PETA has contacted officials at the Fort Worth Zoo (FWZ) to express our grave concerns about the well-being of frogs, snakes, and other animals at the facility’s herpetarium—dubbed the “Museum of Living Art” (MOLA). We’re urging them to immediately bring in qualified outside consultants to thoroughly review and evaluate the animals’ care and living conditions.
Why are we worried? Because one of FWZ’s animal caretakers at MOLA, Ari Flagle, as well as his supervisor, Mike Doss, were both intimately connected to U.S. Global Exotics, Inc. (USGE), from which more than 26,000 exotic animals were seized by authorities, thanks to PETA’s undercover investigation.
Before Flagle started at FWZ, he was a supervisor at USGE, where our undercover investigator documented his abusive behavior toward animals and his blatant disregard for their suffering. Flagle intentionally left groups of animals to “die off” and mocked their agonizing deaths. These animals included an emerald tree boa who died after Flagle left the snake outside in the blazing sun and a group of ailing snakes he called “garbage.” Here’s a video of Flagle’s “Worst Of” moments:
