Don’t Reinstate Jambbas Ranch’s Suspended License, PETA Tells Feds

Latest Public Report Shows That Despicable Roadside Zoo Continues Record of Animal Abuse, Neglect

For Immediate Release:
May 13, 2014

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Read the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest available inspection reports, and you’ll see that the deplorable Cumberland County–based Jambbas Ranch continued to deny veterinary care to animals, forced animals to live in excrement-filled enclosures, and failed to maintain premises in sanitary conditions, violations that PETA contends make it unlawful for the agency to reinstate the facility’s license, which was suspended in January for a minimum of four months. That’s why today, PETA sent an urgent letter to the USDA urging it to deny any request by Jambbas to have its license reinstated. Lawyers for PETA say that absent a demonstration of compliance, the USDA cannot lawfully reinstate Jambbas’ license.

“If the USDA goes by the book, this hideous roadside zoo cannot get its license back, and for the animals’ sake, it shouldn’t,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders. “The law dictates that any application for reinstatement of Jambbas’ license should be looked at and tossed.”

Just since April 2013, Jambbas has been cited for failing to give veterinary care to a rabbit who was so thin and weak that the USDA inspector recommended immediate treatment or euthanasia, housing rabbits in rusty wire cages that were not properly sanitized, having rodent excreta in a storage area for animal food, and having no evidence of efforts to curtail the rodent infestation.

The USDA has cited Jambbas repeatedly for forcing animals to live in unsanitary conditions and hazardous enclosures and for denying them sufficient food and potable water. USDA inspectors found several dead animals or animals who were in such dire need of veterinary care that euthanasia was recommended. Jambbas also allowed bison to be swarmed by flies until their skin was so irritated that they licked it raw. PETA’s lawsuit against the USDA for rubberstamping Jambbas’ license renewals in the past despite the licensee’s failure to comply with the Animal Welfare Act is pending in U.S. District Court in Raleigh.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.