PETA urges USDA action against wildlife refuge
The animal-rights group PETA is continuing its push for federal regulators to take action against Tim Stark, a Charlestown man who has run the nonprofit organization Wildlife in Need on his property since 1999.
In a Wednesday letter to the USDA, PETA attorney Delcianna Winder sent a letter to Elizabeth Goldentyer, a veterinarian who serves as the USDA's Eastern regional director, saying Stark may have violated the Animal Welfare Act by admitting in a recent application for a captive-bred wildlife permit that multiple animals at his facility have died from what she believes were preventable causes.
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Goldentyer listed several animals who Stark admitted died there from 2010 to 2014: a black bear killed by another bear, a Syrian bear euthanized for not being compatible with other bears, two ruffed lemurs who died because of a malfunctioning heater and two ring-tailed lemurs who died there during fights.
PETA maintains the Animal Welfare Act requires that animals be housed safely and handled in a manner that doesn't cause them physical harm or discomfort.
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"Please examine Stark's veterinary and disposition records and hold him fully accountable for any and all violations," Goldentyer urged the USDA.
After PETA called for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate a YouTube video of one of Stark's "tiger training" classes last August, Stark defended his actions, telling The Courier-Journal at the time he had allowed thousands of people of all age groups to handle baby tigers and an array of other exotic animals without any major injuries.
Stark admits he didn't keep good records for many years, but he has updated them since inspector visits in recent years. He feels PETA should be ignored because they file similar complaints regarding many applicants seeking a captive-bred wildlife permit.
"They're trying to stop me from getting this damn permit," Stark said, who has been licensed to keep wild animals for two decades.
The new license, he said, would allow him to breed endangered species and sell them across state lines, something he believes should be encouraged in all states despite being limited under other licenses.
Stark maintains that while inspectors who have come to his property over the years have had differing opinions and cited him for various violations, he has tried to comply with regulation changes and there have been no reports of emaciated animals or other accusations of animal abuse or neglect.
"I don't know any animal out there in the so-called wild that gets fresh cat milk every day," Stark said. "This is what I love to do."
Stark estimates the nonprofit organization his wife and he run has made about $10,000 from selling animals, or about $500 a year since it began, though it has donated more than $250,000 to other organizations. It also made money the past couple years from fundraiser events allowing people to interact with the animals.
"I've dealt with hundreds and hundreds (of animals) and I guess PETA believes they're supposed to live forever?" he said.
Stark said he was doing everything he could to prepare the animals this week for record cold temperatures, which could be deadly to humans or animals outside.
The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found in a November story following a lengthy investigation that state laws regarding wild animals vary widely and there's "no federal law that uniformly regulates the possession of big cats." An Indiana state legislator also has since called on federal investigators to update the public on what they have found at Stark's property, according to the news organization, part of Louisville Public Media.
Reporter Charlie White can be reached at (812) 949-4026 or on Twitter @c_write.