Notorious Animal Abuser's Permit Revoked by Pahrump Commission

After PETA Appeal, Authorities Enforce County Law and Block Karl Mitchell, Owner of Big Cat Encounters, From Keeping Big Cats

For Immediate Release:
February 14, 2013

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Pahrump, Nev. — One more aspect of Karl Mitchell's notorious big-cat exhibition business is now illegal, thanks to last night's vote by the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission (RPC). On the heels of an urgent appeal from PETA, the RPC has unanimously agreed that Mitchell's continued unlawful exhibition of dangerous big animals without a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) exhibitor's license requires revocation of the conditional use permit that has allowed Mitchell to keep dangerous exotic animals on the Pahrump, Nev., property that he is leasing from Raymond Mielzynski.

"Mitchell's decades-long record of cruelty to big cats has caught up with him," says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. "This man has zero respect for animals, for the laws designed to protect them, or for the agencies that enforce those laws, so PETA is relieved that Pahrump has taken an important step toward protecting them all."

Mitchell's lengthy history of violating the federal Animal Welfare Act includes failing to provide animals with adequate living conditions, veterinary care, and palatable food and water; withholding water as a training technique; and, of course, continuing to exhibit big cats illegally. Earlier this week, PETA called on the USDA to bring criminal charges against Mitchell, pointing out that his insistence on defying the law in the face of three cease-and-desist orders and more than $100,000 in fines requires appropriate legal consequences.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.