Cougar moves from ‘one of the worst roadside zoos’ to NC tiger refuge after PETA lawsuit
A cougar will join the big cats at Carolina Tiger Rescue after a lawsuit from PETA closed the cat’s former home near Myrtle Beach, which the animal rights group called “one of the worst roadside zoos in America.”
The relocated cougar joined the Pittsboro refuge Sunday following People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ suit against the now-closed Waccatee Zoological Park in South Carolina.
PETA filed a federal lawsuit against Wacatee and its owners in 2022, accusing them of depriving more than 400 animals of adequate food, shelter and water.
The suit describes a tiger named Lila dying there after losing all of her fur and being so emaciated that bones showed through her skin.
The defendants settled with PETA last year after agreeing to close the zoo and stop breeding and exhibiting animals, The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported. An attorney for zoo owners called the settlement a financial necessity and said it was not an admission of exploitation.
Animals transferred from Waccatee Zoo
PETA said in a Monday news release that Waccatee started transferring animals to Zootastic Park, a roadside zoo in Iredell County, shortly after the lawsuit. The cougar, a pot-bellied pig and a coatimundi were all then moved from Zootastic to Carolina Tiger Rescue, PETA reported.
“At their new sanctuary homes, these animals will have a chance to thrive in large, lush naturalistic habitats and finally receive the care they desperately need,” said Brittany Peet, PETA Foundation General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement, in the release. “PETA urges kind people everywhere to stay far away from roadside zoos, where animals are exploited for entertainment and denied everything that’s natural and important to them.”
The nonprofit Carolina Tiger Rescue dates to 1973 and is certified through the US Department of Agriculture. It offers guided group tours.
In 2022, three big cats arrived from the Oklahoma park featured in the Netflix “Tiger King” series, which also closed after a federal lawsuit alleging mistreatment.
This story was originally published October 28, 2024 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Cougar moves from ‘one of the worst roadside zoos’ to NC tiger refuge after PETA lawsuit."