For immediate release:
February 15, 2022
Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382
Oroville, Calif. – The Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation It’s hot again with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) — this time, for allowing staff at a local juvenile detention facility to hold and take photos with a 5-month-old snow leopard. After PETA incident report to USDA, the agency quote roadside zoo, noting that “the potentially dangerous animal is too large and too mature to be handled safely by members of the public.”
This is the eighth USDA citation Kirshner has received in just over a year. One quote comes from an incident in which an adult leopard jumped on a volunteer who had come into encirclement with him, causing puncture wounds to her neck and torso that required hospitalization.
Debbie Metzler, Deputy Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement at the PETA Foundation, said: “This roadside zoo is raging in violation after incident, exposing vulnerable animals and the general public risk.
Other USDA citations by Kirshner in the last year include one about keeping a tiger in a cage containing dirty water, stale food that attracts flies, a coat of fur and puddles of water on a dirty background. California’s workplace safety agency also cited the roadside zoo after the leopard attack – but Kirshner has apparently continued to allow dangerous contact with big cats.
PETA — in part, their motto that “animals are not ours for amusement” — advocates for speciesism, a human worldview – supremacy. For more information on PETA’s news collection and investigative reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebookor Instagram.
