Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park
| Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date opened | 1997 |
| Location | Wynnewood, Oklahoma |
| No. of animals | 1400 |
| No. of species | 128 |
| Memberships | Associate Member of the Zoological Association of America |
| Major exhibits | Exotic Species, Big Cats, Bears |
| Website | http://www.gwpark.org |
The G.W. Exotic Animal Foundation, also known as G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Foundation[1] and the G.W. Exotic Animal Park,[2] is a non-profit organization founded in the United States. The organization's stated purpose is to provide care and shelter for exotic animals. It was founded in 1997 by the Schreibvogel Family of Springer, Oklahoma in memory of their late son who died in an automobile accident.[2] The current president is Joe Schreibvogel, who is also known as Joe Exotic,[3] and Aarron Alex.[4]
The foundation states that it is supported by sponsorships from local business owners and income generated by the exotic animal park.[2] Income is also generated for the park by personal appearances with wild animals by Joseph Schreibvogel at local malls and fairs.[5] In 2008, the foundation reported that it had one employee during that year who was paid $2600.[6]
Establishment
The G.W. Exotic Animal Park began as a shelter for endangered and exotic species of animals that might otherwise suffer from a lack of proper care. It has since grown into one of the largest exotic species parks in the entire country. It currently houses and cares for over 128 species of animals and over 182 big cats. In total, the park has approximately 1400 animals under its care and shelter during the year.[2]
The park is open to the public and receives thousands of visitors each year. The park offers tours and educational programs for visitors.
Accreditations
The park claims accreditation from the Zoological Association of America, however it is not listed as an accredited member on that organization's listings.[7] The park also claims accreditation from the United States Animal Sanctuary of America Association, which has no web site, and the United States Zoological Association, which indicates its purpose is to "move and place more animals in more professional homes and zoos."[8]
Breeding program
The G.W. Exotic Animal Park breeds exotic species. The animal park states that it does not sell surplus animals. However, Joseph Schreibvogel has been accused by animal rights group PETA[9] of offering free exotic animals through Animal Finders Guide, a trade publication that advertises exotic animals to breeders, dealers, and the pet trade.[10]
Since 1997, the animal park has successfully bred exotic animals.
Between February and June 2006 PETA[9] had an investigator go into G.W. Exotic Animals and recorded the following findings:
"GW produces litter after litter of tigers, lions, bears, and other exotic animals. Newborns were regularly taken away from their mothers.
February 27: There are a lot of pregnant cats in the park. They are definitely breeding the cats to produce cubs. Overheard [J] talking about trying to buy a white tiger to start the bloodline. They are also trying to breed ligers and tigons, mixtures of lions and tigers.
February 27: Vet tranquilized mother bear (with a dart) to get her new, 4-week-old cubs out of the enclosure.
March 6: A female tiger had two cubs in the early morning. … One of the cubs was chewed up and killed by another tiger. The other cub had a puncture wound but lived. [D1] said that a lot of times, a male tiger will kill the cubs to get the female tiger to go back into heat. This happens pretty often at the park, he said. … Toward the end of the night, she had three more cubs, and one of them was chewed up and killed.March 1: Overheard [F] saying that the mother bear from [February 27] was looking for her [missing] cubs around the cage and seemed depressed.
March 9: Another female tiger had cubs today. Four cubs were born in the very early morning hours. One was a stillborn, so three were alive. … One cub had two puncture wounds on his neck. … These newborns will be going on the road.
March 10: [J1] repeatedly talks about trying to mate Lily and Jojo—he really wants to have a baby chimpanzee.
March 24: [D1 said] they will attempt to breed one of the white tigers with a female orange tiger in hopes of getting a white cub.
March 29: Two more wolf hybrids had litters. … That makes three mothers having about 16 pups, three of whom have died since being born.
April 13: Two more tiger cubs were born this morning, and they were taken from their mother this afternoon. Unfortunately, I don't expect them to live too long. There were those two tiger cubs who died during the last road trip. … Another tiger cub died last night, and yet another one died today. That makes four tiger cubs dead within the last month or so, [possibly] from being overworked and stressed.
April 17: One of the wolf pups was sold tonight. … The rest of them [J1] is going to take to an auction tomorrow night to sell. They are all still being breast-fed from the mothers and are only about 4 weeks old. Some can barely walk yet.
