New Documentation: Entrenched Animal Neglect at The Camel Farm

Sick and Ailing Animals Are Routinely Denied Veterinary Care

For Immediate Release:
August 16, 2018

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

According to a newly available U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection report, The Camel Farm—a disreputable roadside zoo that PETA has lodged numerous complaints against—continues to put animals at risk by failing to provide them with adequate veterinary care. During a May 2018 inspection, the inspector found that a fox who had been suffering from hair loss and inflamed skin for a full year had yet to be seen by a veterinarian with appropriate expertise.

PETA also recently obtained photographs from an inspection that show neglected animals at the facility in need of veterinary care. A goat who had been reluctant to bear weight on a front leg since at least March 2017 was still limping nearly a year later. The animal was finally seen by a veterinarian in April and euthanized. Recently, a coatimundi who had been taken off display several years ago because he had mobility issues had still not been evaluated by a veterinarian, even though he couldn’t bear weight on his right rear leg. Inspectors also recently cited The Camel Farm for failing to provide a goat with veterinary care. The animal had wounds and an abnormal gait, likely because his hooves had grown so long that they were curling up.

The damning inspection documents come on the heels of the USDA’s failure to release photographs, videos, and other records related to The Camel Farm in response to PETA’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The agency stated that it refused to provide the records in order to protect the roadside zoo from “embarrassment.” Given that the agency released subsequent records, PETA is now filing a supplement to its FOIA appeal. The Camel Farm is also implicated in PETA’s lawsuit challenging the USDA’s renewal of chronic violators’ licenses.

“The public has the right to know that The Camel Farm routinely allows animals to suffer without veterinary care for months on end,” says PETA Foundation Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders. “Families who care about animals will stay away from this sleazy roadside zoo.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—is asking The Camel Farm to retire all the animals there to reputable facilities where they would receive regular and timely veterinary care.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.