A newly released report shows that Pittsburgh Zoo staff raised concerns about a child falling through an opening into an African painted dog exhibit on at least six separate occasions before a fatal mauling in 2012.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the federal report was released this month more than four years it filed a Freedom of Information Act request. The report found the zoo's fencing around the wild dog exhibit was "not sufficient" to prevent 2-year-old Maddox Derkosh from falling into the exhibit. He was mauled to death by the 11 painted dogs.
Many of the concerns raised by the safety committee were already made public in the course of the now-settled civil lawsuit by Maddox's parents.
The zoo says it cannot legally comment on the matter due to confidentiality.
