GENTRY, Ark. (AP) The Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari in northwestern Arkansas has agreed to pay a $75,000 fine so it can reopen following a U.S. Department of Agriculture complaint that it violated the Animal Welfare Act.
The law regulates the treatment of animals in research and exhibition.
The USDA filed the complaint in January 2017 accusing the safari in Gentry of violating regulations from 2012 to 2016. It alleges the safari failed to provide sufficient veterinarian care and kept animals in dirty or otherwise insufficient conditions.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the department subsequently suspended the 400-acre safari’s Animal Welfare Act license for 60 days beginning Jan. 1. The suspension continues until the safari passes inspections.
The safari’s manager says it has passed those examinations and the facility should reopen this weekend.
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