Wisconsin Roadside Zoo Fines $6,000+ For Violations,
Under Federal Investigation
excerpt: MUST READ:
A roadside zoo in Wisconsin recently was fined more than $6,000 for
violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) – including for
conditions involving big cats and cubs – and currently is under
ongoing federal investigation.
Animal Haven Farm, a for-profit business in Weyauwega owned by
Dawn Hofferber, bills itself as a “family owned zoo just minutes from
Highway 10,” with admission set at $12 for adults and $8 for children
as of mid-June, according to the zoo’s Facebook page.
Federal inspectors have documented violations at two of the farm’s
three inspections this year so far, including loose animals, numerous
enclosures in need of repair, and bison, bears, and a pig in muddy
enclosures lacking adequate drainage during an April inspection and
rabbits with crusted and scabbed ears and a hole in a juvenile tiger
pen that inspectors noted could injure the animals during a January inspection.
Those violations are in addition to numerous documented noncompliances
outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a citation and
penalty notification, issued in February and filed by the USDA as
a “settlement agreement” in March, that fined Animal Haven Farm $6,450.
