Shalom Wildlife ‘Sanctuary’ Is Trying to Save Itself by Deceiving the Public—Don’t Let It!

Shalom Wildlife “Sanctuary” in West Bend, Wisconsin, is no stranger to duping the public with its sham label—and now the roadside zoo is taking the façade even further. Facing a lawsuit challenging their permit to expand, the facility has been aggressively crowdfunding on social media, tricking well-meaning people into thinking they’re supporting a real sanctuary. As PETA and federal inspections have repeatedly shown, this shabby operation is anything but a sanctuary. Since its opening in 2014, the facility has maintained dubious ties to breeders and has been cited for numerous handling violations. Don’t give a single dollar to this hellhole.

Shalom “Sanctuary” Is Just Another Tourist Trap

Accredited sanctuaries exist for the well-being of animals—not for humans’ entertainment. They don’t let visitors pet, hold, or feed wild animals; they don’t breed animals; they provide vast, naturalistic habitats where animals can thrive; they’re staffed with trained animal care experts; and they don’t exploit them for profit in any way. Now let’s compare these standards to the conditions at Shalom:

• Irresponsible breeding: The facility recently bred a female white tiger, Ginger, who gave birth to four cubs. These cubs will now spend their lives in tiny, barren cages at Shalom—or be sent to another roadside zoo with equally poor conditions. White tigers are a genetic anomaly caused by inbreeding, which often leads to serious health problems, including crossed eyes, cleft palates, spinal deformities, cardiac defects, and weakened immune systems. Read more about the myths of white tigers here.
• Direct public contact: Shalom continues to force animals into unnatural, stressful encounters with humans, putting both animals and visitors at risk.
• Inadequate enclosures: Animals trapped at Shalom languish in cages that are too small and lack proper enrichment, likely causing them extreme boredom and distress.
• Animal deaths: In 2022, two tiger cubs, Khan and Nina—also the offspring of Ginger—drowned in a pool. A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report indicated that it was the result of the facility’s failure to prevent the cubs from accessing the pool.

Other Incidents at Shalom

June 2025: Prompted by a PETA complaint, the facility was cited twice by the USDA—one for failing to have adequate barriers and supervision to protect animals and guests, and other for allowing public feedings of animals without an attendant present. 

September 2024: The facility was cited for failing to provide a porcupine with adequate shelter to protect against inclement weather. The enclosure only contained a platform with wood chips on it, and there were no provisions for the porcupine to escape the weather or to stay warm.

July 2022: Shalom failed to have an attendant present for public feedings and allowed members of the public to bring their own food to give to animals—an extremely risky move that had apparently been allowed for years.

May 2021: A woman hopped the shoddy fence to Shalom’s bear enclosure and hand-fed two bears—she was also able to pet bobcats by the same means. The owner only became aware of her behavior—which was extraordinarily dangerous to herself and the animals at the roadside zoo—while being shown videos of the incident that had been posted on social media. Shalom banned the woman, but the harm had already been done: The facility’s responsibility is to protect animals from such behavior, but it failed.

2017: The U.S. Department of Agriculture cited Shalom for failing to have public barriers in front of many enclosures. The lack of these critical safety features puts the public at risk at this roadside zoo.

Shalom Keeps Bad Company

Shalom Wildlife “Sanctuary” chooses to do business with some of the worst suppliers. In 2021, it acquired two bear cubs who were bred by Yellowstone Bear World—where a PETA investigation found that bears were threatened with beatings—in a shady series of deals. The cubs, who had already endured the trauma of being torn away from their mother, were shuffled between several people in the span of five days on their way to Shalom, no doubt adding to their stress.

The facility also acquired two tiger cubs from Animal Haven Zoo, an infamous hellhole where animals suffer in dilapidated enclosures, have received insufficient veterinary care, and have been made to live amid piled-up waste, among other things. Like the bear cubs, these two cubs had been ripped away from their mother while they were still infants.

Don’t Support Shalom or Any Other Sham “Sanctuary”

Potential visitors to any facility or park that includes captive animals should look for sanctuaries accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. Member sanctuaries must observe a strict code of ethics and meet animal welfare standards that far exceed the minimal ones outlined in the federal Animal Welfare Act. Reputable sanctuaries never breed animals or force them to engage in public encounters, which are dangerous for them and human visitors alike. They also make every effort to replicate an animal’s natural habitat.

Speak Out Against Roadside Zoos

When roadside zoos and breeders work in cahoots, animals lose. But we won’t let it happen in silence. Everyone who speaks out for animals brings us a step closer to dismantling networks that exploit them for profit. Please, help the animals at Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary’s shady suppliers by taking these actions: