The Animal Legal Defense Fund and five Iowans filed a lawsuit Monday against the Cricket Hollow Zoo in Manchester.
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| An aerial photo of Cricket Hollow Zoo in Manchester, Ia. The photograph is among the exhibits in a lawsuit filed against the zoo's owners. (Photo: Tracey Kuehl/Special to the Register) |
The group previously sued Cricket Hollow, and in February a judge ruled that the zoo had to give up its endangered tigers and lemurs. The ruling prevented the zoo's owners, Pam and Tom Sellner, from acquiring new endangered species until they could demonstrate that they could give the animals proper care.
The ruling did not affect about 300 other animals at the roadside zoo.
The most recent lawsuit claims that Cricket Hollow Zoo confines African lions "in small, barren enclosures, which disrupt and impair the large cats," according to the complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Iowa and provided to The Des Moines Register by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
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| Photo: Kelsey Kremer, The Register |
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| Filthy enclosures for lions and tigers |
The complaint states that zoo visitors have seen "a female lion retching in her enclosure, a lioness repeatedly ramming herself into her cage fencing, enclosures strewn with fly-laden meat and feces, and flies feasting on the ears and noses of African lions."
Less than two weeks ago, a zoo visitor reportedly saw a lioness "shivering, could not stand or walk properly and was panting so hard (the visitor) feared she was hyperventilating," the complaint states.
The lawsuit claims that Cricket Hollow Zoo's treatment of lions violates the federal Endangered Species Act.
The owners of Cricket Hollow Zoo could not be reached by phone for comment Monday. The zoo is closed on Mondays.
Pam Sellner, who opened the zoo in 2002, told the Register in November that she loves her animals and enjoys teaching people about animals through the zoo.
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| USDA Inspection photo taken 12/10/11 showing empty water receptacle, with an excessive amount of dirt and debris in it, for the Sheepdogs. |
Jessica Blome, senior staff attorney with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, said the group wanted to include lions in its first lawsuit, but at that time it was unclear whether the lions at the zoo were designated as an endangered species. Federal designations have since changed, making it clear that the lions are protected under the Endangered Species Act, she said.
She said she's confident in this case against the zoo because the previous lawsuit caused the zoo to give up its tigers.
"All of the evidence that applied to the tigers applies to the lions," she said.
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| In the cattle pen, there was an accumulation of water and mud around the water tanks and the feeding area. The cattle were required to walk through mud and feces to get to their food and water. |
Five tigers died at the zoo since 2013, a California veterinarian testified in court last fall. The veterinarian said the tigers had received "inadequate care," describing the animals' enclosures as covered in feces and old food.
Blome said Monday that Cricket Hollow Zoo had four lions in 2014, but one has since died, and another has "disappeared." She said she did not know whether it had been moved to another facility or died. The zoo now has two lions — one male and one female, she said.
"We think that if the lions aren't treated, they will die," she said. The Animal Legal Defense Fund hopes to have a court hearing within 30 days.
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| During a June 2012 visit to Cricket Hollow Zoo, Tracey Kuehl took this photo of empty water dishes inside an enclosure occupied by two rabbits. Kuehl and the Animal Legal Defense Fund are suing Cricket Hollow and the USDA over conditions at the zoo. |
Cricket Hollow Zoo transferred three lemurs and four tigers to other facilities after the initial lawsuit. The lemurs were taken to Special Memories Zoo in Hortonville, Wis., and the tigers to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Ind.
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| The Primate Building at Cricket Hollow Zoo, as seen in a USDA inspector's photograph taken in September 2013. |
Earlier:
These are disgusting people keeping animals in these cruel conditions.
ReplyDeleteThese are disgusting people keeping animals in these cruel conditions.
ReplyDeleteALDF Agreed that after the death of the lioness named "Najarra" the Cricket Hollow Zoo has three days to decide if they would want the remains returned, which in itself is just reprehensible. http://www.wildlifeplanet.net/is-aldf-mission-animals-or-donations.html
ReplyDelete