On Monday, May 30, the tailgate on a truck carrying animals used by the Kids and Critters petting zoo came unlatched, spilling the animals out onto Highway 680 outside of Benicia, California. According to the California Highway Patrol, a sheep and a goat were killed outright, and a cow whose leg was broken after being thrown from the vehicle was subsequently hit by two passing cars and killed. Children who had been traveling in the truck were seen rounding up several sheep who were wandering dazedly around the scene. An eyewitness to the incident, who captured the horror on video, described the scene as a “nightmare.”  

Animals used in petting zoos are treated as little more than equipment. They are continually hauled around in trucks and trailers, confined to small pens and cages, and forced to interact with large crowds of people. Sheep, goats, pigs, and other farmed animals are continually petted and prodded by excited children. Listless ponies tethered to turnstiles plod in endless circles. None of these displays showcase the intelligence, beauty, or natural behavior of animals; they are gratuitous and cruel.

In addition to the inherent cruelty of carting animals around from place to place, there are serious health risks to people visiting petting zoos. Petting zoos all over the country have been responsible for untold numbers of illnesses in visitors, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as many state departments of health, to issue public health warnings. According to the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, multiple bacterial, viral, and parasitic agents have been associated with animal contact. Infections can spread through direct animal contact or simply by touching the surroundings near an animal exhibit.

We are calling upon the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to open an investigation into exhibitor Patrice Pekkala, who does business as Lincoln, California-based Kids and Critters, and should it be determined that negligence and/or substandard equipment led to the death of these three animals, we are asking for her license to be revoked. 

Please write polite letters to USDA officials, asking them for a full investigation into this matter and to take appropriate action:

Dr. Robert Gibbens
USDA/APHIS
2150 Centre Ave.
Building B, Mailstop 3W11
Fort Collins, CO 80526
970-494-7478
970-494-7460 (fax)
acwest@aphis.usda.gov