PETA Slaps the Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation With Notice of Intent to Sue Over Neglect, Animal Deaths

PETA Foundation has named the Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation (Kirshner) in Oroville, California, the “Worst Roadside Zoo in America.” At this disgraceful facility, big cats, bears, and other animals have been trapped for years in tiny, dismal chain-link cages without access to grass, trees, pools, or any other meaningful environmental enrichment. Numerous animals have suffered and died at the hellhole, likely due to apparent neglect. Now, PETA is prepared to take legal action to hold the seedy operation accountable and to end its abuse.

PETA’s Legal Action Against Kirshner

PETA’s legal counsel served the Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation with a Notice of Intent for a citizen suit over its alleged repeated violations of the Endangered Species Act. The 49-page document details more than a decade of cruelty, including denying sick and injured animals the veterinary care they desperately needed.

Here are just a few examples of animal neglect and suffering at Kirshner:

• Two Lemurs, Shaka and Zuki, became ill and languished without veterinary care in the weeks leading up to their deaths.
• Big cats developed metabolic bone disease, a painful condition caused by malnutrition that led to muscle mass loss, bone fractures, and lameness. Tiger cub Shyra suffered from broken bones and muscle loss due to malnutrition. She was later confiscated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and eventually transferred to the Performing Animal Welfare Society in San Andreas, California, where Shyra—now named Cleo—leads a healthy life.
• Kirshner failed to provide timely and appropriate veterinary care and comply with veterinarians’ instructions for tigers, several of whom died.
• The facility didn’t provide proper nutrition to snow leopards, six of whom have died since 2012, including three in the past three years alone.
• Kirshner subjected ring-tailed lemurs—highly social primates who typically live in groups of up to 30 individuals—to lonely lives in barren cages devoid of intellectual stimulation, often isolated or with only a single companion. 
• Lions Leyah, Lucie, and Samson suffered from untreated wounds, lesions, and other bodily injuries.

The PETA Foundation’s notice follows a criminal investigation by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in February 2025, which was prompted by a PETA complaint.

Kirshner has proved that it can’t be trusted to care for animals.

Kirshner has repeatedly violated the most basic standards of care for the animals it confines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) have cited the roadside zoo multiple times for egregious violations.

The endangered big cats and other animals confined there develop preventable diseases and wounds that are left to fester.

In July 2024, PETA fired off a letter calling on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to revoke the permit that allows Kirshner to keep and exhibit animals and to refer it for criminal prosecution under the state’s cruelty-to-animals laws.

Check out the timeline of citations from state and federal agencies below to discover why PETA dubbed Kirshner the “Worst Roadside Zoo in America.”

2015: The USDA Issues a Rare Fine

In November 2015, the USDA hit Kirshner with a $5,464 penalty for six alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including one for failing to provide a tiger and a lynx with veterinary care and four for allowing members of the public to directly (and dangerously) interact with lions, tigers, and a bear.

The USDA only issues such penalties for egregious animal welfare violations, securing Kirshner’s place among the worst of the worst roadside zoos.

2016–2019: 10 More Citations for Violating the AWA

Despite the 2015 USDA penalty, Kirshner continued to receive citations for failing to properly care for the animals there. From 2016 through 2019, the USDA cited the roadside zoo 10 times for violating the AWA.

