Monkeys Suffer Frostbite, Another Exposed to a Live Wire—Chaos at Zootastic Park

Update (April 12, 2022): Zootastic Park has failed to provide animals—including lemurs and others—with basic protection from the elements, causing them to suffer from frostbite in below-freezing weather.

After Zootastic left a De Brazza’s monkey and a capuchin monkey in outdoor enclosures lacking adequate shelter or heating when temperatures dropped as low as 19 degrees, both animals required medical care and lost parts of their tails.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection report obtained by PETA revealed that officials had slapped Zootastic with a “critical citation” for failing to meet even the minimum care standards required by the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Other citations for Zootastic stemmed from troubling incidents, including these:

• Staff members medicated animals without veterinary oversight.
• They allowed members of the public to have unsupervised contact with animals.
• They exposed a young howler monkey to a live electrical cord, which could have caused injury or death.

PETA is calling on everyone to stay away from seedy roadside zoos like this one, which needs to send these long-neglected animals to reputable facilities where they can get the care they need.

Update (November 17, 2021): After PETA alerted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) twice to the fact that a Prevost’s squirrel appeared to be suffering from a tail injury at Zootastic Park—a disreputable roadside zoo in North Carolina that we’ve lodged complaints against for years—the agency cited the tourist trap for failing to provide animals with adequate veterinary care and noted that the tails of two squirrels at the facility had been amputated because of apparent ongoing “self-trauma.”

We also raised the alarm on an injured wolf who appeared to be suffering from flystrike, a painful condition in which maggots feed on flesh. During the inspection, the agency found three wolves with open wounds and thick, crusty scabbing on their ears “consistent with chronic fly strike”—yet staff had not conveyed the condition’s severity to a veterinarian.

In addition, the USDA cited Zootastic after finding multiple rats eating food in the Patagonian cavy and chicken enclosure.

Filthy Premises, Injured Animals, and More—Zootastic’s History With the USDA

This isn’t the park’s first run-in with the USDA—far from it. The sleazy establishment’s repeated citations for animal suffering and neglect are well documented.

• June 2021: A routine inspection led to three other citations. Investigators found filthy, feces-covered primate enclosures, two enclosures in disrepair that could endanger animals, and swarms of flies in the food-preparation area, “the baby room,” and multiple enclosures.
• March 2021: After PETA tipped off officials to goats who were limping around the facility, the USDA cited Zootastic for failing to notice several animals in need of veterinary care. The agency noted that such inattention could have caused “increased periods of pain and suffering,” and one of the young goats had an obvious and almost certainly painful limp that likely went untreated for at least two months. These citations led to an official warning by the USDA—as you keep scrolling, you’ll discover that it wasn’t the first time Zootastic has been slapped with official warnings for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

• November 2019: The USDA cited the park for two violations of the AWA after PETA alerted the agency to a disturbing video posted to Facebook of an apparently distressed juvenile tiger being showcased at a public event. According to the inspection report, the behavior of the tiger—who was lying down, unresponsive, and panting—could have been the result of “general exhaustion, heat exhaustion, and/or sedation.” The USDA also cited the park for exhibiting the 6-month-old, 50-pound tiger on a leash, without any barriers between the animal and the public—endangering both.
• November 2016: The USDA slapped Zootastic with a $7,450 fine for nine violations of the AWA. Related inspection reports state that Zootastic failed to provide the following cubs with adequate veterinary care: a tiger named Elsa with a bleeding tail injury, a liliger (a crossbred big cat) named Logan who had hair loss over 40 percent of his body, and a tiger named Zara who had hair loss as well as significant swelling around and discharge from her eyes. The roadside zoo also put the public’s health at risk, since three cubs—one of whom was being used in public encounters—were being treated for highly contagious ringworm.

Zootastic was also fined because it had failed to maintain enclosures in good repair, keep enclosures and premises clean, and ensure that food for animals was safe for consumption after a walk-in freezer was found to be malfunctioning and moldy feed was found in a storage area. In addition, the roadside zoo was fined for failing to have a sufficient number of adequately trained employees after a wildebeest attacked a worker and for not having adequate enclosures after a kinkajou escaped and was killed by a lion cub.

Zootastic Was Told Repeatedly to Clean Up Its Act

Zootastic has previously received multiple official warnings from the USDA, including for failing to have proper barriers separating the public from wild animals and a calf with ringworm, failing to seek veterinary care for an extremely thin goat, failing to provide animals with adequate shelter, failing to comply with written veterinary programs, and operating without a license.

Don’t Let Zootastic Brush This Under the Rug

PETA’s repeated complaints have led to multiple citations from the USDA, but we won’t be satisfied until the shady business retires all of the animals it confines to reputable facilities. The animals trapped at Zootastic value their lives and want to live free from torment, just as anyone else does. They don’t deserve to be treated like inanimate attractions. Take action for them today: