Man’s Death in Kangaroo Enclosure Prompts PETA Push to Ban Wild Animal Encounters
For Immediate Release:
May 13, 2025
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
Following reports that a man was found dead with multiple blunt force injuries inside a kangaroo enclosure at a “petting zoo” in Loris on Sunday, PETA sent a letter today to Governor Henry McMaster, urging him to help protect the public and animals by banning direct contact with wild and exotic animals in South Carolina.
PETA notes that injuries abound when captive animals are exploited for entertainment—including in South Carolina. In recent years, a child was injured after being bitten by a prairie dog at Ballyhoo Petting Zoo in Anderson, and a monkey who escaped from Myrtle Beach Safari attacked a woman at her home, leaving her with serious wounds. In addition, petting zoos are hotbeds of serious pathogens, including E. coli and salmonella bacteria, which can spread through direct or even indirect animal contact.
“Denying animals everything natural and important to them and subjecting them to a barrage of grabbing hands is a recipe for disaster,” says PETA Associate Director of Legal Advocacy Jonathan Morris. “PETA is urging Governor McMaster to ban these dangerous and exploitative hands-on encounters for the safety of all South Carolinians, humans and other animals alike.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Gov. McMaster follows.
May 13, 2025
The Honorable Henry McMaster
Governor
State of South Carolina
Re: On Behalf of PETA, Request to Ban Public Contact with Wild and Exotic Animals
Dear Governor McMaster:
I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to kindly request that you initiate a ban on public contact with wild and exotic animals in South Carolina. According to recent reports on May 10, a man was found dead with “multiple blunt force injuries” while inside an enclosure with kangaroos and wallabies at a roadside zoo called 5 Star Farm in Loris, SC.[1] This recent incident epitomizes the public safety hazards and animal welfare concerns associated with direct contact between wild and exotic animals and humans.
Public contact with wild animals is inherently dangerous. Human handling is a significant stressor for wild animals, and public contact is particularly stressful because it forces these animals into interactions with unfamiliar individuals causing them to feel unsafe. In addition to the risk of physical injury, contact with wild animals risks transmission of numerous zoonotic diseases, including rabies, smallpox, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, and E. coli.
Captivity and training do not take away a wild animal’s potential to inflict harm, and it doesn’t take much for humans to trigger those instincts, potentially resulting in injury or worse—like the recent incident at 5 Star Farms shows—if the animal claws, bites, kicks, or flees. Such risks are amplified at unaccredited, for-profit facilities like 5 Star Farm where staff often have minimal experience or training, and there are limited if any safety polices in place.
Animal welfare is inextricably linked to the increased risks posed by direct contact encounters at roadside zoos because failing to meet a wild animal’s needs in a captive setting can cause psychological distress. Wild and exotic animals at unaccredited facilities typically live in a state of chronic stress due to poor welfare, which can result in injurious or aggressive behavior.
Public interactions with wild and exotic animals have resulted in countless incidents of animals biting, scratching, or otherwise injuring unsuspecting customers. For example, in 2023, a teenager was bitten by a sloth during a public encounter at a roadside zoo in Michigan, and had to undergo post- exposure rabies treatment.[2] In 2022, a 17-month old child was attacked by a lemur at a petting zoo in Georgia, which left the child with “blood gushing out” of his head.[3] In 2022, a three-year old was rushed to the hospital for a gaping wound that needed stitches after an iguana at a Forth Worth facility attacked him.[4] In Anderson, South Carolina, in 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited Ballyhoo Petting Zoo after a prairie dog bit and injured a child.[5] In Horry County, in 2021, a monkey escaped from Myrtle Beach Safari and attacked a woman at her home, biting her on the arm.[6]
The deadly incident at 5 Star Farm highlights the grave dangers direct contact with wild animals presents to both members of the public and captive wild and exotic animals. Accordingly, PETA respectfully urges you to initiate a ban on public contact with wild and exotic animals.
Very truly yours,
Jonathan Morris
Associate Director of Legal Advocacy, Captive Animal Law Enforcement
cc: Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette
1 Man found dead inside kangaroo, wallaby enclosure with ‘multiple blunt force injuries,’ Horry County police say (May 10, 2025), https://www.wbtw.com/news/grand-strand/horry-county/horry-county-police-say-non-domesticated-animal-involved-in-death-of-a-person/.
2 Sloth bites teen during visit to Michigan pet store, ruining lifelong dream, MLive.cm (March 16, 2023), https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2023/03/sloth-bites-teen-during-visit-to-michigan-pet-store-ruining-lifelong-dream.html.
3 Child attacked by lemur at Jackson County petting zoo, father says, Fox 5 Atlanta (March 21, 2022), https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/child-attacked-by-lemur-at-jackson-county-petting-zoo-father-says.
4 Parents Claim Son Attacked by Iguana, NBC Dallas/Fort Worth (June 7, 2022), https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/parents-claim-son-attacked-by-iguana/2987269/.
5 USDA Inspection Report, Ballyhoo Petting Zoo, license no. 56-C-0275, May 9, 2023.
6 Monkey escapes from Myrtle Beach Safari, bites woman in her backyard, police report (April 22, 2021), https://www.wjbf.com/top-stories/small-monkey-scratches-woman-near-myrtle-beach-safari/.
