From pacing and swaying to injuries and ailments, abnormal behavior patterns and inadequate veterinary care appear to be the norm for many animals languishing at Waccatee Zoo—a roadside zoo in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with a long history of violating the federal Animal Welfare Act.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently inspected the facility following a complaint from PETA and confirmed that several animals were in need of veterinary care and showing signs of psychological distress. The USDA cited Waccatee for failing to address the animals’ needs despite having been told to do so almost a year earlier.

For years, big cats, bears, and other animals have been witnessed pacing and baboons have been seen swaying and rolling their heads—all signs of psychological distress. A macaque was frantically self-biting and suffering from what an inspector believed to be frostbite.

A llama reportedly struggled to walk after having been severely injured by another animal, capuchin monkeys and bears had hair loss, and a goat was reportedly urinating blood. PETA has sent numerous complaints requesting that the USDA investigate this menagerie, but conditions haven’t improved for the animals trapped at this deplorable facility.

As you may remember, Chico—the chimpanzee who’d languished in isolation for nearly 30 years at this roadside zoo—died suddenly in 2015. While he was still alive, PETA had repeatedly offered to arrange for him to be transferred to an accredited sanctuary. It’s too late for Chico, but it’s not too late for the animals still held captive in this facility.

Speak up today, and urge Waccatee Zoo to retire all the animals to reputable sanctuaries.

Please call 843-650-8500 during business hours (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST), or mail a short, polite letter to the owner at the following address:

Kathleen Futrell, Owner
Waccatee Zoo
8500 Enterprise Rd.
Myrtle Beach, SC 29588

Please feel free to use our sample letter, https://www.peta.org/action/action-alerts/waccatee-zoo-animals-injured-pacing-self-biting/# but remember that using your own words is always more effective. Waccatee Zoo can be contacted by phone or U.S. Mail. There is no email or computer access at the zoo. So  I suggest to write a letter  to the given address, for example with the following text given by PETA:

Suggested Letter Subject Line
Please retire all the animals at your zoo to reputable sanctuaries
Suggested Letter Content

I’m writing to urge you to retire all the animals at the Waccatee Zoo to reputable sanctuaries. I was appalled to learn that, for years, animals have been observed pacing and swaying and that a macaque was seen frantically self-biting—all signs of psychological distress. A llama reportedly struggled to walk after having been severely injured by another animal, capuchin monkeys and bears had hair loss, and a goat was reportedly urinating blood.

These animals deserve to live in habitats that meet their individual needs—and where exotic and big cats, bears, and primates can roam, exercise, socialize, forage, and play. Llamas, goats, and other animals should live in clean, comfortable spaces and receive the veterinary care that they need.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

(Name, Nationality)

https://www.change.org/p/usda-aphis-ac-close-waccatee-zoo-send-the-animals-to-sanctuaries

Help Animals Found Injured, Pacing, and Self-Biting at Waccatee Zoo

My comment: Lifelong behind bars, this is life in the zoo, where the animal inmates vegetate in tiny concrete bunkers and lattice cages.
There are parents who go on trips to the zoo with their children to learn how we (humans) incarcerate the others (animals), exploit them and rob life-long natural joys and function.
And so, these parents educate their children to become immune to the suffering of animals imprisoned for life, because man allows everything that is not subsumed under his own species.
Man as a species is simply a misconstruction.

My best regards, Venus

“I have never been so devastated as I was over Jill’s death. I will never forgive those involved in animal abuse and to a certain extent the meat eating public who are as much to blame – if the trade in animal cruelty and death didn’t exist we would never have had to demonstrate.

I will never forget Jill and love her forever”, has written Pam Brown, a close friend of Jill.

And that’s how it happened:

On Wednesday 1 February 1995, 31 year old protester Jill Phipps was crushed to death under the wheels of an export truck carrying baby veal calves into Coventry Airport. Despite the fact that nearly 100 officers were on duty that day, 10 of the 33 protesters present had broken through police lines and attempted to bring the lorry to a halt by sitting on the road and attempting to chain themselves to it.

Jill and the others mistakenly assumed that police officers and the lorry driver (Stephen Yates) would respect human life a little more than animals, they were wrong. Police on duty allowed the export lorry to continue making progress despite the clear safety problems.

The vehicle was only halted by police once Jill had been crushed beneath the wheels. The Crown Prosecution Service decided there was not enough evidence to charge Stephen Yates with Causing death by dangerous driving.

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Practical/Shop–ToDo/Activism/Jill_Phipps.htm

https://animalliberationpressoffice.org/NAALPO/2017/02/01/tribute-to-jill-phipps/

My comment: I did not know the story, I have to confess it. Because nothing was reported on German animal welfare blogs or on Facebook pages. Nowhere.

After informing me about all the incident, a few questions have arisen for me: Why is all the information about this murder made available to the public only via the Animal Liberation Front?

Indirectly, can be assumed that Jill Phipps is classified as a “fundamentalist” by the rest of the animal welfare scene, and that’s why the “conformists” want to know nothing about her death?

Consequently, a fundamental question arises: Is chaining from some courageous animal rights activists on a truck an action that the “good” animal rights activists evaluate as inappropriate ?

Or the outrageous charade of the police and prosecutor’s office has also convinced the morale of animal rights activists, that Jill Phipps “deliberately” decided to squirm under the wheels, even though she had decided to continue fighting for animal rights ?

Questions to which I would like to get an answer from the comrades of the animal rights community.

Best regards, Venus