with conditions for animal euthanasia," according to the association's guidelines. 

Sanders-Remenar said the escape was an isolated incident.

"We take our safety protocols very seriously and want our customers to know that their, and the animals' safety is always our first goal," Sanders-Remenar said. "In nearly 30 years of operation, and the successful resulting animal care, we have never had an incident requiring submission of rabies testing and don’t foresee this as an issue in the future."

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The employee bitten by the male baboon — an animal raised at the zoo since its 2013 inception — returned to work the next day with two stitches.

In a follow-up email to Sanders-Remenar after the release of the zoo's written statement, the News-Leader asked if it was a hard decision to euthanize a longtime member of the zoo family and if the employee who left the cage unlocked faced sanctions.

"Please contact our attorneys at the Cavalry Group for any further information," she replied.

USDA records available online show Promised Land has been inspected about twice a year over the past decade, often passing with flying colors.

The most recent incident of non-compliance the USDA cited was in 2018, when a New Guinea singing dog escaped an unsealed enclosure. The dog went on to kill a one-year-old red kangaroo.

A rare situation, Branson police chief says 

Branson Police Chief Jeff Matthews said he couldn't think of a similar incident at Promised Land Zoo during the four and a half years he's been in his post.

Branson police have no special authority or oversight at the zoo, which is located in city limits about four miles northwest of the police station. If officers are called to the zoo for a situation, it's a very rare instance, according to City of Branson spokeswoman Melody Pettit.

Earlier in 2022, the city tried to pass an ordinance that would require businesses to submit animal escape plans to local police, but it was voted down.

Pettit said the recent baboon incident evoked memories of another animal escape in a different state.

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"Several years ago a gorilla at the Dallas zoo escaped its enclosure," Pettit said. "The Dallas Police Department shot and killed the gorilla inside the zoo property. It was a terrible incident and the DPD was raked over the coals for not tranquilizing the animal. The zoo had no plan or way to tranquilize the animal. 

"The escape plans we outlined in the updated proposed animal ordinance would have provided the oversight we need to ensure community safety."

While there have been several past zoo escapes throughout Missouri, the Branson baboon's death appears to be the only documented, escape-related zoo shooting in recent years.

The last widely reported baboon shot and killed after escaping a zoo was in 2013 in England. In 2018, a baboon escaped a San Antonio zoo, but was tranquilized.

Social media reaction

Promised Land Zoo sent a written statement to local newspapers more than a month after the shooting, following a July 14 interview request from the News-Leader.

The zoo's July 28 statement didn't specify the type of animal that was shot, but a Branson police report obtained by the News-Leader provided many of the incident's details.

Shortly after the Branson Tri-Lake News received the zoo's statement, the newspaper published a July 29 story headlined "Safety protocols reapproved after Promised Land Zoo incident."

The story didn't specify which of the dozens of animals at the zoo was killed that day, but that didn't stop several commenters from posting negative reactions.

"So let me get this right, a staff member failed to follow proper safety so the animal was acting like an animal and bit the staff member, so the poor animal had to be killed for it?" Ashley Lindley posted on Facebook in response.

"So basically the employee wasn't doing their job and got a minor bite and returned to work the same day, but the animal had to die? Makes no sense," Sarah Minter said.