Feds Sue Notorious Roadside Zoo for Alleged Violations of Animal-Welfare Law

Federal Inspections Reveal That Animals Were Allowed to Languish, Die Without Veterinary Care

For Immediate Release:
August 20, 2015

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

A longtime subject of PETA complaints to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for apparent violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), roadside zoo Woody’s Menagerie has now been slapped with a lawsuit from the USDA for alleged AWA violations, including denying veterinary attention to animals in its care, several of whom then died. Workers also reportedly failed to secure veterinary care for a young male lion with treatable conditions, instead opting to shoot him and sell his body to a local weight lifter.

“Negligence and incompetence seem to run rampant at Woody’s Menagerie, and a number of animals have paid the price with their lives,” says PETA Foundation Deputy Director Brittany Peet. “Every animal on the premises is in danger until each has been relocated to a reputable sanctuary.”

The lawsuit goes on to allege that a young female lion also died of unknown causes without receiving veterinary care or a necropsy after her death. Workers instead gave the attending veterinarian a bucket containing what were apparently her stomach and intestines for examination after her death. And Woody’s long history of violating the AWA doesn’t stop there. PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—has submitted complaints in past years with regard to a bear cub who appeared extremely stressed and was heard throwing his body against the walls of his transport carrier and breathing loudly and newborn bear cubs who were exposed to the public in 2014, placing them at risk of illnesses. The facility also allegedly made false statements to inspectors about animals despite receiving an official warning from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.