We’ve all seen the signs along the highway: “Visit the exotic wildlife safari park – 2 miles ahead!” “I’ll never make it to Africa to go on a real safari,” you say to yourself, “so this could be the next best thing, right?”
Wrong.
Of the approximately 2,500 regulated animal exhibitors in the United States, only 218 are establishments accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The rest are a motley collection of circuses, animal acts, and what are commonly referred to as “roadside zoos” that include drive-thru safari parks. (There are also some legitimate wildlife sanctuaries, but that’s a topic for another time.)
Animals in roadside zoos and safari parks suffer greatly as a result of inadequate or improper nutrition, little or no access to veterinary care, lack of stimulation and socialization, and abuse and outright cruelty in some cases. Changing hands repeatedly, the animal survivors of these parks can end up just about anywhere – from the back of a rundown gas station, to a cage in someone’s dark, damp basement, to even becoming prey at an exotic hunting ranch.
Here’s the story of one animal’s journey:
Henry, the chimpanzee, is now about 23 years old, but in his younger days he was called “Fred” and lived at a drive-thru exotic animal safari between Houston and Dallas. The park closed and Henry was sold to a dealer known to treat his animals inhumanely. The dealer drove around with Henry in his truck and beat him with chains if the chimp was aggressive. He tried selling Henry at a number of exotic animal auctions.
The dealer finally sold Henry to another individual living in Spring, TX. The story is all too familiar – the dealer told the potential buyer that he was gentle and could eat at the table with them. The naïve person bought Henry, but he bit someone in the family. Henry was eventually returned to the dealer who then sold Henry to another private citizen.
For the next 15 years, Henry was not heard of again… until a call came into the Houston SPCA last November. Henry was found in a rusty cage in somebody’s garage. He was alone and surrounded by filth. He had been regularly receiving soda, coffee, and cigarettes. When he arrived at the HSPCA he was vomiting and had bloody diarrhea. Henry weighed only 66 pounds, half the normal weight for an adult male chimpanzee. His malnourishment was severe, and he has a hunched posture that may never go away.
Fortunately this story has a happy ending. The Houston SPCA and Houston Zoo veterinarians worked together to put Henry on the road to recovery. He has gained weight, increased mobility, and his bleeding ulcers are under control. Henry is friendly and likes people, but needs to be resocialized with other chimpanzees so that he can know the comfort of gentle grooming and a hug from a friend. And Henry has finally found a home he can call his own at Chimp Haven in Louisiana. With Chimp Haven’s experienced staff and resident chimps, Henry will learn what it means to be a chimpanzee.
So ignore those highway signs and drive right on by roadside animal attractions. If you want to see non-native wildlife in a more natural setting, visit a legitimate animal sanctuary. Or you can start saving now for that trip-of-a-lifetime to Africa!