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| Md. zoo appeals after court says animals suffered in ‘fetid and dystopic conditions’ | Md. zoo appeals after court says animals suffered in ‘fetid and dystopic conditions’ |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A roadside zoo in Western Maryland where at least four endangered animals died appealed its case Sunday after a federal court ruled that two surviving lions and a tiger must be surrendered to a sanctuary. | A roadside zoo in Western Maryland where at least four endangered animals died appealed its case Sunday after a federal court ruled that two surviving lions and a tiger must be surrendered to a sanctuary. |
| In the past three years, two tigers, a lion and a lemur died at Tri-State Zoological Park in Cumberland. In 2017, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sued the zoo in U.S. District Court in Maryland after conducting undercover inspections. PETA asserted in court documents that owner Robert Candy housed animals in an unsanitary habitat and offered poor veterinary care, among other allegations. | In the past three years, two tigers, a lion and a lemur died at Tri-State Zoological Park in Cumberland. In 2017, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sued the zoo in U.S. District Court in Maryland after conducting undercover inspections. PETA asserted in court documents that owner Robert Candy housed animals in an unsanitary habitat and offered poor veterinary care, among other allegations. |
| On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sided with PETA, writing in an opinion that the facility engaged in “flagrant and persistent violations” of the Endangered Species Act, and ordered that the zoo no longer keep endangered species. | On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sided with PETA, writing in an opinion that the facility engaged in “flagrant and persistent violations” of the Endangered Species Act, and ordered that the zoo no longer keep endangered species. |
| Xinis found that the zoo, located on a 16-acre site that was once a campground, housed animals in “fetid and dystopic conditions” where “filth and feces dominate.” | |
| Roadside zoo in Md. must prepare to give up endangered animals after PETA sues | Roadside zoo in Md. must prepare to give up endangered animals after PETA sues |
| “The uncontroverted testimony reflects that every animal at issue suffered under Tri-State’s living conditions,” Xinis wrote after a six-day trial. “Rotting vegetables spilled over large receptacles, decaying meat sat in piles outside the kitchen and in the furnace room under the nearby reptile house, and decomposing carcasses were left for days in the enclosures for the tigers and lions.” | |
| On Sunday, the zoo appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Nevin Young, an attorney for the facility, said it planned to challenge PETA’s standing to bring the case. | On Sunday, the zoo appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Nevin Young, an attorney for the facility, said it planned to challenge PETA’s standing to bring the case. |
| The animals remain at the facility while the case is under appeal, Young said, and the zoo planned to a file a motion to stay the lower court’s order to remove them. | The animals remain at the facility while the case is under appeal, Young said, and the zoo planned to a file a motion to stay the lower court’s order to remove them. |
| “I agree that the judge’s finding of facts don’t look good based on the unopposed testimony from PETA experts,” he said. “I think a lot of statements they made are false.” | “I agree that the judge’s finding of facts don’t look good based on the unopposed testimony from PETA experts,” he said. “I think a lot of statements they made are false.” |
| In a statement, Brittany Peet, the PETA Foundation’s director of captive animal law enforcement, said the “landmark ruling sends Tri-State and every other roadside zoo a clear message that keeping social species in isolation and sentencing sick animals to slow, painful deaths will not be tolerated.” | |
| “For more than a decade, PETA has fought tooth and nail for the animals at Tri-State, and we’re pleased that the court has given these survivors a new lease on life,” the statement said. | “For more than a decade, PETA has fought tooth and nail for the animals at Tri-State, and we’re pleased that the court has given these survivors a new lease on life,” the statement said. |
| According to the judge’s opinion, with inadequate nutrition and little to do in a “bacteria-ridden wasteland” serviced by inexperienced veterinarians, animals died. | According to the judge’s opinion, with inadequate nutrition and little to do in a “bacteria-ridden wasteland” serviced by inexperienced veterinarians, animals died. |
| “I’m not a specialty in any of those zoo animals,” one vet told the court, according to the judge’s opinion. | “I’m not a specialty in any of those zoo animals,” one vet told the court, according to the judge’s opinion. |
| Mbube, a lion, was euthanized in 2016 after “a slow and painful demise” from an unknown illness, the opinion said, and a necropsy was never performed. Bandit, a lemur, died in 2018 after a two-year respiratory infection and “chronic stress” that may have led it to mutilate itself. And two tigers died in 2019 — one, Kumar, of a stroke after “years of captivity in a fetid, concrete swimming pool,” and another, named India, of sepsis “likely brought about by exposure to contaminated food or water and perpetuated by poor sanitary conditions and a lack of preventative care,” the opinion said. | |
| The opinion also questioned the health of “three living protected animals” currently at the zoo — a lion, a white lion and a tiger — and said the court would “permanently enjoin Defendants from owning or possessing any endangered or threatened species.” The animals were ordered removed to a sanctuary. | The opinion also questioned the health of “three living protected animals” currently at the zoo — a lion, a white lion and a tiger — and said the court would “permanently enjoin Defendants from owning or possessing any endangered or threatened species.” The animals were ordered removed to a sanctuary. |
| “The Court finds that the public interest is best served by ensuring that the remaining protected animals are not forced to endure life at Tri-State any further,” the opinion said. | “The Court finds that the public interest is best served by ensuring that the remaining protected animals are not forced to endure life at Tri-State any further,” the opinion said. |
| Mauling, escapes and abuse: 6 small zoos, 80 sick or dead animals | Mauling, escapes and abuse: 6 small zoos, 80 sick or dead animals |
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