USDA Should Revoke Federal License of Nation’s Largest Big Cat Breeder For several years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has had an open investigation regarding big cat breeder and exhibitor Joe Schreibvogel of the Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park, formerly GW Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Okla. for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Animal protection organizations have asked the USDA to permanently revoke Schreibvogel’s exhibitor license. The Humane Society of the United States, The Fund for Animals, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Born Free USA and Big Cat Rescue filed the legal petition. Nicole Paquette, vice president of wildlife protection for The HSUS said: “Schreibvogel is a textbook example of an unqualified and unprofessional individual who should not be allowed to publicly exhibit dangerous wild animals. This one operation causes an enormous burden on federal agencies by routinely breeding and supplying dangerous wildlife species to other roadside zoos across the country and revoking his license would directly benefit animal welfare, public safety and conservation efforts.”

This petition provides more evidence of inadequate veterinary care and animal handling at Schreibvogel’s roadside zoo. The evidence presented in the petition for license revocation includes: Failure to provide adequate veterinary care to a lion and a tiger. Schreibvogel is seen here stitching a large, deep wound on a lioness, claiming that he had already stitched the same wound “several times in the past couple days.” The video also depicts a tiger named Gabriel who was allegedly bit by a rattlesnake and is in obvious distress. Schreibvogel and others drag the tiger into his den, force him to drink from a hose, at one point causing him to vomit. When Gabriel is found dead the next morning, the staff struggles to remove him from the den due to the severity of rigor mortis. Failure to provide adequate care to two three-day-old tiger cubs who died shortly after being transported out of state in May 2013. Certificates of Veterinary Inspection that illustrate the extent of Schreibvogel’s involvement in the exotic animal trade.

Between Feb. 19, 2011, and Sept. 5, 2013, Schreibvogel moved at least 51 tigers, seven lions, two leopards, five bears and two monkeys out of Oklahoma. In 2013 alone, he disposed of at least 21 tiger cubs, including four cubs who were only three-days-old at the time of transport. These animals went to multiple other substandard exhibitors in more than a dozen states. Failure to properly train employees, resulting in the October 2013 mauling of a keeper who put her arm into a tiger cage. Schreibvogel irresponsibly taking in additional animals and breeding long-lived species despite being unable to even pay the zoo’s utility bills. The HSUS previously conducted an undercover investigation of Schreibvogel’s facility and filed legal complaints with multiple state and federal agencies. The aforementioned organizations have also formally requested that USDA amend its animal handling regulations in order to prohibit public contact with big cats, bears and nonhuman primates, because the current policy endangers the public and encourages the overbreeding of dangerous captive wildlife to ensure a constant supply of young animals for photo-ops and commercial activity.

Oklahoma Pseudo-Sanctuary: Shelter From Danger or Dangerous Shelter? Class B Rv Rental IndianapolisPETA routinely receives complaints about poor conditions at roadside zoos and privately run menageries throughout the country—facilities that often market themselves as tourist attractions or as refuges for rescued animals. Maple Saddle Hardwood FlooringAfter receiving disturbing information about cruelty, danger, and neglect for animals at one so-called “sanctuary” in Oklahoma known as G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park (GW), PETA sent an undercover investigator to document conditions and see what was really going on.Inflatable Hot Tub RaftInstead of being “an upscale zoo for rescued animals” as claimed on its Web site, PETA found dead, dying, and injured animals;

a serious lack of basic necessities such as food, water, and veterinary care; and untrained and insufficient staff who were intentionally cruel to numerous animals.Of the more than 1,000 animals at GW, including tigers, bears, lions, cougars, leopards, chimpanzees, wolf hybrids, macaque monkeys, and baboons, PETA’s investigator discovered starving animals going without food—sometimes for days at a time. Animals were routinely hit, punched, kicked, sprayed with cold water, and struck with rakes and shovels. And they were blasted with fire extinguishers to break up frequent fights.PETA’s investigator witnessed many horrors between February and June 2006:Two healthy adult tigers were killed, and their teeth were cut out to be given away as gifts before their carcasses were dumped into a reeking, festering garbage pit.Two badly injured horses in excruciating pain, including a former racehorse with a broken leg, were dumped at GW, and staff let them suffer for days until they could be butchered.

Tigers attacked a lion and chewed off her leg. When she pulled out the stitches, her open wound went untreated. Although she moaned for weeks, she was given nothing for pain.A wallaby was found dead, lying in a pond in near freezing temperatures, from apparent hypothermia.A parent and two small children paid to handle two tiger cubs without being informed that the cubs were infected with ringworm, a contagious fungal infection of the skin.Two lion cubs, recently declawed, were forced to interact with the public until their paws bled.A tiger named Mikala, who hobbled around in pain on three legs after GW had her declawed, suffered in this condition for two years before she was destroyed.Terrified goats and chickens were often used as “bait” to lure big cats into cages.Animals repeatedly escaped because of the inadequate cage security and careless personnel.Employees were instructed to falsify USDA-required paperwork regarding feeding schedules and environmental enrichment for primates to cover up the fact that animals went hungry for days at a time and that the psychological well-being of primates was not being met. 

GW also breeds exotic animals, churning out litters of tigers, lions, bears, and other exotic animals. Some are deformed, likely because of inbreeding or inadequate nutrition for the mother during pregnancy. Newborns, many just hours old, are removed from their mothers and dragged around the country to shopping malls and fairgrounds to be used in [J1’s] cheesy magic act and for photo ops where the public pays a few bucks for a Polaroid shot posing with a small cub. Many of the babies died within a few weeks, presumably succumbing to the stress of travel and handling by the public.You Can HelpIn January 2006, GW paid a $25,000 fine to settle charges of violating the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and was placed on probation for 18 months. Failure to comply with the AWA during the probation period will result in the revocation of GW’s exhibitor license. PETA’s investigation uncovered plenty of evidence that GW has not cleaned up its act. Please contact the  U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) at [email protected], and ask that the agency revoke G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park’s federal license.