Written by Jeff Mackey
After inspectors found animals kept in appalling conditions without proper care, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cited two disreputable roadside zoos in North Carolina for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). PETA keeps these two hellholes constantly in our sights and had just filed a complaint about Jambbas Ranch Tours before the inspection.
A USDA visit to Jambbas Ranch Tours last month following a PETA complaint led to a citation for AWA violations after inspectors discovered a thin elderly llama who had a "thick creamy discharge" oozing from an eye socket (the eye "has been gone for some years"). As PETA had told the USDA, the llama also appeared to be suffering from diarrhea—the animal had a large area of what appeared to be dried feces on the back legs but was given no medical treatment for these conditions.
The inspector also observed a raccoon whose tail and part of whose hindquarters showed complete hair loss, as PETA had reported. The animal was being given an ineffective flea- and tick-control medication, which wasn't prescribed by a vet as required by law. Immediate veterinary care was ordered to treat the raccoon's condition.
An inspection of the Cherokee Bear Zoo last month resulted in a repeat citation for failure to feed a young tiger cub a healthy, edible, and contaminant-free diet. The cub is described as "small and underweight for its age. The coat looks dull, dry, and brittle."
The shabby animal prison (one of three around Cherokee, North Carolina) also received a citation for failure to vaccinate the same tiger cub. The operators were warned of the need to correct this failure "from this day forward."
Roadside zoos range from small menageries to large compounds—but they are all unhealthy environments for animals. The owners' focus is on their customers' desires, not the animals' needs, so neglect and abuse are common.
These cruel operations stay in business only because people patronize them, so please never visit a roadside zoo, and encourage your family and friends to stay away too.
Written by Jennifer OConnor
It took a PETA lawsuit to compel the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to change course, but after three decades of secretly and illegally issuing hundreds of Endangered Species Act (ESA) permits to circuses, roadside zoos, and other animal exploiters, the FWS will change its ways.
The permits—called "captive-bred wildlife (CBW) permits"—previously allowed animal exhibitors like the notorious Ringling Bros. circus and Have Trunk Will Travel to harm and harass captive-bred endangered animals like Asian elephants without any public scrutiny or comments on their plans. Now, anytime circuses and operators of traveling and roadside displays want to "take" an endangered species (which includes harming, harassing, and wounding them to force them to perform in shows), they will be subjected to public scrutiny and forced to adhere to ESA requirements.
An example of how all this can help animals harkens back to one of PETA's earliest exposés—this one involving Las Vegas "entertainer" Bobby Berosini, whose CBW permit was suspended (and his show closed) after PETA revealed that he had viciously beaten the orangutans used in his tawdry act.
Ringling Bros. circus has a pending CBW permit application that would allow it to take endangered elephants and leopards, so please click here to voice your objections to the FWS right now.
A chimpanzee named Cheetah, who reportedly played Johnny Weissmuller's sidekick in the old Tarzan movies, has died. There is some debate over Cheetah's credentials, but regardless of whether he ever acted in the Tarzan movies, he almost certainly was torn away from his family and home when he was just a baby and spent decades being exploited by humans.
He ended his years in a Florida "scamtuary"—a facility formerly known as the Chimp Farm—which for years confined intelligent primates to cramped concrete and iron cells. Unfortunately, little has improved since the outfit gave itself the misleadingly grandiose name of Suncoast Primate Sanctuary and the original owner's granddaughter took over operations.
Ending up in decrepit roadside zoos is often how animal "actors" are "retired." Please never buy a ticket to a movie that uses animals instead of innovative computer-generated imagery, and never visit roadside zoos and pseudo-sanctuaries that continue to exploit formerly famous animals to their dying day.
Written by Heather Faraid Drennan
Despite Conrad Murray's manslaughter conviction, there will probably always be unanswered questions about Michael Jackson's life and death. Questions about what happened to the exotic animals Jackson kept as "pets" may never be answered either, since the whereabouts of some of the animals aren't known.
The famous chimpanzee Bubbles, whom Jackson took everywhere with him at one time, was one of the first animals to leave the Neverland Ranch, when he ceased to be a cute and cuddly youngster and became a strong, aggressive adolescent. Bubbles was lucky enough to wind up at a reputable sanctuary, as were two tigers who once lived at Neverland.
But despite Jackson's directive that the animals go to the best homes possible, many of the animals ended up at pseudo-sanctuaries, where they received woefully inadequate care because of either ignorance or willful neglect. Two giraffes from Jackson's zoo, for example, died just weeks apart at Tom and Freddie Hancock's Banjoko Wildlife Preserve, possibly as a result of exposure to cold temperatures and/or improper feeding. Two more giraffes and several parrots from Neverland remain with the Hancocks.
The alligators and a python named Madonna, purchased by Jackson, now live at a roadside zoo in Oklahoma. Thirteen flamingos were sent to a zoo in New Jersey. Two orangutans went to live with a private owner in Connecticut.
If the King of Pop couldn't afford to keep exotic animals as pets, imagine the neglect faced by animals held by people with far fewer resources. The exotic-animal owner in Ohio who released two dozen animals before killing himself last month did so after facing mounting financial difficulties. Please click here to urge Ohio officials to permanently ban exotic-animal ownership, and never visit a roadside zoo or pseudo-sanctuary, where discarded former "pets" languish.
Written by PETA
Our sympathies go out to the family of Kalei Welch, who died in an Illinois hospital after falling ill with E. coli poisoning. Health officials believe that the 5-year-old girl contracted the deadly bacterial infection at a petting zoo at the Hendricks County Fair.
PETA has been warning parents for years about the dangers of petting zoos, which are hotbeds of E. coli. Hundreds of children have been infected after visiting petting zoos, and many have suffered kidney failure, requiring long-term dialysis and multiple blood transfusions.
