Dutch Creek Farm Animal Park (DCFAP) in Shipshewana, Ind. is facing a federal lawsuit after being accused of multiple and repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act, WSBT 22 News reports.
The park — which houses zebras, camels, lemurs, goats, and other animals — received a 21-day suspension from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shortly before the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed charges.
The lawsuit alleges that DCFAP’s owner, Vernon Miller, repeatedly failed to provide adequate veterinary care, sanitary living conditions, and sufficient food or water to animals — among other complaints.
Two examples concerned birds reportedly showing signs of suffering: an umbrella cockatoo missing feathers and a scarlet macaw with noticeably short tail feathers. The birds were believed to have possibly mutilated themselves due to stress, been assailed by other birds, or to have lost feathers because they were kept in inappropriate enclosures. Neither received any veterinary care, according to the lawsuit.
Seven animals were noted dead over the course of two and a half months — per Miller’s records — according to the lawsuit. While Miller allegedly claimed that some of the animals may have died after running into fences in the middle of the night, the lawsuit states that Miller failed to have the animals’ bodies examined by a veterinarian to check for transmissible illnesses or provide any insight into the deaths.
Other violations included unsanitary conditions. During a fall inspection, Miller allegedly admitted that the stalls for 17 animals hadn’t been cleaned since the spring, and the inspectors noted “three to twelve inches of feces in the stalls.”
In another example of the alleged improper care of animals at DCFAP, sugary breakfast cereal was being fed to nonhuman primates by the public through a filthy PVC tube, according to the lawsuit.
Lady Freethinker commends federal investigators for recognizing how critical these allegations of animal neglect and suffering are. We also encourage everyone to remember to never patronize facilities that exploit wild animals for profit or entertainment.
