Protesters to Descend On Decrepit Roadside Zoo

PETA Supporters Will Urge Notorious Keymar Facility to Relinquish the Remaining Animals in Its Custody to Reputable Facilities

For Immediate Release:
September 14, 2018

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

What:    On Sunday, PETA supporters and local activists will descend on the notorious Deer Haven Mini Zoo in Keymar for the first of several protests against the animal prison, which recently closed its doors to the public and relinquished its U.S. Department of Agriculture license—but continues to keep animals in its barren enclosures. PETA is also releasing a new video of Lily, a bear who was morbidly obese when she was rescued from the facility in 2016 and who has lost hundreds of pounds at her new sanctuary home.

When:    Sunday, September 16, 12 noon

Where:    12312 Detour Rd., Keymar

After the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed notice of its intent to sue Deer Haven, many of the animals held there were rescued, including cavies, artic foxes, and lemurs—two of whom were missing portions of their tails. The animals still imprisoned at Deer Haven in unhealthy, hazardous conditions include rabbits, goats, alpacas, deer, and many others.

“This rundown facility has proved time and again that it either can’t or won’t provide the suffering animals in its custody with even minimal care,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. “This protest will be the first of many, and the demonstrations will continue until Deer Haven Mini Zoo heeds PETA’s call to send the remaining animals held there to reputable facilities.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—notes that in the past year and a half, when Deer Haven was still operating as a roadside zoo, it received citations after every single federal inspection.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.