State police raided West Coast Game Park Safari in Benton, Oregon on Thursday, with the roadside zoo facing charges of animal abuse and neglect.
Over the years, the USDA report found that more than 450 animals in the park lived in shocking conditions, citing a dead tiger that had been kept in the freezer for months, hungry lions and leopards, rodent infestations, and other serious concerns.
These reports detail decades of illegal acts, many of which have been in the past year. In the latest federal examination on April 1, officials observed two lions and a black leopard with reduced muscle mass, “the hips, ribs and spine appearing under the skin.”
Inspectors also cited Stark's health and safety issues, including raising bins and storage areas contaminated by rodent feces. The March 18 inspection showed other debris around hay storage barns and shells, food waste and other debris, showing a “large amount” of metal, rotten hay and other debris.
On January 22, investigators found a dead tiger in the refrigerator with “many frozen turkeys lying on it.”
“The turkeys were fed to zoo animals,” the report said. “Representatives of the facility said the tiger had been eating in the refrigerator for several months.”
These animals are not the only animals that have been hurt. In 2023, inspectors listed the park’s “serious violations”, a photo posted on social media showing visitors stroking a jaguar and a Syrian brown bear, both big enough to endanger people. The USDA report details these and other issues.
Oregon State Police (OSP) officials served several search warrants when they arrived on the scene Thursday morning, a statement said. These warrants “are the result of a lengthy criminal investigation into the operation of the facility.”
OSP Captain Kyle Kennedy told local NBC kobi5, “This… to the point where we need more information, it only comes from actually evaluating the condition of the park, so that's where the warrant comes in, and that's what we're going to do.”
Kennedy said a few months ago, his department began receiving complaints about the status of parks for local residents and nonprofits. The OSP is working with COOS County law enforcement and several other state agencies, including the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
Gizmodo approached West Coast Game Park Safari for comments, but received no response at the time of publication.
According to its website, the roadside zoo was founded in 1968 and provides “close and personal interaction” with 75 different animal species. In 1985, then-owner Bob Tenney told the Eugene Register that the park attracts 60,000 visitors a year, although it is not clear how popular it is today.
Animal welfare advocates have long been scrutinized by roadside zoos. The Tigers in the United States are groups that rescued and relocated tigers from “abuse” facilities, with an estimated 3,000 of them in 44 states.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund claims that these tourist attractions often force animals to live in small, dirty cages, unable to feed them adequately, reject them, and fail to provide them with adequate psychological stimulation.
An investigation into West Coast Game Park Safari is underway, which is currently closing visitors. Authorities have not announced animal arrests or plans for the zoo.
