The Locust Grove Sanctuary is responding to a call for an investigation by the Georgia state senator that represents their area.

LOCUST GROVE, Ga. — Noah's Ark, the Locust Grove animal sanctuary that was the site of a bird flu outbreak last year, leaving hundreds of birds dead, says it has made "tremendous progress" after regulatory scrutiny.

The sanctuary is responding to a call for an investigation by the Georgia state senator that represents their area, Sen. Emanuel Jones, who stated in a letter this week that he felt conditions at Noah's Ark had been deteriorating.

RELATED: Georgia senator urges attorney general to investigate Noah's Ark

"We welcome a visit from Attorney General Chris Carr to learn about and share our progress with his team," the sanctuary said in a statement.

Where Sen. Jones asserted there were "issues" that "have only progressed throughout the year" leaving it a "fragment of what it once was," Noah's Ark says there is "false or inaccurate information" in his statements.

You can find Sen. Jones' letter, as well as Noah's Ark's full response, at the bottom of this page.

Noah's Ark said the state senator's letter "does not mention that Noah's Ark was cleared to reopen by federal, state and county agencies several months ago" and "inaccurately" describes an incident in May in which, according to the letter, the sanctuary was served a court summons in Henry County for "inhumane treatment of animals" and "animal cruelty."

Noah's Ark counters that in that incident "our team proactively reported to the county as part of our safety protocols, through which we cooperated fully with the county's review."

In the bird flu outbreak last year, at least 700 wild black vultures died. Sen. Jones also spoke out in that instance.

RELATED: Bird flu confirmed at Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary after 700 vultures found dead

In his letter to Georgia AG Carr, Sen. Jones asserted the "lack of an adequate emergency response to the flu" resulted in the euthanasia of more than 100 animals and that Noah's Ark has "been met with numerous complaints of animal cruelty from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)."

Noah's Ark, in its response, says it has had an open invitation for Sen. Jones to tour the facility for himself.

"We feel it's time for the Senator to stop dredging up issues that were resolved months ago and instead engage with the current Noah's Ark team with an open mind for the evolution and future of what Noah's Ark will become — a better place to continue our vital mission of providing a safe haven for animals in need," the sanctuary's statement said.

Noah's Ark also points to its Baloo and Friends Facebook page where they say they "encourage anyone to follow our progress online."

Sen. Emanuel Jones letter

Noah's Ark statement

Unfortunately, the Senator's letter appears to include false or inaccurate information and is another example of the Senator accepting one side of an issue without engaging the other side to provide all of his constituents a voice. For instance, the letter does not mention that Noah's Ark was cleared to reopen by federal, state and county agencies several months ago, as reported by the Henry Herald, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Saporta Report and other news outlets. The letter inaccurately describes a May 6 incident that our team proactively reported to the county as part of our safety protocols, through which we cooperated fully with the county's review of the incident. The letter also states claims about our president that are completely false.

We would like to know why Senator Jones has not been in contact with Noah's Ark since his conversation with our president last August. Since that conversation the Senator has enjoyed, but not yet accepted, an open invitation to tour Noah's Ark to see firsthand the tremendous progress made -- if he is genuinely interested in creating a viable future for the sanctuary in his district, should we not expect this elected leader to actively engage all sides and invest his time to visit Noah's Ark in person?

We feel it's time for the Senator to stop dredging up issues that were resolved months ago and instead engage with the current Noah's Ark team with an open mind for the evolution and future of what Noah's Ark will become — a better place to continue our vital mission of providing a safe haven for animals in need. Instead, the Senator's letter is another misleading distraction from this mission.

We welcome a visit from Attorney General Chris Carr to learn about and share our progress with his team. And we encourage anyone to follow our progress online via Baloo and Friends, our Facebook page named for and featuring the animals in our care.