Hundreds of animals were seized from an embattled safari park in Oregon where authorities also discovered meth, about $1.6 million in cash and bonds, and dozens of firearms.
Earlier this month, Oregon State Police served multiple search warrants to West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon after a “lengthy criminal investigation” into the facility's operations and the care of the animals after disturbing inspection reports of malnourished animals and unsanitary conditions dating back a year.
Among the disturbing findings in the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports, there were details of neglected animals, lack of vet care, and a dead tiger that was found in a freezer with frozen turkeys.
“Over the last 11 years, I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” Coos County Sheriff Gabe Fabrizio said. “The amount of agencies — the amount of people. I believe there was more officers from all the different agencies than there are in the entirety of Coos County.”
In one report, an inspector claimed a lioness had been “confined to a dark den with no light or ventilation,” and stated the safari had only one staff member to care for over 300 animals, which inspectors deemed insufficient. In response to that report, a park representative reportedly said there was a challenge to find employees in the area.
Another report stated that “a review of the facility’s environmental enrichment plan for non-human primates does not include special considerations for a singly housed chimpanzee. 'George' lost his mate in November of 2023.”
“It is... like keeping a human in solitary confinement,” PETA Foundation Senior Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler said. “Chimpanzees are extremely social.”
PETA had previously submitted multiple formal complaints to Oregon State Police alerting them to the alleged neglect at the park.
When police searched the park on May 15, they found 80 grams of meth, eight grams of cocaine, 44 guns – including one modified into a machine gun – and about $1.6 million in cash, cashier’s checks, bonds, and certificates.
Brian Tenney, 52, was arrested by Bandon Police on May 27 and charged with meth possession, manufacturing, and attempted distribution.
All 310 animals from the park have been relocated to accredited or permitted animal sanctuary and rescue facilities, officials said in a statement.
“The Wildcat Sanctuary’s team, including their staff veterinarian, traveled 2,000 miles to ensure 4 lions, 1 tiger, 2 leopards, 1 jaguar, 3 lynx, 2 bobcats and 2 servals were safely removed from the West Coast Game Park Safari and re-homed to accredited facilities,” the Wildcat Sanctuary said in a statement.
Three animals, however, had to be euthanized because of their poor conditions, including a camel, a chicken, and a kinkajou.
“After years of brazenly flouting bare minimum animal welfare laws, West Coast Game Park Safari must finally face up to the suffering it inflicted on scores of animals it kept confined in filthy, decrepit enclosures,” Metzler, with PETA, said.
“PETA is calling for this hellhole to be permanently shut down, the survivors to get the care they desperately need, and everyone to avoid roadside zoos as if lives depended on it, because they do.”