• July 20, 2016: The USDA cited the facility for failing to handle a 16-week-old lion cub named Atlas properly and safely. Staff allowed a member of the public to hold him without using a harness or a leash. The inspector noted that he “appeared to be struggling and pushing away from the individual holding him.”
• April 26, 2017: The feds cited the operation for failing to provide a lynx who had a history of seizures with adequate veterinary care. After enduring back-to-back seizures, he was found dead in his enclosure. The USDA inspector noted, “The only treatment regimen ever attempted was phenobarbital alone, which was not sufficient to adequately control the seizures in this animal.”
• April 26, June 7, and June 26, 2017: The USDA cited Kirshner on each of these days over its failure to provide a lion cub named Lucie with adequate veterinary care and an appropriate diet. According to inspection reports, she became “severely lame, uncomfortable, and unwilling to stand,” and at the request of USDA officials, radiologists reviewed imaging of her bones and determined that they showed signs “typically seen in metabolic bone disease, which can be caused by a dietary deficiency.”
• August 15, 2019: Kirshner was cited for failing to provide animals with cooling measures in triple-digit temperatures. The USDA inspector noted that several animals “were panting and appeared uncomfortable and hot.” Inside a den box where a clouded leopard was observed panting, a thermometer showed the surface temperature to be about 106 degrees. Under the deck in the ringtail enclosure, it was around 110 degrees.

2021–2024: Kirshner Receives More Than Two Dozen AWA Citations Plus Multiple Penalties From Cal/OSHA

Since the beginning of 2021, the USDA has issued Kirshner 28 citations, including 13 in 2024 alone. In 12 consecutive USDA inspection reports, officials detailed many of the same problems, indicating that this seedy facility was apparently incapable of fixing its issues or unwilling to do so.

The serious issues documented at America’s worst roadside zoo caused animals to suffer and jeopardized their welfare. They included inadequate veterinary care, improper handling of animals—including during dangerous hands-on photo ops with guests—inadequate cooling measures during hot weather, and damaged and inadequate enclosures that could injure animals or allow them to escape.

• January 7, 2021: The USDA cited Kirshner for failing to have a valid written program of veterinary care.
• June 22, 2021: The USDA cited Kirshner over an incident in February 2021 in which a volunteer was injured by a leopard named Royal while she was inside an enclosure with the big cat. Cal/OSHA later fined the facility $1,800 for allowing this incident to occur. The Cal/OSHA summary explained that the leopard had jumped on the volunteer after she fell down and started biting her around the neck, inflicting puncture wounds that required hospitalization. The leopard escaped from the primary enclosure and was deemed “a threat to the community until [the animal] was back inside [the] primary containment,” according to a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection report.
• August 11, 2021: USDA officials cited Kirshner—again—for failing to provide animals with cooling measures, this time on a day forecasted to reach 106 degrees. The inspector noted several animals who appeared uncomfortable, particularly those who were overweight, including a tiger, a tiger/lion hybrid, a leopard, a lynx, and a clouded leopard. The inspector also observed that numerous cats were displaying visible signs of labored respiration, such as open-mouth breathing, owing to the heat.
• August 11, 2021: Authorities cited Kirshner for failing to provide a deer who had overgrown hooves with adequate veterinary care, which could cause discomfort and lead to injuries or lameness.
• November 1, 2021: Kirshner was cited for failing to notify its veterinarian about a coatimundi’s progressing hair loss and wounded leg. It also failed to notify the vet about a wolf who was incessantly pacing around an enclosure, to the point of wearing a deep track into the ground.
• January 4, 2022: Kirshner failed to handle a snow leopard in a way that minimized the risk of harm to the animal, earning the worst roadside zoo in America yet another citation. This came after a Kirshner volunteer took the snow leopard to a juvenile detention facility, where two people were photographed holding the cat.
• April 22, 2022: Stemming from a PETA complaint, Cal/OSHA again cited and fined Kirshner based on several social media posts showing staff dangerously handling a leopard.
• June 15, 2022: Kirshner was cited for failing to provide a ring-tailed lemur—a highly social primate—with any companionship. The facility compounded the psychological harm this would cause the animal by disregarding the requirement to provide the lemur with adequate environmental enrichment.

What You Can Do for the Big Cats, Bears, and Other Animals Suffering at Roadside Zoos

Never buy a ticket to any roadside zoo. Please let your friends, family members, and social media followers know why they should do the same.

Urge West Coast Game Park Safari to end its cruel public encounters and make a plan to send the chimpanzee and other animals to reputable facilities where they could live in vast, lush habitats and get the care they deserve: