If anyone needed a reminder about how horribly the notorious Jambbas Ranch treats animals, a newly released report from a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection of the Fayetteville, North Carolina–based roadside zoo reveals that the agency has cited the facility yet again for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

USDA Takes Steps That Get Animals Nowhere

According to the report, the USDA inspector observed a "very thin" rabbit who was "dehydrated," "reluctant to move," and "too weak to reach [the] tall water can" in the cage. The rabbit also suffered from overgrown nails, ear mites, and inflamed ears, which Jambbas had only "treated" with Vaseline. The inspector also observed an abrasion on one of the rabbit's footpads, which Jambbas had not even noticed, let alone treated—nor had the facility noticed that the animal was dehydrated, even though his or her skin was "tenting" (a loss of elasticity seen in cases of fluid loss).

In 2012, PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund joined concerned Fayetteville-area residents in filing a lawsuit challenging the USDA's renewal of Jambbas' license to exhibit animals since applicants must demonstrate AWA compliance. Yet despite this latest violation—and despite additional evidence of AWA noncompliance given to the agency by PETA—the USDA once again renewed Jambbas' license on May 4!

To challenge this latest rubber-stamping of Jambbas' license in the face of a violation found by its own inspector, PETA and the other plaintiffs will be seeking to amend their complaint in the lawsuit against the USDA. In January, a court denied a motion filed by the USDA seeking to dismiss the suit so that the agency could continue with "business as usual"—a business based on animals' abject misery.

How You Can Help

PETA won't rest until all the animals at Jambbas Ranch have bright futures, just as Ben the bear now does. Please urge USDA officials to revoke Jambbas' license immediately and offer them the chance to live out their lives with pride and contentment.

It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of Pat Derby, the former animal trainer who saw the error of the entertainment industry's ways and spent the rest of her life helping captive animals by providing them with safe havens at her three spacious Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuaries in California. Pat died at her home on Friday.

Pat assisted PETA with many of our campaigns, most recently by providing Ben, the bear we pried out of the clutches of the abysmal Jambbas Ranch, with a permanent home. I defy you not to tear up at footage of Ben splashing happily in a pond at a PAWS sanctuary after spending years in a cramped, barren cage:

In 2007, PAWS also opened its gates to Maggie, a wild-caught African elephant who spent 24 years largely confined to a concrete barn at the Alaska Zoo—10 of those years alone after the zoo's other elephant died. Maggie reportedly collapsed twice in one week and had to be hoisted to her feet with the aid of a winch. She was then suspended in a sling to prevent her from collapsing again. After years of pressure from PETA, the zoo finally allowed her to be moved to a more suitable climate and to live in the company of other elephants, and she has been thriving since her move to PAWS.

PAWS is also home to Nicholas and Gypsy, the last two elephants of the 16 the Hawthorn Corporation was forced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to relinquish after PETA filed repeated complaints with the agency about abuse and neglect at Hawthorn. PETA continues to keep up the pressure on Hawthorn, a supplier of animals to circuses, since it still has tigers and other animals in its custody.

On behalf of Ben, Maggie, Nicholas, Gypsy, and so many others, we thank Pat for her lifelong crusade. Pat may be gone, but her spirit lives on—as do the animals—in the heaven that she created here on Earth.

Update:

We're happy to report a favorable development in this case: A court has denied a motion by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to dismiss the lawsuit brought against the agency by PETA, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), and two Fayetteville-area residents seeking to overturn the USDA's renewal of Jambbas Ranch Tours' license to continue to operate the wretched roadside zoo that has racked up dozens of violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

The ruling comes in the wake of the recent high-profile rescue of Ben the bear, who now resides in a spacious habitat at a sanctuary in California, thanks to the ruling in the earlier lawsuit mentioned below.

PETA's challenge to the licenses will move forward, but the animals at Jambbas have no time to lose—please urge USDA officials to revoke Jambbas' license immediately and offer these animals the chance to live out their lives with the kind of comfort and dignity that Ben now enjoys.

Originally posted on April 19th, 2012:

Citizens of Cumberland County, North Carolina, who are sickened by Jambbas Ranch Tours' pervasive neglect and abuse of animals have joined PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund in suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over its renewal of Jambbas' license despite chronic violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

The AWA allows an animal exhibitor or dealer to have his or her license renewed only if the person's business operates in accordance with AWA regulations. But the USDA has repeatedly renewed Jambbas' license despite the fact that every single inspection of the roadside zoo between October 2006 and January 2012 resulted in citations for AWA violations including the following:

• Failing to provide animals with veterinary care—dead goats were also found lying near live ones
• Allowing bison to be swarmed by flies until their skin was so irritated that they licked and bit at it, exposing raw flesh
• Forcing potbellied pigs to live in enclosures with "excessive accumulation of feces"
• Forcing goats to live in enclosures covered with a "layer of feces," which left them with no clean place to lie down.

