11 More Federal Law Violations at The Farm at Walnut Creek

U.S. Government Report Shows Sheep and Goats Suffering From Untreated Medical Conditions

For Immediate Release:
July 9, 2013

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Sugarcreek, Ohio — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just released an inspection report revealing that Henry Hampton—owner of Sugarcreek-based roadside zoo The Farm at Walnut Creek—has again been cited for repeat violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) for failing to provide animals with medical care, including a goat and an aoudad sheep who were limping, two sheep with pink masses protruding from their rectums, and a sheep with a swollen face who had been suffering from a prolonged cough.

The 11 citations in the USDA’s report also include Hampton’s continued failure to adequately separate the animals from members of the public who walk and/or drive through the property, putting animals at risk, as well as food crawling with insects in the sheep barn, cows who have no access to shelter from the sun and the rain, and animals who have nothing to drink from but mud puddles.

“Again and again, Henry Hampton has left animals to limp, struggle to find drinkable water, and suffer from unabated, painful conditions,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. “PETA wants Ohio families to know that if they care about animals, the last place they should take the kids is The Farm at Walnut Creek.”

Hampton’s long list of previous AWA violations include failing to treat a giraffe who had overgrown hooves for more than a year, allowing a baboon to suffer from a swollen and oozing eye for at least 17 months, and placing the public’s safety at risk. In April 2012, a camel bit a child at Lazy 5 Ranch, Hampton’s facility in North Carolina, because, according to the USDA, there was no barrier and no attendant to prevent public contact with the animal, as required by law.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.