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Cricket Hollow Zoo owners avoid jail, say the case against them could ‘cripple’ Iowa agriculture

on Thu, 02/03/2022 - 20:52   by Clark Kauffman

Iowa Capital Dispatch

Last September, the owners of Manchester’s Cricket Hollow Zoo were ordered by an Iowa judge to pay $70,000 or serve five months in jail for refusing to surrender the animals at their roadside attraction.

Four months later, zoo owners Pamela and Thomas Sellner have yet to pay anything toward that fine or serve any time in jail. The couple is taking their case to the Iowa Supreme Court and arguing that if a contempt-of-court ruling against them is allowed to stand, it could “cripple our agricultural sector.”

Ten years after Animal Welfare Act violations surfaced, USDA reaches 'consent decision' to revoke Cricket Hollow Zoo license

on Mon, 04/13/2020 - 04:26   by news

More than 10 years after Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations began surfacing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reached a 'consent decision' Friday (April 10) to permanently revoke the Cricket Hollow Zoo license.

The order filed last Friday in Washington, D.C. came four months to the day when workers removed nearly 100 animals from the facility after a Delaware County District Court ordered the troubled roadside zoo closed.

Workers remove hundreds of animals from troubled Cricket Hollow Zoo; nearly 200 others 'missing'

on Tue, 12/10/2019 - 20:59   by news

Approximately 100 animals were removed Monday (12/9) from the troubled Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester, but workers are still searching for some 200 others that were not found during the court-ordered animal rescue operation.

The roadside zoo owned by Pamela and Thomas Sellner was found in violation of Iowa animal cruelty standards by a Delaware County District Court judge November 24 and the judge ordered removal of the 300 exotic animals from the facility. The Sellners asked the Iowa Supreme Court to stay the removal order, but the high court denied the request December 4.

Judge orders removal of 300 remaining animals from Cricket Hollow Zoo in decade-long legal battle

on Tue, 11/26/2019 - 20:30   by news

An Iowa District Court judge Monday (11/25) ordered the removal of the remaining 300 animals confined at Cricket Hollow Zoo, apparently ending a nearly decade-long legal battle over cruel treatment and neglect of endangered and exotic animals at the troubled roadside zoo near Manchester.

In the most recent lawsuit brought by four Iowa residents and the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) in 2018, the roadside zoo owned by Pamela and Thomas Sellner was found to violate Iowa's animal cruelty standards.

Cricket Hollow Zoo owners facing another legal challenge over alleged mistreatment of animals

on Tue, 10/23/2018 - 20:11   by news

Cricket Hollow Zoo is facing another legal challenge from the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) over alleged mistreatment of animals remaining at its rural Manchester "animal park."

The roadside zoo was forced to give up its endangers lemurs and lions after a federal court ruling a year ago, and now ALDF has filed suit against zoo owners Pam and Tom Sellner in Iowa District Court alleging "persistent neglect of its animals," and "flagrant disregard for federal and state animal protection laws. . ."

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