Wildlife in Need responds to USDA abuse report

Wildlife in Need is again under fire from animal-rights group PETA after a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection revealed abuse of its animals and unsafe conditions for visitors.

Two recent inspection reports reveal potentially deadly situations for visitors, unsanitary conditions for the facility's animals and repeat violations from previous inspections.

The Charlestown, Ind., facility is known for its "Tiger Baby Playtime" fundraisers, where people pay to interact with young tiger cubs. Wildlife in Need says it uses the money to help rehabilitate the animals as a part of its non-profit program.

PETA released a statement, along with the report of USDA's routine inspection of the facility in September, and said the "agency confirmed all of PETA's allegations and cited the roadside zoo for multiple violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act."

On Wildlife in Need's public Facebook page, the non-profit's owner Tim Stark criticized the Courier-Journal's report of USDA inspections and PETA's response to them.

"I stand my ground," Stark said in the post. "I maintain that I am proud of what I do, of the organization I lead, and the man that I am. I maintain that at Wildlife in Need, we love our animals, and we treat them as such."

The USDA inspection PETA refers to was performed Sept. 13 at one of Wildlife in Need's tiger playtime events. But another inspection, performed on Oct. 8 of this year, cites continued problems at the facility.

Some findings from the Sept. 13 inspection:

• There were approximately 40-50 people at Wildlife in Need on that day, including one newborn baby, a toddler and approximately 10 children below the age of 10. People were instructed to keep body parts out of the reportedly 35- to 40-pound tiger cubs' mouths. 
• One cub appeared to be asleep and was dragged out by its front feet. The cubs had no collars or leashes, and Wildlife in Need attendants would swat the cubs with a short whip if they tried to bite. 
• One of the cubs bit a woman, "apparently breaking the skin." She was led out of the room. 
• The cubs were "too big, too fast, and too dangerous" to walk among people freely.
• It also notes the exhibition of a young monkey, used for photos with the public, and it becoming agitated.

"The use of a riding crop to prevent these large, aggressive cubs from biting is considered physical abuse and can cause unnecessary discomfort, pain and suffering to the animal," the report states.

PETA claims Charlestown man harmed tiger cub

And the USDA official said in the report that not only is the situation dangerous to the public, but the cubs are exhibited almost daily - often several times a day - with a one-hour break. On the day of the inspection, the animals had been exhibited for 5 hours with 11 sessions total.

No rest and constant stimulation can "cause stress and possible illness" for the animal, the report said.

According to Wildlife in Need's website, the organization has hosted more than 150 events including the "Tiger Baby Playtime" and exotic animal encounters since June of this year.

Some findings from the Oct. 13 inspection:

• One "Fennec fox" in an enclosure had runny eyes with "a greenish mucus discharge" and it appeared thin. A veterinarian had been consulted about the fox's eyes, but not the other issues.
• A Great Dane's eyes were expelling a thick, green mucus. The eyes hadn't been cleaned, and a veterinarian wasn't contacted.
• The two enclosures for dogs, near the tiger pens, were in disrepair with exposed nails and chewed wood. There also was no shade for the dogs in the enclosures.
• A guillotine door for lemurs was broken and the animals couldn't access their shelter or food and water. 
• One tiger pen was "still non-compliant with fencing," meaning it was less than 12 feet high and didn't have proper containment of the animals. Another had protruding nails within the pen and a third had pointed-edge tin protruding into the shelter.
• In all of the tiger pens and the cougar pen, there was a "large buildup of bones" lying throughout. Bones made up about "40-50 percent of the floor space." 

"The buildup of bones, feces and debris can be a source of disease or injury," the Oct. 8 report states.

PETA official Brittany Peet requested an inspection of the facility Sept. 9 of this year, citing what the organization believed were violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

"This cruel and dangerous operation must be shut down and retire the animals to reputable sanctuaries where they won't be used as playthings," Peet said in a release Wednesday.

Tim Stark has been scrutinized by PETA and other organizations in past years for his handling of exotic animals.

A story by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published in November of last year found that it's legal to own a big cat in Indiana and there's "no federal law that uniformly regulates the possession of big cats."

Since the report, former employees and volunteers have voiced their concerns for the facility and state lawmakers have attempted to regulate exhibits like Stark's.

Reporter Lexy Gross can be reached at (502) 582-4087, or via email at lgross@courier-journal.com.