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Animal Haven Zoo cited for feeding maggot-covered meat; failing to treat animals’ health conditions


A bear is shown in an enclosure at Animal Haven Zoo.

Animal Haven Zoo in Weyauwega, Wisconsin, has been cited with eight violations of the Animal Welfare Act based on a Sept. 28, 2023 inspection, bringing the troubled roadside zoo to 17 violations in the past year.


Here are the most recent violations:

  • Multiple bantam hens and roosters had white, thickened, crusty material on their feet and legs. Additionally, multiple birds had excessive feather loss across their back, head, wings, and breast. Animal Haven Zoo was aware of the condition but hadn’t requested the veterinarian examine the birds.

  • Some animals had abnormal health conditions that had to be pointed out to the zoo.

  • A pigeon's right eye area had a significant injury or lesion with a scab over it. 

  • A red alpaca had bilateral nasal discharge.

  • A four-horned sheep had overgrown hooves.

  • A live rat was seen in the primates’ shelter area, a rat-sized hole was discovered and rodent excrement was discovered between primate enclosures.

  • An area in the bobcat enclosure had a broken wire with a point on it that the bobcats could potentially touch. 

  • A fence in between the zebras and mini-zebus was leaning excessively towards the mini-zebu. 

  • The enclosure for the youngest female tiger had wet muddy areas around the drinking water that had signs of pooling water and green algae-like material where the water had been. 

  • A black bear was observed eating a piece of meat that had maggots on the end of it.

  • Wire in one of the chicken enclosures had multiple points where the chickens and pigeons could contact them and injure animals.

  • The zoo does not have a species-appropriate environmental enhancement plan for birds. 


In July 2023, Animal Haven Zoo was cited with three violations including:

  •  A sheep had an area of missing hair and irritated skin around its horns with a bad odor, blood and the sheep was rubbing the affected areas against the fence.

  • The perch for the snow macaques had a build-up of soiled waste on it.

  • A live rat was seen running through the primates’ shelter and an area of excrement was located between their enclosures.

  • An area of the goat pen had panel points over 4 inches long sticking into the pen. A broken panel point was found in an area where the goats could contact it.

  • A shelter in the sheep enclosure was in disrepair with a cracked roof sagging low enough that sheep were seen bumping their horns on it to walk into it and the cracks in the plastic could be areas that sheep could get injured on.


In May 2023, Animal Haven Zoo was cited with two violations: 

  • The red foxes have dug out the back area of their enclosure and exposed some wire where they are digging. 

  • Some panel points were in an area where a male tiger could contact them next to a shelter. 

  • Some scrap metal in the aoudad pen had sharp and rough edges that could possibly injure the aoudads.

  • A live mouse was seen by the food prep table and mineral storage area and mouse droppings were seen in some areas along the wall of the food storage building. 


In January 2023, Animal Haven Zoo was cited with three violations:

  • The inside den area for the white tiger has some diamond mesh metal that has two holes with points exposed that the tiger could contact.

  • The produce storage area and a walk-in freezer in use to store some dry feed for the bears had signs of rodents in the area. Two live mice were seen in these areas and a hole with chew marks in some insulation by a door, and there were rodent droppings and loose food on and around the boxes.


The violations appear to illustrate a pattern of animal welfare violations at Animal Haven Zoo. Click here to read about the Wisconsin roadside zoo’s history of violations.


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