Abstract

The objective of this project was to review and reduce an initial list of chemicals used by Disney’s in-house Pest Management Department for specific use in animal areas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a unique theme park. Subsequently, these chemical use guidelines could be applied to the already existing animal areas on Disney property, the Tri-Circle-D Ranch, the Living Seas and Discovery Island. With 170 chemical products currently used on Walt Disney World’s 42,000 acres, a list needed to be developed that was more manageable from an animal care, safety, product application and monitoring standpoint. The list of 170 chemical products which included fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, and wetting agents was reviewed over a 3-month period. The criteria used in the review included toxicity data and LD 50s, non-target species effects, environmental hazards, active ingredients, method of application, and reason for use. Based on the accrued information, including Material Safety Data Sheets, toxicology studies and reports, various resources on chemical use, and discussions with the manufacturers of the products, a master list of approximately 70 products was developed along with a standard operating procedure for use and method of application in the animal areas. A notification system was also developed for communication between the animal caretakers and the pest management technicians. A computerized tracking system was implemented to record the location where each chemical was used, what time it was used, the reason for use, and other pertinent information. This system reduced the number of chemical products being used in the animal areas and made available an ongoing documented history that could be utilized for review of chemical use in order to maintain the highest standards of animal care and husbandry.