PETA Praises Progress of Local Bid to Restrict Public Handling of Wild Animals

For Immediate Release:
July 11, 2023

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Below, please find a statement from PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Michelle Sinnott regarding the unanimous vote late last night by the Animal Advisory Commission in Austin, Texas, to approve a recommendation to the city council to limit public contact with most wild animals at unaccredited for-profit zoos and aquariums:

PETA applauds the Animal Advisory Commission for taking the first step toward protecting humans and other animals from dangerous roadside petting zoos such as Austin Aquarium, where a PETA undercover investigation exposed a trail of injured animals, customers, and staff. This controversial outfit has plagued the community for almost a decade, and PETA looks forward to seeing the Austin City Council do the right thing by passing much-needed safeguards into law.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information about PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.