For Fast Launch:
November 14, 2023
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
West Union, Sick. – PETA simply realized that the U.S. Division of Agriculture (USDA) has revoked the federal license of infamous roadside zoo operator Thomas Edmonds—completely banning him from exhibiting animals regulated by the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA)—and levied a high quality of $25,100 towards him. In accordance with the formal criticism submitted by the USDA that led to the license revocation, Edmonds’ roadside zoo, Walnut Prairie Wildside, racked up greater than 65 alleged violations of the AWA over 4 years.
The criticism alleged that Edmonds failed to offer sufficient veterinary take care of a number of animals, together with two vervet monkeys and a ring-tailed lemur, who all died; failed to offer animals with sufficient shelter and water; did not deal with animals correctly, together with permitting unsupervised contact between animals and members of the general public, leading to a customer dropping a tiger cub on her head and a number of guests (together with kids) being bitten by animals; and allowed a volunteer to feed an grownup tiger an egg from her mouth, amongst different violations.
A cat with eye discharge and a ring-tailed lemur at Walnut Prairie Wildside. Credit score: PETA
“Animals have suffered and died in Thomas Edmonds’ negligent and incompetent palms for years,” says PETA Basis Director of Captive Animal Regulation Enforcement Michelle Sinnott. “PETA applauds the USDA for lastly taking the mandatory steps to place this shady exhibitor out of enterprise and urges everybody to remain far-off from all roadside zoos.”
PETA repeatedly alerted the USDA to ongoing and critical considerations at Walnut Prairie Wildside, which resulted in lots of the alleged AWA violations being famous within the USDA’s criticism. Extra details about Edmonds’ historical past of AWA citations is out there right here.
PETA—whose motto reads, partially, that “animals should not ours to make use of for leisure or abuse in some other method”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For extra data on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please go to PETA.org, take heed to The PETA Podcast, or observe the group on X (previously Twitter), Fb, or Instagram.
