Animal advocates have long known the name Jambbas Ranch Tours. The notorious roadside zoo in Fayetteville, North Carolina, has racked up a mountain of citations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its pervasive neglect and abuse of animals. In fact, nearly every single USDA inspection of Jambbas since October 2006 has resulted in citations for the zoo for failing to provide animals with even the minimum care required by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). And the latest inspection is no exception. Following a PETA complaint, the USDA again performed an unannounced inspection of Jambbas and found the following violations, among others:

• Two bison were suffering from gaping wounds that were left untreated.
• A dog had discharge and crusting around both eyes.
• Rabbits were kept in rusty cages amid their own waste.
• Water containers were dirty and rusty.

The USDA has been formally investigating Jambbas for at least 18 months for the abuse and neglect of animals. The zoo's chronic violations of the AWA disqualify it from having its license to keep and exhibit animals renewed, yet inexplicably, the USDA continues to renew Jambbas' license year after year, which prompted PETA and others to file a lawsuit. 

It's time for every one of the hundreds of animals at Jambbas to be retired to sanctuaries, just like Ben, the long-suffering bear who is now relishing his new life at the PAWS Sanctuary. Please urge the USDA to revoke Jambbas' license and let its captive animals finally retire to sanctuaries, where they will be loved and cared for, instead of caged and used for profit.

Jairo S. Feris Delgado / CC by 3.0

By now, most of us have pretty much forgotten what mad cow disease is—all we remember is that it's scary and that we don't want to catch it. Well, the recent recall of 25,000 pounds of bison heads because of the risk of mad cow disease just might have people scrambling for their medical dictionaries.

Here's a little refresher course: Mad cow disease essentially eats holes in the brain and is always fatal. In humans, it initially causes memory loss and erratic behavior. Over a period of months, victims gradually lose all ability to care for themselves or communicate, and eventually, they die. The disease has been traced to farmers' cost-cutting practice of mixing bits of dead animals' neural tissue into the feed of cattle, who are naturally herbivorous. If cattle eat the brains of cattle who already have mad cow disease, or of sheep suffering from a similar disease called "scrapie," the cattle can develop the disease. If humans eat flesh (and possibly milk) from infected animals, they can develop the human version of the disease, called "new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease." The disease is caused by misshapen proteins called "prions." Prions are virtually indestructible—they aren't destroyed by cooking, disinfecting, or freezing.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the tonsils must be removed from cows and other ruminants who are slaughtered in order to prevent the spread of mad cow disease, something that a bison slaughterhouse in North Dakota failed to do, which prompted the recall.

It can take eight years for an infected cow to begin showing symptoms of mad cow disease, but most cattle in the U.S. are killed by age 5, before many would be displaying symptoms. Only a very tiny fraction of the cows who are slaughtered are tested, which means that the only way to ensure that you'll never get mad cow disease is to go vegan.

Written by Logan Scherer

imagesofcolorado / CC

So, the president and CEO of Seattle-based Attachmate has found himself knee-deep in bison dung. No, really!

Software executive Jeff Hawn apparently warned the neighbors of his Colorado home to keep the bison off his property or else … and he meant it. According to CNN, Jeff alleged in a lawsuit that "the animals knocked his satellite television dishes off line and left poop, tracks, and hair on 'pristine pasture on rolling hills.'" Well, Mr. Hawn, maybe that's because they're … um … bison, and bison, well, have been known to walk around and poop, as shocking as that is. And it was their land, their home, before it was your land, your sprawling second luxury home.

Nine days after he filed this absurd suit, CNN reports, the first shots were fired and eventually the remains of 32 bison were found on Hawn's property. Law enforcement later found out that 14 hunters got a letter from Hawn giving them total permission to hunt the bison on his property. However, I'm guessing that he forgot about that whole "open range" law that Colorado has. Livestock can roam wherever they want, and if people don't want them around, they're encouraged to build a fence, not blow their brains out.

Luckily, money can't buy everything, and this lovely fellow has found himself smack dab in the middle of criminal court, charged with theft and 32 counts of aggravated animal cruelty. But now here's the kicker—one of Hawn's attorneys said that Hawn "had no other choice" but to get rid of the bison so that he could protect himself.

No other choice?!!?? The man is CEO of a major corporation and doesn’t know about options.

Well, luckily, the rest of Fairplay, Colorado, is outraged, as are we. Comment and tell us what you think about this mess of a situation, and we'll be sure to keep you updated.

Written by Christine Doré