Statement From PETA: Pymatuning Deer Park Fire

For Immediate Release:
February 10, 2021

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet concerning Monday night’s deadly fire at Pymatuning Deer Park:

Just two months after PETA notified Pymatuning Deer Park of the group’s intent to sue the roadside zoo over its mistreatment of endangered animals, one of those animals is dead: Lola, a highly social lemur who lived and died in solitary confinement because this decrepit outfit wouldn’t let PETA arrange to transfer her to a reputable animal-care facility. If the roadside zoo learns anything from these deaths, it will let PETA find appropriate homes for the surviving animals before it’s too late for them, too.

Another animal Pymatuning has refused to allow PETA to find a new home for is Bosco, a bear who has been confined to an antiquated concrete pit for decades and is now showing signs of arthritis, a condition that also plagued the bear who was confined with him before her death. The roadside zoo received an official warning from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2016 for over a dozen violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, including for keeping bears in concrete pits—but it has refused to end this practice.

More information about PETA’s planned lawsuit against Pymatuning is available here.