This is the second pending lawsuit involving Jambbas Ranch. The other suit seeks to have an abused bear named Ben removed from Jambbas and relocated to a sanctuary where PETA has made arrangements for him to live. In this sad video, Ben paces in his barren cage, bites the chain-link fencing, pushes against it, and tries to reach under it—behavior a bear expert has identified as a cry for help:

In asking the USDA not to renew Jambbas' license, PETA also pointed out several violations of the AWA that relate to Ben, including a lack of adequate space, which is likely causing his repetitive, abnormal behavior.

Jambbas is clearly not qualified to possess an AWA license. We will keep you updated as the lawsuit progresses.

Animal advocates have long known the name Jambbas Ranch Tours. The notorious roadside zoo in Fayetteville, North Carolina, has racked up a mountain of citations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its pervasive neglect and abuse of animals. In fact, nearly every single USDA inspection of Jambbas since October 2006 has resulted in citations for the zoo for failing to provide animals with even the minimum care required by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). And the latest inspection is no exception. Following a PETA complaint, the USDA again performed an unannounced inspection of Jambbas and found the following violations, among others:

• Two bison were suffering from gaping wounds that were left untreated.
• A dog had discharge and crusting around both eyes.
• Rabbits were kept in rusty cages amid their own waste.
• Water containers were dirty and rusty.

The USDA has been formally investigating Jambbas for at least 18 months for the abuse and neglect of animals. The zoo's chronic violations of the AWA disqualify it from having its license to keep and exhibit animals renewed, yet inexplicably, the USDA continues to renew Jambbas' license year after year, which prompted PETA and others to file a lawsuit. 

It's time for every one of the hundreds of animals at Jambbas to be retired to sanctuaries, just like Ben, the long-suffering bear who is now relishing his new life at the PAWS Sanctuary. Please urge the USDA to revoke Jambbas' license and let its captive animals finally retire to sanctuaries, where they will be loved and cared for, instead of caged and used for profit.

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A teddy bear and a dog shoot an ad for PETA … New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis and his dog Max ask everyone to make a plan for caring for their animals during natural disasters.

Once again, an accident on a factory farm has claimed thousands of animal lives. A drunken man shut off the power to three buildings that were packed with chickens, killing all 70,000 birds inside. You can help them: Go vegan! 

How to solve the worldwide water shortage brought on by the exploding population? Scientists agree: Ditch water-wasting meat. 

Raising animals for food also wastes a substantial amount of land, energy, and crops. If we're going to throw away as much as 40 percent of the food we buy, shouldn't we at least buy plant-based foods, which don't waste natural resources?

Yet another thing vegetarian and vegan diets have been proved to help limit: postmenopausal weight gain. 

Disgraced John Galliano has been stripped of the Legion d'Honneur medal that France awarded him for his haute couture work, though the work itself was disgraceful as well since it included the skins of countless animals who were killed for their fur. 

New Features

Tired of Ringling trainers' beating animals? Help stop it by organizing a demonstration when Ringling comes to your town.

The perfect way to end the week: Check out the video of Ben the Bear, who, after years of effort by PETA, is finally free of his barren cage at a dirty roadside zoo. Ben will now spend his days exploring the beautiful and spacious wildlife sanctuary that is his new home, splashing in a pool for the first time in his life. Just try not to get misty-eyed.

Our sympathies go out to the family of Kalei Welch, who died in an Illinois hospital after falling ill with E. coli poisoning. Health officials believe that the 5-year-old girl contracted the deadly bacterial infection at a petting zoo at the Hendricks County Fair.

PETA has been warning parents for years about the dangers of petting zoos, which are hotbeds of E. coli. Hundreds of children have been infected after visiting petting zoos, and many have suffered kidney failure, requiring long-term dialysis and multiple blood transfusions.

Infection can spread through direct animal contact or simply by touching the surroundings near an animal exhibit. Hand sanitizer does nothing to prevent the spread of E. coli by inhalation or indirect contact. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as many state departments of health have issued warnings about the health risks of petting zoos.

These displays are bad for animals too. Case in point: North Carolina's Jambbas Ranch is notorious for keeping animals in substandard conditions, including a lone neurotic bear named Ben.

Please ask North Carolina officials to keep people and animals safe by refusing to reissue Jambbas owner James Bass' wildlife-captivity license and endangered-species permit.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

TV legend Bob Barker is appealing to North Carolina's Cumberland County Board of Commissioners to let Ben, a distressed bear held prisoner at a dismal roadside zoo, retire to a sanctuary.

Cumberland County had an ordinance in place banning exotic animals, but rather than enforcing the ban, county commissioners amended their own law specifically so that Jambbas Ranch Tours, where Ben and other animals are confined to cramped, barren cages, could be exempted. A wildlife expert who saw the video footage of Ben said his pacing, biting at the chain link, and pushing his head against the fence were clear signs of psychological distress. 

 
In a letter to the commissioners, Barker wrote, "It beats me how, rather than enforcing this humane provision, the board could listen to Jambbas’ owner and amend the ordinance to allow such inhumane treatment of animals to continue. I believe that you must not have been given all the facts or seen this situation for yourselves, as that does not seem right at all."

Please ask Cumberland County Commissioners to let this suffering bear spend the rest of his days being cared for properly in a sanctuary.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow