Animals at Cricket Hollow Zoo.
Rescuers who arrived at the Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester on Monday discovered some of the animals were missing.
The judge had ordered that all exotic animals at the zoo be removed immediately due to “deplorable” conditions. The zoo’s owners, Pam and Tom Sellner, appealed the case, but last week, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the rescue could continue.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund has said they will be comparing their inventory of animals transferred with the one from the U.S.D.A.’s reports to see what animals were missing and then investigate when the animals were transferred.
If the animals left Cricket Hollow Zoo after the court order, that would mean the zoo is in violation of the court order and in contempt of the court – which could result in jail time of up to six months.
(By Janelle Tucker, KMCH, Manchester/photo from The Animal Legal Defense Fund)