PETA Calls On Feds to Nix Cruel Menagerie’s Bid for a Breeding Permit

Fragile Planet’s Animal-Care Violations, Limited Endangered-Animal Experience Are Grounds for Disqualification, Says Group

For Immediate Release:
December 3, 2013

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

PETA has just filed formal comments with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service opposing Alexandria Bay–based Tyler Thomas’ application for a permit to breed endangered animals at his facility, Fragile Planet Wildlife Center. In its comments, PETA points out that captive-bred wildlife permits under the Endangered Species Act may be issued only to licensees who promote the survival or propagation of the species in the wild—and Thomas has expressed no intention of enhancing the survival of endangered species. His only apparent purpose is to buy and sell animals for his private collection and for profit.

PETA also notes that in the mere two years that Fragile Planet has held a U.S. Department of Agriculture exhibitor’s license, the facility has received multiple citations for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act, including housing an endangered ring-tailed lemur alone in a parrot cage—causing the lemur psychological distress—and housing an endangered ocelot in a “medium size dog enclosure.”

“It takes expertise to run an endangered-species conservation program—expertise that a man who sticks endangered wild animals in tiny cages clearly doesn’t have,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. “PETA is calling on the Fish & Wildlife Service to refuse to allow Thomas to open up shop as an endangered-animal breeder-for-profit.”

PETA’s comments also note that Thomas has apparently obtained several endangered animals—including the lemur and the ocelot, as well as a Chinese alligator and a brush-tailed bettong—despite expressing concerns about financial difficulties on Fragile Planet’s Facebook page.

PETA’s comments are available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.