May 4: There is a cage that has three lions in it. … There were two baby lions that had been born during the night. … [O]ne was alive and one was dead. … The other female in the cage with them is pregnant as well and will probably be giving birth shortly.May 16: [J1] told me a story about how they had gotten a female [tiger] just so Goliath could mate with her, I believe her name was Sweet Pea, and Goliath killed her within 30 seconds.
June 9: Three new baby tigers were born today. … [T]he three cubs were [taken] out of the cage and [put] in a box in the office."[11]
Animal rescues
The G.W. Exotic Animal Foundation has been rescuing animals since it began operating in 1997, including three Siberian brown bears, Bixby prairie dogs, and a black leopard.[2]
Accusations of animal abuse
In 2004, the animal park was accused by animal rights groups of harboring dead, dying, and injured animals in crowded inadequate conditions with a lack of food, water, veterinary care and insufficient and untrained staff.[9] These complaints were partially based on a Consent Decision and Order from the United States Department of Agriculture for willful violations of the Animal Welfare Act. In its decision, the USDA claimed that the park repeatedly failed to provide adequate veterinary care, safe enclosures, clean food, clean shelter, and trained employees. The park also failed to maintain records and to keep animals safely constrained to avoid injuries to the public. The park was fined $25,000 and their USDA display permit was suspended. The park's USDA license was reinstated when it complied with USDA regulations.[1]
Between February and June 2006 PETA had an investigator go into CW Exotic Animal Foundation and the following were his findings of Animal Cruelty[9][12]
Animals were routinely hit, punched, kicked, sprayed with cold water, struck with rakes and shovels, and blasted with fire extinguishers to break up frequent fights.
February 27: Watched [C1] pick up a chicken by the hind legs and swing the animal around.
February 28: [R] and [C2] were throwing rocks in the direction of pigs, rams, goats and deer. … They also grabbed sheep by the horns and tossed the animals' heads around by their horns..
March 10: [J1] came down, and grabbed a lamb … by the horns and dragged it to the cage that held the female lion. He used the lamb as bait to get the lion up. She did get up, and charged the fence, [terrifying] the lamb …. He ran off as soon as [J1] let go of his horns, visibly very shaken.
March 24: [D1] hosed [the tiger] down with cold water to get him to move. … He cowered in his house trying to avoid getting wet for several minutes but got soaking wet.
March 25: [P] pulled the goat violently by his horns. … He then gave the goat a kick in the butt as he threw him into the enclosure.
March 30: [Several employees] went down to see the horse who was donated several days ago. When we got to him, he was a terribly heartbreaking sight. He was lying down, barely able to move. He had an enormous open sore on his back left leg, where hundreds of flies were eating away at him. There were flies buzzing around his whole body. There were two other sores on his face that flies were eating at as well. He was barely clinging to life, what life was left in him was engulfed in severe pain and suffering. … They said we have to wait until tomorrow night to shoot him, by "[J1]'s orders." We won't be calling the vet; he will be shot with a gun by [D1] and then fed to the tigers.March 30: [D1] said that if there was [a tornado], we would get out the guns so that we could start shooting any animals whose gates gave way. … Later in the day, there were three spots where it looked like one would touch down within a few miles of us, and [D1] was walking around with a handgun.
March 31: As we passed the [injured] goose, I said I was going to get him his food and water. … [P] said to just let him starve, it was only a goose. … We got into another huge argument over it, and at one point he said, "I'll go slit its throat and throw it in the dead hole." … I started to bring the dishes back to the goose, but when I got close, [M2] … told me the goose was dead. I … immediately [felt sure] that [P] had killed him.April 4: [J1] had trouble shifting a few mountain lions at one point, so he picked up gravel from their cage and pelted them with it. They cringed in fear and ran the other way.
April 4: Each white tiger was in a cage with one orange female, and one of them started fighting a good amount. Their fur flew all over the cage as they leapt and swatted at each other. [J1] once again pelted them with gravel and water to get them to move where he wanted.
April 4: [J1] went into the cage with all the cats with a rake and shovel, hitting the cats on their heads and faces with the rake and shovel to back them up. … They all ran away from him in fear as he swung the shovel over his head wildly.April 4: [J1] swatted the animal with the rake in the face, and the cat ran to the other side of the catch pen. … [J1] slammed [another tiger] in the face with the rake.
April 18: We moved four different bears today. … [Tripoli the bear] was busy trying to eat some bamboo and excited to be out of the cage that she is always in, so she was exploring her new surroundings. [J1] walked up to her and swung the rake so it hit her in the side of the head.April 26: A lot of wild baby birds were stolen from their nests in order to be fed to the snakes. … These baby birds were so tiny that they could be cupped right in the palm of a hand, and as they were stolen from their nests, they constantly squirmed and tried to flap their tiny wings, which were barely developed. [B] said that the mother birds were dive-bombing him and attacking him.
