New Lawsuit Hopes to Ban Animals from Cricket Hollow

MANCHESTER, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) -- The Animal Legal Defense Fund, a legal advocacy organization for animals, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of four residents in Iowa against the Cricket Hollow Zoo for chronic violations of state and animal cruelty laws.

The zoo, who had their exhibitor license revoked and a penalty for $10,000 in November 2017, has had a history of keeping animals in inhumane and illegal conditions.

Since 2017, the Cricket Hollow Zoo has appealed the license and penalty, still housing more than 200 animals at the facility.

The complaint by the Animal Legal Defense Fund alleges the zoo hasn’t abided by the state’s animal neglect standards, as USDA inspection reports have documented.

The lawsuit by Animal Legal Defense Fund hopes to rehome the animals still at the zoo, by taking them to sanctuaries.

In April 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit affirmed the zoo had inadequately cared for endangered animals, violating the Endangered Species Act.

The animals that were endangered, including tigers, lemurs, and lions, were then taken to other facilities.

The new lawsuit also requests the owners be permanently barred from having any wild animals in the future.


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