Minka Kelly Demands Help for Balding Tiger at Roadside Zoo

Actor Joins PETA in Calling for Captive Big Cat’s Transfer to an Accredited Sanctuary

For Immediate Release:
July 14, 2020

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Speaking out in behalf of a balding tiger with the same name as her character in the hit TV series Friday Night Lights, actor Minka Kelly sent a letter to the owners of the Waccatee Zoo today, pleading for help for Lila, who has been documented incessantly licking her bare skin and pacing back and forth inside her cramped cage—both of which are signs of psychological distress and physical discomfort.

“PETA already has a plan in place to transfer her to an accredited wildlife sanctuary that has the resources and expertise to provide the care that the organization believes her life depends on,” writes Kelly. “Lila clearly needs immediate help. Please, accept PETA’s offer and let her be transferred to an accredited sanctuary without further delay.”

Other animals at the Waccatee Zoo have recently been seen with severely overgrown hooves, wounds, and significant hair loss, and the facility is in general disrepair, with dirty and unsanitary conditions, insecure fencing, and other issues. The roadside zoo was previously cited for failing to provide animals—including a lion who had difficulty walking—with adequate veterinary care and for keeping bears and cougars in enclosures that lack adequate space.

Kelly joins visionary artist Shepard Fairey in calling for animals held at the Waccatee Zoo to be sent to reputable sanctuaries. PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.