May 2: The two newest baby tigers, who were born just [before J1 left] on this last road trip, were taken to get declawed today. They are just a few weeks old and have been on the road being handled by [the public] since they were just a few days old.
May 15: In order to get some mountain lions to shift, [D1] soaked one of them for a good few minutes with the water hose.
May 17: At the end of the night, [J1] said that tomorrow he will pick up some rat poison that looks like bird seed to put up on the roofs of the buildings. He wants to kill off a majority of the sparrows to get rid of the bird poop problem.
May 30: [M1] … said that there was an emu that he was going to shoot and feed to the cats in the back because he had huge wounds on his face and had flesh hanging down from his throat. It was assumed that he stuck his head in a cage in the back and had been clawed. … [M1] was bragging that last night he shot a feral cat. … He then said that he was probably going to shoot Oreo [the goat]. … I think [M1] just likes to shoot living creatures.
June 1: [M1] came by, holding a live chicken upside-down that he had caught on the grounds. He used this extremely frightened chicken as "bait" as he said. He shook him violently at the faces of the lions to keep them in the cage.
June 1: [M1] continuously swung the shovel at the white tiger, hitting him a few times.
June 5: [M1] started hitting [the 7-month-old tigers] in the face. … [M1 often] hit these poor cats, and threw them around like they were stuffed animals. … More than once, he grabbed a cat by the tail and dragged him or swung him around.
June 8: [M1] started getting pretty frustrated and angry with [the cats], and he hit them on the head with his hand a few times. … He then picked up the rifle and was trying to hit the cats on the head with the butt of the gun. He first hit the lion in the head with the gun. … [H]e hit the tiger very hard on the head with the gun. Throughout this whole time, [M1] is yelling at the cats, calling them "the two fucking idiots." … [M1] took a piece of bamboo that was lying there and was poking a cat in the face. At one point, he poked him right in the eye.
June 11: [M1] caught a chicken in the morning, and tied him up in the catch pen as a lure [for Lacara the black leopard], so that when Lacara grabbed the chicken, the catch pen door would swing shut. … Later on … Lacara was in the catch pen … the trap had worked.[12]
And the investigators findings on neglect:
PETA found dead, dying, and injured animals as well as incompatible animals who attacked and harassed one another.
March 13: The 1-month-old lion was in the cage up front again today. Again, he seemed very upset and was crying out a lot. … The little cub had no water all morning and most of the afternoon.
March 13: One of the tiger cubs that had sustained puncture wounds from a male tiger right after birth died this morning due to the injuries. … I'm sure that he was in great pain [and I believe that he was] not euthanized due to the money that the baby cub would bring the park.
March 16: There are two baby lions [Floppy and Casey], just over a month old, that [J1] left at the park for the "play cages," where customers can get in … and play with them. They both have the deformed paws [possibly] from the mother's malnutrition during pregnancy. … At one point, Floppy's paws started bleeding a lot—they had opened up where she was declawed. … Floppy was crying and screeching in pain. Employees stood around joking about it.
March 19: Todd, a fox, lives in an outdoor cage. … It was chilly and pouring out all day, and Todd was shivering and seemed upset.
March 21: [L]ast Wednesday, they found one of the park's deer dead in an enclosure. [S1] said he basically had defecated himself to death because he had eaten bad food or something like that.
March 23: Roo, a wallaby, died today. … When he was found, he was lying in the pond that is in his enclosure. It was near freezing temperatures, and people were hypothesizing that he had gotten stuck in the mud around the pond, fell in the freezing water, and died from hypothermia. [J1 said] that he found another wallaby, and he will be here in a few weeks. He will probably keep the same sign and pretend he's the same animal.
March 25: One of the caged raccoons is seriously injured, [possibly] from fighting with another raccoon in her cage. … There was a gash in her side about 2 to 3 inches wide and very deep. [F] said that when she moved you could see her intestines.
March 25: One of the baby bears that was on the road show died, within the last day or so. … [I suspect that] his death was due to being pulled from his mother at such a young age, working extremely long hours, and lack of nutrition.
March 29: Elmo, a grey fox, had been just laying there not eating or moving. … His ears were infested with mites and he had several ticks on him.