Infection can spread through direct animal contact or simply by touching the surroundings near an animal exhibit. Hand sanitizer does nothing to prevent the spread of E. coli by inhalation or indirect contact. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as many state departments of health have issued warnings about the health risks of petting zoos.
These displays are bad for animals too. Case in point: North Carolina's Jambbas Ranch is notorious for keeping animals in substandard conditions, including a lone neurotic bear named Ben.
Please ask North Carolina officials to keep people and animals safe by refusing to reissue Jambbas owner James Bass' wildlife-captivity license and endangered-species permit.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Lazy 5 Ranch is an apt name for a roadside zoo in Mooresville, North Carolina, as the operators appear to be too lazy (read: downright neglectful) to provide even minimal care to the animals stuck there. PETA has filed complaints with the county animal control department and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) asking for action to help two giraffes with severely overgrown hooves. The hooves are so neglected and painful that the animals are having difficulty walking. Other animals in trouble include a white deer with a raw, open wound that is 4 inches in circumference, among other injuries. A visitor to the zoo reports that she couldn't detect a water source in the rhinoceros and giraffe enclosures and that there is insufficient shade in the giraffe pen.
The USDA has already repeatedly cited Lazy 5 Ranch for allowing animals' hooves to become painfully overgrown, which puts stress on bones, joints, tendons, and muscles and can lead to permanent damage and arthritis. The zoo has also been cited for failing to provide veterinary care to 14 unshorn sheep who suffered heat distress (they were found lying on their sides and panting heavily) after temperatures reached into the 90s.
Although local and state anti-cruelty laws apply, Rowan County Animal Control Supervisor Clai Martin has abdicated all responsibility to the USDA and has taken no action to help these suffering animals.
Please send an e-mail today to the animal control department asking for immediate intervention at Lazy 5 Ranch.
Yesterday, PETA filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for illegally issuing a permit to an animal exhibitor that would allow the exhibitor to harm, harass, and wound endangered species.
PETA has found several instances in which the FWS issued endangered species permits—which may be issued for "scientific purposes" or to enhance survival of an endangered species—to seedy roadside zoos while improperly keeping the application and the permit from the public. Roadside zoos breed animals in deplorable conditions solely to turn a profit.
We filed suit over one particularly miserable menagerie, Windy Oaks Farm in Hanover, Virginia, which is under formal investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) after chimpanzees escaped from their enclosures three times, prompting PETA to call for an investigation.
Although captive chimpanzees are not currently listed as endangered, Windy Oaks' lack of experience with and knowledge of these complex and dangerous animals is indicative of its overall incompetence. The zoo has been cited by the USDA for failing to document when it acquired and disposed of animals and whether the animals had received veterinary care in more than a year. Windy Oaks also keeps endangered lemurs and gibbons, two species that have been known to attack humans.
Since PETA and the rest of the public were denied the right to view and comment on this application for a permit, we are taking the matter to court. We will keep you updated.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
As intense heat continues to plague many areas throughout North America, PETA is calling on people to protect their dogs and cats by letting them inside and by taking dogs for short walks (never jogs) only during the coolest part of the day.
Dozens of dogs have already died or had close calls in hot cars this summer. If you see a dog who is showing signs of distress inside a car, get help right away. Even if the windows are partially open and the car is parked in the shade, a dog in a hot car can suffer brain damage or death in just 15 minutes. Look for the dog's owner, and call humane authorities and the police. If no one responds quickly, you may need to take steps to save the dog yourself. (If so, stay by the car until the police arrive!)
Chained dogs also suffer during heat waves, especially when they are denied access to water and continuous shade. Alert authorities immediately if you see a chained dog without shelter or access to water (both are required by law) or in distress. If officials are slow to respond, offer the dog cold water or ice cubes.
When you are driving, be aware that wild animals may cross roadways more frequently in search of water sources, so be on the lookout and stop to help animals who appear to be injured.
Merciless heat adds to the suffering of animals trapped on factory farms and in roadside zoos and circuses. PETA has received reports of thousands of animals who have died while crammed together in sweltering, windowless barns. And no one would want to spend the summer chained inside a hot boxcar or trailer and being dragged across the country from one performance to another.
Please offer a helping hand to animals in need, and stay away from businesses that profit from their suffering.
Thanks to the generosity of a kind PETA Vanguard Society member who was horrified after learning about the plight of bears at three miserable roadside zoos in Cherokee, North Carolina, PETA has been able to erect a billboard on busy Interstate 40 during the height of summer vacation season. The ad warns tourists that visiting Cherokee Bear Zoo, Chief Saunooke Bear Park, or Santa's Land, which all confine bears to barren concrete pits and pens, is not only cruel but also dangerous.
Please let the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Matthew Pegg know that Cherokee won’t be on your travel itinerary until the bears are retired to a sanctuary.
After years of campaigning by PETA, Zoocheck Canada, and local residents, provincial authorities in Alberta, Canada, have finally ordered a decrepit roadside menagerie called Guzoo Animal Farm to close its doors.
Numerous reports have documented that hundreds of animals—including tigers, cougars, dogs, a lynx, and a baboon—were living in feces-filled cages and cramped pens, denied adequate food, water, and shelter from the elements. "Grossly substandard and filthy," wrote a Calgary zookeeper in one report. "A disgrace to the people of Alberta and those who care about animals," said a retired Toronto zookeeper in another. In 2007, a report documented more than 100 violations of the already minimal provincial standards for zoos.
Animals in other decrepit roadside zoos still need your help—animals like Ben the bear and others at the Jambbas Ranch in North Carolina. Please ask officials to follow Alberta's lead and shut down the menagerie for good.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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