Caught: Tri-State Zoological Park Cited for Filthy Enclosures

PETA Complaint Prompts Federal Action for Tigers, Pigs, and Alpaca

For Immediate Release:
April 2, 2015

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

As a result of a recent PETA complaint, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspected Tri-State Zoological Park and slapped the facility with five new citations for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). According to the March 4 inspection report, which just became publicly available, animals were forced to wade through mud in order to reach drinking water and enclosures that held tigers were crumbling and insufficient, putting the animals at risk. Rodent droppings and other waste littered the facility, and an enclosure that housed a coatimundi had an excessive buildup of feces and food waste.

“Tri-State Zoological Park has repeatedly failed to meet even minimum standards for the care of animals established by law,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders. “This squalid facility is a hellhole for the animals imprisoned there, and that’s why PETA is calling on caring people to steer clear.”

The USDA has previously cited Tri-State Zoo repeatedly for failing to provide animals with adequate veterinary care, clean and secure enclosures, environmental enrichment, and adequate shelter from the wind and cold temperatures as well as for allowing the buildup of excessive amounts of animal waste in multiple enclosures. In March 2013, the USDA suspended the facility’s AWA license for 45 days and ordered it to cease and desist from violating the AWA. PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—urges people everywhere to avoid facilities that imprison animals for human pleasure and convenience.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.