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Seizure of 131 dogs from Riverside puppy mill prompts Coralville legislator to call for action

on Fri, 09/01/2023 - 01:21   by Clark Kauffman

by Iowa Capital Dispatch
August 29, 2023

Last week’s seizure of 131 dogs at a rural Iowa breeding operation has prompted one state lawmaker to call for changes in the way the state oversees puppy mills, dog breeders and brokers.

Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, wrote to Gov. Kim Reynolds this week asking for her cooperation in holding unscrupulous breeders accountable.

In his letter, Jacoby wrote, “It’s time for us to work together to fix this problem. I look forward to a strong and immediate bipartisan effort to end this wrong. It is as simple as inspection and enforcement. We need to stop unscrupulous puppy mill owners by strengthening the laws that govern commercial breeders, increase inspections, and penalize those who violate the law.”

Jacoby’s letter to the governor comes one week after the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship inspected Sunset Valley Farm, a commercial dog-breeding operation in the town of Riverside.

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.

A decade after initial animal welfare violations and two years of legal proceedings, USDA revokes Cricket Hollow Zoo license, fines owners $10,000

on Wed, 12/06/2017 - 01:28   by news

A decade after animal welfare violations were initially documented and more than two years of legal proceedings, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revoked the license of Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester, Iowa, and fined owners Thomas and Pamela Sellner $10,000.

The USDA decision announced November 30 would appear to spell the end of operations at the troubled facility since the zoo must have a USDA license to continue to operate.

After 4 days of testimony at Davenport hearing, USDA administrative law office judge to decide if Cricket Hollow Zoo certificate should be yanked

on Sat, 01/28/2017 - 03:10   by Editor

After four days of testimony pitting U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials against Cricket Hollow Zoo owners, an administrative law judge will decide later this spring if the roadside zoo near Manchester, Iowa will retain its federal license.

The hearing before the administrative law judge was held in Davenport beginning Tuesday (1/24) and included testimony from USDA Veterinarian and Inspector Heather Cole, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Compliance Investigator Doug Anderson, zoo owners Tom and Pamela Sellner and Robert Gibbens, Western Regional Director of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Fort Collins, CO.

The USDA complaint against Cricket Hollow runs more than 20 pages and cites dozens of violations of the Animal Welfare Acts (AWA) by the zoo in 2014 and 2015.

Group seeks emergency court order to remove African lions from troubled roadside zoo

on Fri, 07/15/2016 - 21:17   by Editor

An Iowa man visiting the Cricket Hollow Zoo with his two children June 24 says in court documents one of the roadside zoo's two lions "was in such a terrible condition that both children and myself feared that she would die at any moment."

"We didn't need to get too close to her cage to know that there was something terribly wrong with her, because she just stood in one corner of her cage shivering even though she was in direct sunlight," Jeff Marlin, of Hiawatha, Iowa, testified in a court filing seeking immediate removal of the now-endangered animals from the troubled zoo near Manchester.

Cricket Hollow Zoo appeals federal court ruling; status of endangered animal removal uncertain

on Sat, 04/02/2016 - 00:46   by Editor

The owners of the troubled Cricket Hollow Zoo have appealed the federal court ruling issued Feb. 11 which ordered removal of the zoo's lemurs and tigers because of inadequate veterinary care and sanitation for the endangered animals.

Owners Tom and Pamela Sellner, of Manchester, filed the notice of appeal with the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis March 9. The appeal seeks to reverse the lower court decision, halt the removal of endangered animals from the zoo and lift the court's order prohibiting the Sellners from adding endangered animals to their roadside zoo.

Federal judge orders Cricket Hollow Zoo to give up its tigers, lemurs; cites inadequate care, sanitation

on Fri, 02/12/2016 - 03:02   by Editor

Cricket Hollow Zoo has been ordered to transfer its lemurs and tigers to a licensed U.S. Department of Agricultural facility under a federal district court ruling issued Thursday (2/11).

The judge ruled that the endangered animals at the troubled roadside zoo were harmed by the failure of its owners to provide adequate veterinary care and sanitation.

Cricket Hollow Zoo inspection finds animals in mud so deep their legs sunk all the way into muck

on Tue, 09/01/2015 - 00:35   by Editor

More than three dozen camels, sheep, llamas and cattle at the Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester, Iowa where found living in enclosures with mud so deep their legs sunk half to all the way down into the muck, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) May inspection report.

USDA charges Cricket Hollow Zoo owners with inadequate vet care of animals, refusing access

on Sat, 08/15/2015 - 02:34   by Editor

Owners of the troubled Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester, Iowa, now face new federal charges of inadequate veterinary care of their animals and "repeated failures to meet minimum standards for animal facilities and husbandry."

Cricket Hollow Zoo lawsuit will proceed to Oct. 5 trial date; judge denies motion for summary judgement

on Fri, 08/07/2015 - 04:04   by Editor

A federal lawsuit seeking to remove endangered animals from the troubled Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester will proceed to trial in October after the judge denied a motion for summary judgement filed by animal welfare attorneys.

Chief Magistrate Judge Jon Stuart Scoles heard nearly an hour of oral arguments Thursday (8/6) before denying the motion and setting a pre-trail conference for Sept. 29. The bench trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 5 in U.S. District Court, Northern District, in Cedar Rapids.

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