A US zoo director in Virginia was held on an animal cruelty charge over the death of a wallaby at the park earlier this year.

Meghan Mogensen was held on Friday and faces charges of animal cruelty and possession of a controlled substance, myFOXdc.com reported.

A USDA inspection in January found a wallaby with severe face and head injuries. Officials at Reston Zoo told inspectors the wallaby was euthanized with an unapproved drug.

But another worker told Fairfax County Animal Control officers a different story.

Master Officer Eddy Azcarate said, "The allegations were brought to our attention when a wallaby died at the zoo. There were circumstances surrounding that death that caused someone to tip the police department off."

A search warrant affidavit for Mogensen's email and mobile phone records said the person who contacted police put the injured wallaby in a crate and notified Mogensen. Other zoo workers allegedly saw Mogensen walking off with the crated wallaby.

Police say the tipster later found an empty crate, a bucket full of water and a trash bag in a bin with a dead, wet wallaby in it.

The affidavit said, "The director was interviewed about the allegations. The zoo director made the claim that she humanely euthanised the Wallaby by IV injection. When asked why the body [of the wallaby] was wet, the zoo director advised that they routinely wash/rinse the bodies."

USDA cited Reston Zoo several times. The citations included inadequate care for a spider monkey, poor animal transfer record keeping and inadequate outdoor shelters.

A follow-up inspection said all the issues were corrected.

The two charges against Mogensen are misdemeanours in Fairfax County, but the facility could face further penalties if federal authorities determine that zoo officials violated the Animal Welfare Act. Drowning an animal would be considered such a violation.

Read more at myFOXdc.com.

Originally published as Zoo director held over 'drowning of wallaby'