PETA Demands Action After 30 Captive Animals Die in Fire, Cold Weather

It was a deadly week for animals in captivity. Thirty animals lost their lives—two to the freezing cold and another 28 as a result of a fire.

According to reports, two critically endangered cotton-top tamarins died at the Alexandria Zoological Park in Alexandria, Louisiana, after an employee left three of the tiny monkeys out in the cold. PETA contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is calling on the agency to investigate and hold the zoo accountable for any and all violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

Just two days later, at Hollywild Animal Park in Wellford, South Carolina, at least 28 animals reportedly died of smoke inhalation after a lighting fixture inside a metal barn apparently caught fire, filling the barn with smoke. The victims of the fire included two capuchin monkeys, four chimpanzees, two baboons, eight endangered lemurs, two mangabeys (monkeys), one bear cub, one African crowned crane, three tortoises, four wolf hybrid puppies, and one cat.

PETA has contacted the roadside zoo and urged its executive director to allow us to place the three surviving primates (two baboons and a ring-tailed lemur) in reputable sanctuaries, where they can recover from the trauma of likely witnessing other animals die around them and have the opportunity to be integrated into a new social group. We’ve offered to help place any of the roadside zoo’s other animals in sanctuaries as well.

Thirty animals died in just three days. This should show anyone who isn’t yet convinced that animals don’t belong in captivity .