Hollywild Animal Park Hit With New Animal-Welfare Violations

U.S. Department of Agriculture Report Shows Neglected, Suffering Animals, and Cramped, Filthy Enclosures

For Immediate Release:
December 8, 2015

Contact:
Lakisha Ridley 202-483-7382

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just released a new report citing repeat offender Hollywild Animal Park for a litany of new violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The report includes citations for the death of a baby alpaca who died from unknown causes in the summer of 2015. The baby’s mother also died from unknown causes. Several unsheared alpacas endured temperatures of up to 100 degrees, while another was found severely underweight. Bears were confined to tiny, cramped concrete dens so small that they couldn’t stand on their hind legs and one had no choice but to lie in her own feces. And a tiger was found caked in filth, confined to a muddy enclosure filled with feces and urine.

“Animals imprisoned at Hollywild Animal Park are deprived, neglected, and suffering, as this shocking report makes clear,” says PETA Foundation Deputy Director Brittany Peet. “PETA is calling on authorities to step in now and ensure that all the animals are transferred to a reputable sanctuary where they can recover in peace.”

The USDA’s new report also cites the park for confining animals to dilapidated enclosures with exposed nails, loose floor boards, and gaps in fencing—putting them at risk of serious injury. The barn had also not been cleaned in so long that an inspector found the remains of an animal believed to be a deer inside, and discarded building materials and waste were left scattered around the facility.

As noted by PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—Hollywild’s previous violations include numerous and repeat failures to provide animals with adequate veterinary care, including for an addax who suffered from a swollen, seeping eye wound; a wolf-dog hybrid, who suffered from seizures and eventually had to be euthanized; and chimpanzees, who suffered from multiple bouts of whipworm. A fire this past January also killed 28 animals at the facility.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.