In early 2017, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) deleted its public database that included inspection records from zoos, circuses, and animal research labs. In response, Born Free USA joined a lawsuit led by PETA to force the agency to restore the information to public view.
Now, after three long years, the legal battle over this assault on transparency has ended!
PETA, along with co-plaintiffs the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Born Free USA, Beagle Freedom Project, and Lewis & Clark Law School Assistant Clinical Professor and Animal Law Litigation Clinic Director, Delcianna Winders, successfully settled the lawsuit.
While the USDA restored some of the records in response to public outcry, the settlement includes the USDA’s sworn statement that it has restored and will continue to provide public access to those records on its website.
The so-called ‘USDA blackout’ was wrong and dangerous on many levels. Animals held in facilities like circuses, zoos, and research labs exist at the whims of the humans who control them and government inspection records are an important tool for holding those facilities accountable for the animals’ treatment and living conditions. Beyond the animal welfare concerns, the U.S. government owes its citizens transparency and the USDA blackout was a clear attempt at hiding information from the public.
But, while we celebrate this victory, we must also remember that the USDA often fails to do enough to close down facilities that abuse, neglect, and otherwise mistreat animals, even after years of documented complaints and violations.
Earlier this year, Born Free USA welcomed five new monkey residents to our primate sanctuary from Cricket Hollow, a deplorable roadside zoo in Iowa with a longstanding history of animal abuse. Animals at Cricket Hollow were kept in cramped cages filled with feces, rotting food, standing water, and even the decomposing bodies of animals that died. The zoo owners’ neglect was well-documented in dozens of USDA inspection reports spanning years, yet the facility remained open until finally being shut down by court order in 2019. Sadly, this is far from an isolated case.
Born Free USA will continue to hold the USDA accountable, both in its obligation to transparency and its duty to protect animals from abuse and neglect at places like zoos, circuses, and labs.
I invite you to become a part of the fight to end captivity by joining our email list and following Born Free USA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, where we post news and ways to take action!
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Angela
