Video of Limping Monkey, Pacing Animals at Tregembo Prompts Call to Feds

PETA Calls for Inspection of Apparent Animal-Welfare Concerns at Roadside Zoo

For Immediate Release:
April 19, 2017

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

Yesterday, PETA sent a complaint requesting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspect Tregembo Animal Park, where an eyewitness recently documented animals in cramped cages and in apparent need of veterinary attention. Video footage shows a limping guenon monkey, a fox and a donkey with hair loss, and a bobcat who appears to have difficulty navigating up a structure—an indication of possible visual impairment that requires a veterinary evaluation.

A fennec fox, a serval, a bear, a capuchin monkey, and patas monkeys were also observed engaging in repetitive pacing, a behavior commonly associated with severe mental distress and inadequate space. PETA is calling on the USDA to hold Tregembo accountable for any violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act that it may find.

“Tregembo Animal Park apparently cannot or will not provide animals with some of their most basic needs, including sufficient space,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. “PETA is calling on authorities to step in and make sure that these animals aren’t left to suffer in cramped, squalid cages.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—also notes that a capuchin monkey at Tregembo was confined alone, which can cause psychological suffering in a naturally social animal, and that an enclosure confining a cotton-top tamarin was filthy.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.