Notorious Cumberland County Animal Abuser’s License Suspended
USDA’s Action Follows PETA Complaints, Lawsuit by PETA and ALDF
For Immediate Release:
January 15, 2014
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Following numerous complaints from PETA and a lawsuit filed by PETA, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), and local residents, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has suspended the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) license of longtime animal abuser Jambbas Ranch Tours, Inc., a deplorable menagerie in Cumberland County, for at least four months. The order, which was just released and includes a $10,000 penalty, states that beginning today, Jambbas may not exhibit or deal in regulated animals and can regain use of the license only if it demonstrates compliance with the AWA. The USDA’s order is the result of a May 2013 complaint charging Jambbas with nearly a dozen AWA violations, including failure to provide animals with adequate veterinary care on six separate occasions—including for a goat whom an inspector found dead.
“By suspending Jambbas’ license, the USDA has taken an important first step, but this business’s long history of abusing and neglecting animals calls for permanent revocation,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. “Routinely denying animals clean water and vital veterinary care dictates that Jambbas be shut down forever.”
“Animals at Jambbas Ranch Tours suffer every day of their lives, so this USDA action is long overdue,” says ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells. “The filth, neglect, and outright cruelty at Jambbas make it a perfect example of why animals should never be locked up and deprived of everything that’s important to them.”
PETA is also calling on Cumberland County Animal Control to seize all wild animals, including alligators, whom Jambbas may be holding in violation of county law. County law provides an exception for zoos to possess these animals, but because Jambbas is currently prohibited from exhibiting animals—and states on its website that it’s “[n]o longer open [to] the general public”—it does not qualify for this exemption. PETA has offered to assist in relocating the animals to appropriate homes where they will receive the care that they need.
