Local Drive-Through Zoo Responds to USDA Inspection

April 15, 2015

Morgan Fogarty,

[gtxvideo vid=”HvNASYzo” playlist=”” pid=”Bbt3TRDe” thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/HvNASYzo.jpg” vtitle=”lazy 5 investigation”]

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — In a USDA routine inspection document dated March 17, a veterinary medical inspector reported finding several violations at Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville, including a limping sheep with a possible six inch wound on her side, a pregnant camel having difficulty breathing and a severely swollen head and feet, another camel who gave birth a week prior, separated from her calf due to swelling but not seen by a vet, and a llama with a discolored eye from an old injury.

We asked Sarah Rogers, a Lazy 5 Ranch employee, about those animals. She says, “The animals in question, which are listed on the report, are not new events, they are events that had already been, the vet had already seen ’em. We just didn’t have actual paperwork to prove it.”

The inspection also listed expired medication, building maintenance issues that could lead to animal injury and incomplete record keeping. “Our business is animals, not paperwork, which we’re getting better at and we’re learning we have to document more and more,” says Rogers.

WCCB News @ Ten anchor Morgan Fogarty called the owner of Lazy 5, Henry Hampton, who was out of town. But he told her over the phone, “The people who came out (from the USDA) have never worked with exotic animals.” And, “A lot of the rules in the USDA book are subjective,” as well as, “If they are of the mindset to find a problem, they’re gonna find a problem.”

WCCB Charlotte learned the USDA re-inspected Lazy 5 two days later and found “no non-compliant” items.

PETA, meantime, is urging people to boycott the ranch. In a statement to WCCB Charlotte, a spokesperson says, “PETA is calling on caring people to look elsewhere for family-friendly entertainment and avoid visiting any roadside zoo.”

We asked Rogers how she thinks people should react to PETA’s call to action. She says, “Just that: to come and see for yourself. Not necessarily be swayed by the media, or PETA, or even by the USDA.”

Rogers says they have also repaired the buildings in question, thrown out the expired medicine and will begin taking more pictures and video to document the well-being of the animals.