Marmoset Electrocuted, Animals Denied Veterinary Care—Take Action Now!

Mini “S” Exotic Zoo is a roadside zoo in Mineola, Texas, where animals are confined to cramped, dilapidated, and dirty cages; have been denied much-needed veterinary care; and have endured appalling deaths.

In 2023, the facility was cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for multiple egregious animal welfare violations during two separate pre-license inspections, including for acquiring two infant spider monkeys from an unlicensed dealer, confining two owl monkeys to a barren enclosure lacking enrichment, allowing excess feces and grime to build up in capuchin and lemur enclosures, and failing to provide veterinary care for two primates (a ruffed lemur named Trixie and a gibbon named Madee) with diarrhea. Despite these violations, the USDA failed the animals by passing the facility on the third inspection and renewing its license. Predictably, Mini “S” Exotic Zoo was cited again by the USDA just seven weeks after the license renewal, this time for missing records.

Earlier in 2023, after a former employee contacted PETA about numerous animal health and welfare issues, PETA sent a complaint to the USDA requesting an inspection of this shoddy, rundown facility. The agency slapped Mini “S” Exotic Zoo with over a dozen citations and an official warning for multiple violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, including a critical citation for an incident in which a marmoset died after being electrocuted in a rodent trap.

The USDA cited the facility for failing to contact a veterinarian regarding multiple animals who were suffering with various ailments, including a South African springhare with large amounts of hair loss and wobbly rear legs. The whistleblower reported that animals frequently went without veterinary care because the owner, Michelle Smith, often failed to contact the veterinarian at all or would delay veterinary care and euthanasia, prolonging the animals’ suffering.

The USDA has failed to take meaningful action for the animals at the facility, but you can help them!

Mini “S” Exotic Zoo forces wild animals into public encounters so Smith can make a buck, which is stressful to the animals and puts everyone in danger of getting hurt. Prioritizing commercial gain over animals’ basic needs is a form of speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.

Please urge Mini “S” Exotic Zoo to transfer the animals to reputable facilities where they could finally get the care that they desperately need.

Send polite comments to:

Michelle Smith
Owner, Mini “S” Exotic Zoo
[email protected]

Please feel free to use our sample letter, but remember that using your own words is always more effective.