Training / Qualification
Ground Event / Encounter Person / Animal / Bird
General None Reported / Taken
Procedure
On the swing shift the [line ramp] lead removed an animal to clean its kennel. The animal that was removed from the kennel was a wild wolf on the way to [a] zoo. This wolf was released with other kennels in the room along with other coworkers in the same room. This happened because here in Denver we do not have a vendor to deal with animals. The leads are told it is their responsibility to clean all dirty cages; however the leads are given no formal training in handling animals at all let alone a wild animal. I feel that the current procedure used here in Denver is unsafe and inadequate. As far as I know we are all trained per the ramp service manual which states that we should never remove an animal from its kennel. How the local management team got this procedure approved here is beyond me; it is a very dangerous situation and only a matter of time until there is a major tragedy.
DEN airline ramp employee reported leads have to deal with in-transit animals; including a wild wolf that was the subject of this report. Reporter stated they had no training in how to deal with animals.