Is Roadside Zoo Illegally Exhibiting Animals on Suspended License? PETA Wants an Investigation

For Immediate Release:
January 22, 2026

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

PETA has uncovered evidence that seems to show that local roadside zoo Canton Grand Safari may be unlawfully exhibiting animals despite its license being suspended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a slew of violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. PETA today filed a complaint with the USDA calling on it to investigate and to deny any reinstatement of the facility’s license.

PETA has just discovered recent social media posts which indicate that Canton Grand Safari has been exhibiting lemurs and other animals while the three-week license suspension is in effect. The facility’s license was suspended after PETA filed multiple complaints with the USDA, which included eyewitness reports and social media videos revealing that the roadside zoo was allowing dangerous hands-on interactions with young monkeys—who were seen climbing on visitors’ heads and shoulders without any apparent direct control from staff members, risking both injury and zoonotic disease transmission. The suspension order notes that the facility failed to ensure the safety of the animals and members of the public during interactions, obtained animals from unpermitted sources, and failed to maintain safe enclosures.

“Canton Grand Safari has shown an utter indifference to the health and safety of the animals it exploits, to its visitors, and to the law,” says PETA Foundation Managing Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler. “PETA is calling on the USDA to yank this sleazy operation’s license permanently and urges everyone to stay away from tourist traps that treat animals as nothing more than props for photo ops.”

A recent federal report reveals that the facility was cited earlier this year after inspectors found a capuchin fiddling with an electrical outlet located within arm’s distance of their enclosure, a baboon chewing on a discarded hair tie, an unsanitary ring-tailed lemur enclosure, and other animals confined alongside railroad ties with exposed, sharp metal rods. The facility was also cited for purchasing multiple guinea baboons from an unlicensed animal dealer in Seagoville.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—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.