Fire at Hollywild Animal Park Warrants Agency Investigation
For Immediate Release:
January 22, 2015
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Wellford, S.C. – PETA sent a complaint today calling on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to launch an investigation into the fire that recently killed eight endangered lemurs, along with 20 other animals, at the notorious roadside zoo Hollywild Animal Park. The facility, which is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and which received more than 20 citations in 2014 alone, has a long and devastating history of animal-related incidents, some with lethal consequences for the animals imprisoned there. In 2010, two female capybaras (large South American rodents) died after a fight broke out in their enclosure when a male was introduced—a direct result of Hollywild’s failure to ensure that animal introductions are done in a manner that prevents injury.
“As Hollywild’s string of violations of the Animal Welfare Act shows, this facility is interested in profit, not in the well-being of the animals it uses,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders. “PETA is asking the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to act now to protect the surviving endangered animals and move them to a reputable sanctuary.”
As documented by PETA, whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment,” dangerous—and often fatal—neglect is common when animals are displayed for human amusement. With no freedom to choose food, companions, or territory, animals in captivity are housed in cages that don’t begin to compare to the jungles and forests that are their natural homes.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
