By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY ó A Lazy 5 Ranch spokesperson said Wednesday that an animal rights groupís claims of ěongoing, systemic animal neglectî are nearly all exaggerated or untrue.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) asked its website visitors last week to contact Rowan County Animal Control to ědemand a full criminal investigationî into the roadsize zoo, located on N.C. 150 in western Rowan County.
In a press release issued last Thursday, it says owner Henry Hampton has failed to ěprovide adequate veterinary care to a young giraffe with severely overgrown hoovesî and allowed the animal to ělanguish in this painful, damaging condition for more than nine months.î
Sarah Rogers, a Lazy 5 employee speaking on behalf of Hampton, said Wednesday that giraffes at the ranch walk on gravel and limestone to trim their hooves naturally ó a process that will take time.
ěWe do have a giraffe with overgrown hooves,î Rogers said. ěShe is not in any pain, and she is not walking abnormally. She is showing progress.î
Three U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection reports from November 2010 through July 2011 cite Lazy 5 Ranch regarding the young giraffe. The reports say the long hooves cause an abnormal gait and put too much pressure on the animalís heels.
USDA inspection reports from May 26 and July 7 both cite the ranch again, stating the problem has not been fixed and the local attending veterinarian was not notified.
Rogers said thatís because a vet from Ohio with special expertise tends to the giraffes. She said PETA and the USDA donít have this kind of education about the exotic animals.
The giraffe with overgrown hooves has been evaluated ěnumerous times,î she said, and the vet hasnít raised serious concerns.
ěIf she was losing weight, or not being sociable with people or the other giraffes, that would be one thing, but sheís not,î Rogers said. ěAn employee goes out twice a day and walks her around the pen.î
A staff member with the Ohio veterinary office said the specialist is currently out of town, and a call from the Post to his cell phone was not returned Wednesday evening.
In a USDA report dated June 29, 2010, Lazy 5 also was cited for leaving 14 sheep unsheared and in heavy fleece. Rogers said they were sheared the next day.
The report also states that a fallow deer was seen biting a large, raw wound on its left shoulder that had numerous flies on it.
Staff members did not see such a deer, Rogers said, but it may have been irritated by some surface scratches or shedding.
On its website, PETA also says recent visitors to the Lazy 5 Ranch reported ěa dead animal left in public view, animals with injuries and wounds seemingly left untreated, and animals with insufficient shade and no apparent water source during the heat of the summer.î
Rogers said those claims are not true. If an animal dies at the ranch, the situation is handled quickly, she said. Animals are given vet care as necessary, and they have access to shade and plenty of water, she said. Some water sources may be out of sight or not clearly visible to visitors at the drive-through zoo.
ěWe encourage people to take their questions to us,î Rogers said. ěDonít go by what youíre told by people who have never been here.î
PETA criticizes Rowan County Animal Control in its press release for forwarding concerns to the USDA, ěwhich has no authority to enforce local and state animal protection laws.î
Animal Control has that authority, said Rowan County Attorney Jay Dees, but the county typically defers to the federal government regarding federally licensed facilities like Lazy 5.
ěTheir routine inspections are designed to find, isolate and correct issues that they find at the facilities they license, so we generally take a back seat,î he said. ěWe donít have expertise in giraffes and rhinos.î
But Dees said the county will look into any issues raised that are inconsistent with the federal inspection reports.
Contact reporter Karissa Minn at 704-797-4222.
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