Feds Cite, Warn Bailiwick Animal Park

PETA Calls On Roadside Zoo to Retire Bears to a Reputable Sanctuary

For Immediate Release:
January 18, 2017

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

According to recently released government documents, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cited Bailiwick Animal Park in Catskill for allowing workers to enter an enclosure to feed bears while the animals were still inside. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also issued a hazard alert advising the roadside zoo to transfer the bears to a safe and secure area while workers clean the enclosure and supply food.

These actions come after PETA submitted complaints to both the USDA and OSHA with video footage that showed an apparently agitated bear chasing and attacking a worker at the facility—and coming close to escaping from the enclosure in the process.

“Bailiwick Animal Park’s careless practices have put animals, workers, and the public at risk,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. “PETA is calling for these bears to be moved out of this dangerous facility and retired to a reputable sanctuary, where they’d be cared for and protected—not treated as roadside attractions.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—notes that Bailiwick has a long documented history of failing to meet the bare minimum requirements of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Among other issues, the facility was cited in 2015 for leaving a red fox to become frostbitten in bitterly cold temperatures and failing to seek veterinary care for the animal, who died the next day.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.