New Lawsuit Filed Against Tri-State Zoological Park

PETA, Co-Plaintiff Sue Over Animal Mistreatment, Neglect

For Immediate Release:
May 14, 2020

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Today, PETA and Constance Collins filed a lawsuit against Tri-State Zoological Park; Animal Park, Care & Rescue, Inc.; and their owner, Robert Candy, alleging that Tri-State’s neglect and mistreatment of the animals held at the facility violates federal and state law and constitutes a public nuisance. The suit asks the court to order that the animals be transferred to reputable facilities.

PETA and Collins allege that the notorious and decrepit roadside zoo interferes with the rights of the public and frequently denies the more than 100 animals in its custody timely veterinary treatment, daily care from qualified staff, sufficient enrichment, proper food and clean water, and even adequate shelter. Tri-State also fails to house animals in social groups that meet their species-specific needs, including Dodger, a monkey who is confined alone and was observed picking skin off his tail until it started to bleed, and Spazz, a monkey who is confined alone and has bald patches on his body.

“With every filthy enclosure and sick or stressed animal, this abject failure of a facility shows that it either can’t or won’t meet the needs of the animals it holds captive,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. “The plaintiffs look forward to taking Tri-State Zoological Park before a judge and securing the animals’ release to suitable habitats, where they can live out their lives in comfort and peace.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—previously won an Endangered Species Act lawsuit against Tri-State, which resulted in the transfer of three big cats from the roadside zoo to an accredited sanctuary in Colorado and prohibited the facility from owning or possessing endangered or threatened species. Tri-State has appealed, and that appeal remains pending.

PETA opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.