PETA condemns Myrtle Beach area zoo after inspection reveals animal welfare concerns
A Myrtle Beach area zoo is under fire again after a federal inspection revealed animal welfare concerns, including a lack of clean water for animals and failing to provide veterinary care for a pair of limping sheep.
PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, put out a news release condemning Waccatee Zoo this week. PETA cited a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection report containing citations for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
An enclosure housing sheep and deer did not have clean drinking water, according to the USDA report.
“The water receptacle contained cloudy, brown water that could not be clearly seen through to the bottom of the receptacle,” the report states.
“Floating on top of the water were clumps of brown and green plantlike material. Once drained, the receptacle had copious amounts of brown sludge sitting on the bottom.”
Two limping sheep did not receive any veterinary attention, the inspection report states. Employees at the Socastee zoo had not noticed the second limping sheep until pointed out by inspectors, according to the USDA report.
The report states that a limping animal suggests pain or an underlying condition.
“Failure to observe all animals daily can result in deterioration of the animal’s health, especially when limping has began and the initial onset is unknown,” according to the USDA report, which is dated May 5.
The report also states that a capuchin monkey escaped from the zoo during the inspection while its enclosure was being cleaned.
“Per the facility representative, the employee cleaning the enclosure was a new hire, employed at the facility for approximately four to six weeks. Though the employee was being supervised by a tenured staff member, the capuchin had not been locked out of the indoor exhibit. The cleaning protocol had not been followed, resulting in the capuchin fleeing from its enclosure.” the USDA inspection report states.
A Waccatee Zoo representative initially said they were unaware of the PETA news release and later declined to comment on the matter.
“The long-suffering animals at this ramshackle roadside zoo need help now,” PETA spokesperson Michelle Sinnott said in a news release.
This is not the first time PETA has publicly criticized Waccatee Zoo. Last year, PETA put up a billboard on U.S. 17 Bypass that read “Warning: Sick, Suffering Tiger; Don’t Stop at Roadside Zoos.”
The billboard came after PETA sounded the alarm regarding the condition of a tiger at Waccatee Zoo named Lila, who PETA said had lost nearly all of her fur and paced back and forth, a sign of psychological distress. In early March, Waccatee Zoo owner Jeff Futrell confirmed Lila had died last fall, according to WBTW.
Concerns about the condition of animals at Waccatee Zoo garnered national attention when Carole Baskin, star of the popular Netflix documentary series “Tiger King,” spoke to the New York Post in July about her concerns with Waccatee Zoo. The story was posted the same day PETA called the facility the “Worst Roadside Zoo in America.”
Baskin told the New York Post, “I am outraged that the wild animals at Waccatee Zoological Farm in Myrtle Beach are suffering needlessly, and the USDA is apparently doing nothing about it!”