April 1: Toward the end of the night, there was a pig who was found to be dead … in the pasture.
April 3: Two tiger cubs and two bear cubs all died while on the road. … [S2] said today that she thought it may have been stress that killed them.
April 7: Today, there was a fight among the lions. … Dylan is obviously hurt; he had several puncture wounds in his legs and one on his testicles. He could barely walk—these were deep punctures. … [J1] didn't seem too concerned and did not seem like he was going to get veterinary care for Dylan.
April 13: [The neighbors] said occasionally when they go out to feed their horses, they see a monkey sitting out there, and he asked if we lost a monkey. [D1] said yes, [F] had lost one a handful of months ago. … He was donated to the park by someone, and this guy came to visit his monkey very frequently. [D1] said that they told him that his monkey had died.
April 14: Keegan, a 10-week-old bear cub died last night. … [J1] told me that Keegan had so many [kidney] stones in his penis that his kidney burst, and when the vet cut him open, urine poured out everywhere.
April 20: Humphrey, the camel, almost hung himself in his cage. … This is because of unsafe living quarters.
April 20: The four big bears that we moved to the back are not adjusting too well at all. … Honey was still pacing next to the fence wall in the same spot she has been in, and Teddy was doing the same thing he was doing a few days ago—standing in the same place, looked agitated, and pounding his foot into the ground.
April 21: Honey and Teddy are two of the bears we moved a few days ago. Honey does not allow Teddy to move too much—she always backs him up into his house. He tried to come out to get a drink of water today, but she acted mad and drove him back.
April 26: JoJo (male chimp) and Peanut (male baboon) are still fighting back and forth with each other. … This has been going on for a long time now, and they are obviously too incompatible to be within reaching distance of each other.
April 28: [Honey] is a nursing mother wolf [hybrid]. She is extremely skinny, and her ribs show through. She seems very unhealthy.
April 29: Last week, it got too cold for [the skunks], and one of them was found dead. [J2] said that when they found him, he was already half decayed.
May 17: [Two tigers] have ringworm, but they still do the play cages. I asked [K] if they tell people that these animals have an extremely contagious fungus, and she said no. She said that if a customer sees it and asks what it is, they tell them that the cat was rubbing against the cage/AstroTurf so much that they lost their hair in that spot.
May 23: Two new lynxes were brought in today, but they came from Russia—a four-day trip with no food or no water. One of them was dead when they arrived, and the other was barely clinging to life.
May 27: In the catch pen where [the tiger] was kept for [20 hours], in the 100-degree heat, there was no water for him to drink. … [W]hen I shift[ed] him back, he [ran] straight for the water trough. He proceeded to take about a five-minute-long drink.
May 27: There were four baby raccoons who were only a few weeks old. [J1] took three and keeps them on the road. [L] took the fourth one and put him in the medical building, but didn't tell anybody. It was discovered today that the poor baby raccoon had been stuck in there for a few days with no food and no water.
June 8: [Two bears] had been stuck in half of their cage for around 24 hours in 100-degree weather with absolutely no access to water. … I let them into the side with the water dishes. They both took a drink for about five minutes.[13]
Other activities
G.W. Exotic is licensed by the State of Oklahoma as a rendering facility.[14] President Joe Schreibvogel, uses the stage name Joe Exotic at offsite appearances in a show entitled “Mystical Magic of the Endangered” at which he displays baby wild animals.[15]
Location
G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park is located between Oklahoma City and Dallas, just off I-35.
References
- ^ a b "Department of Agriculture Docket # 05-0014" (PDF). Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "G.W. Exotic Home Page". Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "Biography of Joe Exotic". Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "Magician: I should get to defend myself". April 1, 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ "Animal activists upset over mall event featuring lions and tigers". September 12, 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "IRS Form 990" (PDF). Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "ZAA Acredited Facilities". Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "United States Zoological Association". Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Oklahoma Pseudo-Sanctuary: Shelter From Danger or Dangerous Shelter?". Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "About Animal Finders Guide". Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ http://www.peta.org/features/gw-investigator-log-breeding.aspx
- ^ a b http://www.peta.org/features/gw-investigator-log-cruelty.aspx
- ^ http://www.peta.org/features/gw-investigator-log-neglect.aspx
- ^ "Rendering Licenses" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: Text "accessdate 23 February 2010" ignored (help) - ^ "PETA objects to exotic animal exhibit at mall". June 29, 2007.
{{cite web}}: Text "accessdate 23 February 2010" ignored (help)