Tregembo Animal Park Again Over Wounded Animals, Other Problems

PETA Alerted the USDA to Injured Tiger; Feds Found More

For Immediate Release:
November 11, 2021

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Local roadside zoo Tregembo Animal Park is in hot water with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) again—this time, receiving federal Animal Welfare Act citations over its failure to monitor injured animals properly, including a tiger with a 1.5-inch open wound on her ear and a camel with a closed eye. The USDA citations follow a PETA complaint alerting the agency to the wounded tiger, named Sasha.

According to the newly released government report, Tregembo Animal Park had failed to refer health problems with Sasha and the camel to a veterinarian, noting that regular communication with a vet and daily observation of the animals are needed in “minimizing pain.” Tregembo also received a citation after an inspector observed a serval cat “exhibiting distress” over the number of flies in the enclosure and around the animal’s body, repeatedly flicking his or her ears and biting at the insects.

“Tregembo is an animal prison that receives citations for the same neglect of animals over and over again,” says PETA Foundation Associate Director for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Debbie Metzler. “PETA asks that the public stay away from this cruel roadside zoo, which doesn’t properly care for its animal inmates.”

In February, Tregembo received another citation after it failed to contact a veterinarian about a pig who was lame in both rear legs, even though staff knew of her condition. In 2017, the roadside zoo received a citation for failing to provide a leopard with a wound on her tail with veterinary care, and in 2015, it was cited for neglecting to offer veterinary care to a bear named Ben—later rescued by PETA—who suffered from facial lesions that were causing him to lose his vision. Previous citations also include failing to clean enclosures properly and keep them in good repair.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.