DALLAS - Exotic animals including tigers, a lion, a Macaque monkey and venomous snakes lived for years as roadside attractions at a small, unaccredited zoo in southeastern Mississippi.
For a few dollars, anyone driving through Collins, Miss., an hour-and-a-half north of New Orleans, could stop and take a peek at the predators.
"To get them shut down is an exhaustive task," explained Ben Callison, director of Black Beauty Ranch. "We'd love to see more of them shut down, but we're very lucky to get this one shut down the way we did, and get all those animals out of there."
After an investigation that began in 2009, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) finally got a court order to take the 11 animals, which effectively closed the so-called zoo.
"The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks served a search and seizure warrant at the Collins, Miss. property," the HSUS said in a statement, "that allowed them to seize three tigers, three cougars, two leopards, two wolf-hybrids and one Macaque monkey due to violations of state permit requirements."
The HSUS said it discovered injured animals, others malnourished, plus flimsy cages, no enrichment for them and even venomous snakes kept in unlocked enclosures that the public could access.
"The situation at the unaccredited Collins Zoo is a prime example of the animal cruelty and public safety concerns that stem from our country’s unregulated exotic animal industry," said Lydia Sattler, Mississippi state director for The HSUS. "This should be a wake-up call to lawmakers and communities around the country to crack down on the casual ownership of dangerous wild animals."
Most of the rescued animals are on their way to Texas.
Two hybrid wolves and three tigers are going to Black Beauty Ranch, a 1,300 acre sanctuary, south of Canton.
"The two females are underweight," Callison said of the tigers. "The male appears to be a little too overweight. That's obviously the same concern, when you see one that obese."
Two cougars are headed to a sanctuary in the Hill Country.
The Macaque monkey is on its way to a preserve south of San Antonio.
No one answered at the Collins Zoo tonight. A voicemail left was not immediately returned.
A Mississippi judge will make the final decision on where the animals go permanently.
E-mail jwhitely@wfaa.com
