Manchester zoo owner testified USDA violations unfair

CEDAR RAPIDS - A Manchester zoo owner, being sued in federal court over endangered species violations, admitted Thursday the zoo has been cited for numerous U.S. Department of Agriculture violations over the years - which she believes were unfair or unrealistic but most of the cited violations were corrected anyway.

Pam Sellner, owner of Crickett Hollow Zoo, testified she treated her big cats - tigers and lions - when they had infections or other issues and said they two or three died in 2014. She said when USDA inspectors told her to have one of the tigers treated for an infection, she did. The tiger died about five months later, but it had developed pneumonia, she said.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, an animal rights group based in California, is suing Crickett Hollow owners Pam and Tom Sellner for three violations of the U.S. Endangered Species Act - the unlawful 'take” of a protected species, unlawful possession of protected species and unlawful trafficking of protected species in commerce.

The Defense Fund, in federal court this week in Cedar Rapids, has alleged the zoo's animals were confined to small and dirty cages and enclosures and were without 'toys or enrichment” items, that animals' hoofs or hygiene was not maintained, that animals were covered with flies and that food and feces were piled up for lengths of time.

Documents in the lawsuit show the Sellners didn't act in 'good faith” in correcting USDA violations. The couple three times in 2014 and 2015 'failed to provide” inspectors with access to facilities, animals and records.

According to USDA records, inspectors found 28 incidents of non-compliance in four visits between July 31, 2013, and Jan. 9, 2014. Conditions described include inadequate watering and shelter, dirty facilities and the death of three piglets born to a Meishan pig left in the cold.

Pam Sellner didn't deny the violations but said she did appeal some and others she felt were inconsistent, depending on which inspector came that day. She was asked about some of the inspectors who reported they couldn't do a walk-through, more than once, but she said she just didn't happen to be there or one day the zoo was closed. She said she'd attempted at least two or three settlement agreements for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, the federal law which regulates or set policies on the treatment of animals. She said she'd paid more than $10,000 in penalties in 2012 and 2013. The Sellners are still paying the $6,800 settlement from 2013.

Pam Sellner also was questioned about how many employees work at the zoo. She said the zoo has no paid employees, only part-time volunteers. She and her husband, she said, have 'no reason” for employees.

Tom Sellner testified about the enclosures and cages at the zoo for the big cats and baboons because he designed them. He is an ironsmith, as well as farmer, and explained that he could weld the enclosures with tools he has on the farm, which is next to the zoo, or use equipment at his full-time job.

In regard to USDA violations about issues with the enclosures not being secure or damaged, he said he repaired them and said that some didn't need repair.

Asked about an incident in 2011 when he was attacked by one of the tigers, Tom Sellner said he wasn't attacked but bitten during a feeding. He said he was taken to the hospital and had stitches on his head and arm but that the injury was not severe. He said he'd accidentally left open a door, but the tiger remained within the perimeter fence. The public was never in danger, he said.

The defense rested after the Sellners testified Thursday. Both plaintiffs and defendants will file closing arguments with the court, and U.S. Chief Magistrate Jon Scoles will issue a written verdict later.