A Cougar, a Coatimundi and a Pot-Bellied Pig Get New Life
It’s usually good news when a roadside zoo shuts down. One of the worst of these miserable facilities was Waccatee Zoo in Myrtle Beach, which was closed down last year following a prolonged lawsuit with PETA.
This week some of the former inmates at Waccatee found new homes: A cougar was transferred to Carolina Tiger Rescue in Pittsboro, North Carolina while a coatimundi and pot-bellied pig are on their way to the sanctuary Lions Tigers and Bears in San Diego.
According to PETA’s lawsuit, Waccatee had denied animals some basic needs – adequate shelter, space, security, and nutrition. The animals rescued this week bring the total up to twelve saved since the zoo shut down, a menagerie that includes a llama, two bears, and six emus, which all found safe, spacious living arrangements at the Wild Animal Refuge in Springfield, Colorado.
PETA’s beef with Waccatee went back decades. The animal-rights group dubbed Waccatee “the worst roadside zoo in America” (which is saying something), alleging violations of both the federal Endangered Species Act and South Carolina’s public nuisance law. The dozen animals rescued from this hellhole now have a chance for a decent life.
“At their new sanctuary homes, these animals will have a chance to thrive in large, lush naturalistic habitats and finally receive the care they desperately need,” says PETA Foundation General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet.
“PETA urges kind people everywhere to stay far away from roadside zoos,” says Peet, “where animals are exploited for entertainment and denied everything that’s natural and important to them.”
With Waccatee shut down, PETA has identified a new “worst roadside zoo in the US,” the Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Sanctuary in Oroville, California. This dump, says PETA, “is littered with abuse, attacks, escapes, fines for violating state and federal laws, and evidence of a chronic inability to meet even the country’s bare-minimum standards for animal care.”
You can follow PETA’s next crusade against roadside zoos here.
Photo credit: PETA via YouTube
