PETA Calls for Nightmarish Facility to Be Shut Down After Latest USDA Citations Include Rotting Shelters and Maggot-Infested Food
For Immediate Release:
June 6, 2016
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Wilmer, Ala. — The Mobile Zoo – a notorious roadside zoo that PETA has targeted for years—has been slapped with yet another round of citations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). According to the newly released May 11 inspection report, shelters were in disrepair, with loose, rotten timbers holding up tiger and lion cages and exposed sharp, rusty nails, which put the animals at risk for injury or escape. A coyote had spoiled food, described as “dark brown” meat “covered with dirt and maggots,” that possibly harbored pathogens, putting the animal at risk for disease.
“Both the food and shelters at The Mobile Zoo are rotting, and these latest citations add to the facility’s mile-long rap sheet for animal neglect and public endangerment,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. “PETA is calling for this hellhole to be shut down and the animals to be retired to reputable sanctuaries, for everyone’s safety.”
Last year, the USDA filed a lawsuit against The Mobile Zoo for a long list of alleged AWA violations, and the case is still pending. PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—also sued the roadside zoo earlier this year over its treatment of a chimpanzee named Joe, alleging that he suffered in solitary confinement for nearly two decades while being held in violation of the Endangered Species Act. Although Joe was surrendered and is now living happily at an accredited sanctuary, many animals continue to languish at The Mobile Zoo.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
