For immediate release:
September 24, 2021
Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382
Tacoma, Washington. – A recently released USDA report obtained by PETA shows the agency quoted and fined local petting zoo Debbie Doolittle’s Animal Experience after death two animals and trauma more than six dozen people…
According to the report, Debbie Doolittle acquired a tamandua (a species of anteater) and never quarantined it, adapted it to its new environment, or examined it by a veterinarian. He suffered from weight loss and was found dead just three weeks after arriving. A sloth named Malia died after falling from a climbing facility, and an autopsy revealed that at the time of her death she was suffering from severe exhaustion, signs of chronic stress and bruising, which were found to be “consistent with mishandling, neglect and neglect. ignorance of animal care ”. And at least 79 members of the public were injured while interacting with the animals, including a guest who was bitten and left bloody by an otter. The USDA fined the roadside zoo $ 7,500.
“Obviously, this petting zoo is almost as dangerous to visitors as it is to animals caught in it,” says Michelle Sinnott, associate director of the PETA Captive Law Enforcement Foundation. “PETA urges everyone to avoid this dirty operation, as if their safety depends on it, because it is.”
The USDA report also notes that Debbie Doolittle was unable to properly anchor the metal ramp in the fennec fox enclosure, one of which was injured so badly that she had to have her leg amputated.
PETA, whose motto is in part that “animals are not meant to be used by us for entertainment” and which opposes arrogance, a worldview based on human superiority, has previously called for a charge of cruelty in connection with Malia’s death. For more information on collecting news and reporting on PETA investigations, please visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…