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Whistleblowers: Champions for AnimalsWhistleblowers have been instrumental in revealing neglect, carelessness, and mistreatment at scores of facilities.
In February 2001, PETA exposed the beating of the Seattle Woodland Park Zoo’s elephant Chai during her breeding loan to the Dickerson Park Zoo. We learned from a whistleblower that Chai was beaten for several hours while her keeper from Woodland Park Zoo did nothing to stop it. Despite denials by Woodland Park Zoo officials, the USDA investigated the situation, found that Chai had been mistreated, and charged the Dickerson Park Zoo with causing her “trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm, and unnecessary discomfort,” in violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Dickerson Park Zoo subsequently paid a $5,000 fine to settle the case. In May 2005, a whistleblower contacted PETA about a cover-up at the Saint Louis Zoo, where the public was being blamed for throwing trash into an enclosure, causing the death of polar bear Churchill. The zoo insider claimed that the plastic bag found in Churchill’s digestive tract was actually one used by keepers, and that veterinary care was not provided to the ailing bear until two weeks after his condition was reported. The USDA opened an investigation into this incident. The USDA cited the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois, for failure to provide adequate shelter after a whistleblower alerted us to the December 2004 death of a camel who had been inadvertently left out overnight. What Should I Report?Zoo insiders’ compassionate action brought these incidents to light—you may be in a position to bring about similar positive changes at your facility. Your intuition and observations could be the key to helping an animal who is not receiving proper care. The following situations are cause for concern:
Problems Can Happen AnywhereAnimals suffer from more than neglect in some zoos. Rose-Tu, an elephant at the Oregon Zoo, suffered “176 gashes and cuts” inflicted by a zoo handler using a bullhook. Another elephant, Sissy, was beaten with an ax handle at the El Paso Zoo. Twiggs and Jeffrey, two giraffes born at the Cape May County Zoo in New Jersey, ended up being sold to a traveling circus. The director of the Cape May County Zoo admitted to seeing the animals’ pitiful living conditions in the circus but reportedly did not have a problem with it. A chimpanzee named Edith was born at the Saint Louis Zoo. Just after her third birthday, she was taken from her family and shuffled around to at least five different facilities, finally landing at a Texas roadside zoo. During an undercover investigation at this poorly run zoo, PETA found Edith in a filthy, barren concrete pit. She was hairless and had been living on rotten produce and dog food. Some zoos even sell animals for slaughter. At the Minnesota Zoo, about 130 animals from its petting zoo, including goats, calves, pigs, and sheep, are sold to an auction house for slaughter each year. What You Can DoTry to document your concerns with photographs or video and contact PETA. You can report your concerns anonymously by using this form or calling 1-866-ZOO-TIPS. We guarantee confidentiality, whether you choose to provide contact information or not. (However, we encourage you to let us know how we can follow up with you, in case we need to clarify some details.) If violations of the Animal Welfare Act, Endangered Species Act, or other statutes are reported, we will file the complaints with the appropriate agencies. Your identity will not be revealed. Please don’t give animals in need the cold shoulder. Instead, be their hero and ensure that they receive the protection and care they deserve. |
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• Unsuitable habitat (e.g., enclosures that are too small, poorly designed, unsafe, or not maintained)
