PETA Statement re Monkey Escape: Anyone Would Flee From Zootastic Park

For Immediate Release:
September 17, 2025

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Below, please find a statement from PETA Foundation primatologist Debbie Metzler regarding the 5-year-old capuchin monkey who escaped this morning from Zootastic Park in Troutman, North Carolina:

Anyone would want to escape a hellhole like Zootastic, where monkeys have suffered with inadequate shelter in subfreezing temperatures, lost body parts to frostbite, and have been forced to live in moldy cages, and this capuchin’s dash for freedom follows numerous other animals’ escapes from enclosures at Zootastic. PETA urges everyone to stay away from this shoddy roadside zoo and is filing a complaint urging federal authorities to investigate, ensure that the monkey is treated for any injuries he may have sustained, and hold Zootastic accountable for its utter failure to protect this frightened animal.

Zootastic Park has amassed a long list of citations for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act, including for failing to provide adequate veterinary care to numerous animals, including two squirrels whose tails were amputated because of apparent “self trauma.” Previously, a kinkajou, two capybaras, and 20 goats escaped from enclosures at the park, which also has a history of human injuries, including a man who was bitten by a tiger cub and a woman who was hospitalized after an encounter with a wildebeest.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.