Indiana AG sues to close Wildlife in Need and seize animals
CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WAVE) – Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is taking steps to shut down a controversial Southern Indiana nonprofit called Wildlife in Need.
Hill, per a press release sent by his office to WAVE 3 News, filed suit against the zoo and is demanding the animals at Wildlife in Need be sent to sanctuaries to be properly taken care of.
- Operating license for Wildlife in Need revoked
- Wildlife In Need, PETA come to first-of-its-kind litigation settlement
- Wildlife in Need operator reacts to PETA lawsuit
- Charlestown man says he warned about owner of exotic animals
The attorney general alleges in the lawsuit that the organization, including directors Timothy Stark and Melisa Lane, “have a history of abusing animals, neglecting to provide basic necessities to animals, and forcing animals to live in deplorable conditions.”
Stark was sued by the USDA after federal investigators found 120 violations between 2012 and 2016. His operating license was also pulled by the federal government and he can no longer legally display lions or tigers.
Hill’s lawsuit seeks to ensure Stark and Lane never own or have animals in their care again.
“This organization claims to promote the best interests of animals when evidence indicates the exact opposite is happening,” Attorney General Hill said. “Generous Hoosiers who have contributed money to Wildlife in Need deserve to know the truth.”
Hill claims in court documents that Stark told his employees he will shoot the animals at Wildlife in Need is the government tries to take them.
The court documents are embedded below.
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