Yellow River Game Ranch Cited Again for Animal-Welfare Violations

For Immediate Release:
May 10, 2016

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

In February, notorious roadside zoo Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn, Georgia, was cited for a slew of violations of the Animal Welfare Act—obviously ailing animals were allowed to suffer without any veterinary care and facilities were in egregious disrepair. Now, just three months later, Yellow River has racked up seven more citations for its ramshackle cages and buildings. Among other issues (you can see the recently released inspection report here), the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector observed a rusted and non-operational water dish in an enclosure housing bears, which forced them to drink their contaminated pool water; “[e]xcessively rusted cages”; insulation falling from the ceiling in a food storage building; and bags of stored food that were shredded, spilled, and scattered by rodents.

“Decrepit cages and tumbledown buildings are on display at Yellow River Game Ranch right alongside the animals who have been denied veterinary care and everything that’s natural and important to them,” says PETA Foundation Deputy Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. “This kind of disrepair and neglect is exactly why PETA urges families to stay away from any roadside zoo that exhibits animals for profit.”

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment.”