Arrivals walk off their jet stall through an airside cargo door directly into a foot bath and then spend three days in Quarantine before exiting the building through the “Equine Arrivals” access door. Arriving horses move into one of 48 individually climate controlled stalls with advanced HEPA filtered HVAC systems, and 100 % air exchange. The state-of-the-art cushioned Padenpor™ flooring provides comfort after long hours on a plane, and the lighting simulates natural day and night to provide for optimum rest.
Where have they landed?
At The ARK at JFK, the world’s first privately owned animal airport handling and quarantine center. Air freighters can taxi right up to the building, and the jet stalls are unloaded onto a specially designed trailer that moves them directly to The ARK and quarantine.
Billed as a “luxury, airside hotel for creatures great and small,” The ARK balances the necessary bio-security requirements for import along with the attention to comfort horse owners crave.
Phase One, the Equine Export Center and ARK Pet Oasis for companion animals, opened officially on January 2, while the Import Quarantine Center will open late this summer (pending USDA approval).
What does your horse get when he goes through The ARK? The state-of-the-art design and protocols were developed in consultation with Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
“Designing the facilities, biosecurity protocols and oversight for both horses and birds (The ARK also has an Aviary) has been a huge undertaking,” says Dr. Linda Mittel of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. “Introduction of disease from outside of the United States is a serious and real threat to our nation’s animals’ health and agriculture resources. The ARK has worked closely with the specialists at Cornell to assist in the design of these buildings, including the impenetrable epoxy stall paint.”
The Padenpor™ flooring is designed for facilities where bio-security, comfort, and safety are of utmost importance. Padenpor™ is a rubberized, seamless, texturized floor and wall system. Constructed using recycled rubber and self-leveling polyurethanes, its resilience reduces stress and fatigue.
Each stall is an individually contained unit, as is each block of stalls.
All waste coming in with imported horses must be incinerated to prevent the spread of disease. The ARK has an onsite incinerator with amazing speed and capacity, capable of rendering tremendous amounts of waste to ash in mere minutes!
The ARK also provides services for grooms accompanying export horses including a shower facility, Wi-Fi and access to private space for quiet and relaxation as they stay with horses departing through JFK International Airport.
It’s not just the pampered living accommodations that horses enjoy at The ARK. Horses eat top quality, dust free timothy mix hay (all hay must be USDA approved), are observed 24/7, and cared for by experienced equine grooms. Vet coverage and security monitoring is also 24/7.
While the technical features are outstanding, the compassionate care reaches the same extraordinary bar as the physical aspects of the facility, creating a best case scenario for any horse exposed to the rigors of long distance travel.
Director of Administration Kristen McGowan knows how important it is for people to be able to trust someone else with their animal. “The goal,” she notes, “is to set the gold standard in transporting and handling animals.”
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