PETA, ALDF Push Forward in Suit Against Feds for Renewing Menagerie’s License
Jambbas Ranch’s Temporary License Suspension Not Enough—Cruel Facility Must Lose License Entirely, Say Groups
For Immediate Release:
January 29, 2014
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently suspended the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) license of notorious Jambbas Ranch for four months—but PETA, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), and local residents are pushing forward in their lawsuit seeking to have the USDA’s renewal of that license set aside entirely. In a motion filed Tuesday evening seeking summary judgment, the plaintiffs reiterate that the AWA requires license applicants to demonstrate compliance with AWA standards—which Jambbas has repeatedly failed to do.
Newly obtained records indicate that the USDA renewed Jambbas’ license despite knowing about a variety of major issues:
- Jambbas acquired approximately three dozen baby goats at just 4 days old. Approximately two-thirds of these died within weeks, at least two from pneumonia and starvation.
- Jambbas’ manager, James Bass, in a sworn affidavit for the USDA, attested, “I don’t understand the definition of poor health.”
- Bass further testified that he didn’t treat a goat whom the USDA had discovered with “excessive hair loss” and “[e]xposed skin [that] was thick and scaly,” because “I may have noticed the skin problems and just forgot to treat it. … I wasn’t worried about it.”
Furthermore, the USDA has admitted to a policy of automatically rubberstamping virtually all AWA renewal applications, regardless of pending charges, pending investigations, or chronic violations—in further violation of the AWA. The groups also want the court to set aside this policy.
“It’s not enough to temporarily suspend Jambbas’ license, which should never have been renewed in the first place,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders. ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells adds, “PETA and the ALDF will continue to push the USDA to stop rubberstamping the license renewals of any neglectful, abusive facilities, including Jambbas Ranch.”
