Roadside Zoo’s Bid for Captive-Bred Wildlife Permit Under Fire From PETA

Group Points Out Gaping Holes in Tim Stark’s Permit Application, Consistent Failure to Care for Endangered Animals Properly

For Immediate Release:
March 10, 2015

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

PETA has sent a letter calling on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to reject notorious animal exhibitor Tim Stark’s application for a captive-bred wildlife permit, which is meant to support conservation breeding programs and would allow Stark’s Charlestown roadside zoo, Wildlife in Need, to buy and sell seven endangered species across state lines.

As PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—notes in its comments, Stark has utterly failed to demonstrate any ability to care for endangered animals properly. In his own application, he admits that two endangered lemurs at his facility died after getting into a fight, among other animal deaths, and in the last five years, more than twice as many animals have died at his facility than have been born there. Stark has also racked up 19 citations for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) in just the last two years. PETA also points to several holes in Stark’s application, which fails to specify where he would acquire endangered animals, how long he has cared for various endangered animals, and how he will prevent future animal mortalities, among other essential information.

“As the many deaths at Tim Stark’s decrepit facility demonstrate, this man has more experience in allowing animals to kill each other than he does in keeping endangered species alive,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders. “PETA is calling on the authorities to throw Stark’s bid to exploit endangered animals further straight into the recycling bin.”

Stark’s many AWA violations include allowing members of the public to be pounced on and bitten by young tigers, failing to supply veterinary care to three endangered baby leopards who later died, failing to provide animals with clean and secure housing, and failing to have an attending veterinarian for at least two years, among many other citations.

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