Bozeman-area menagerie used for films, photo shoots ordered to shut down

Brett French Sep 3, 2021



A screen grab of Animals of Montana's website shows the photo that got the company in trouble with its regulators.

Screen grab

A business that for 19 years provided captive-born wildlife such as wolves, mountain lions and bears for films and photo shoots has lost its appeal to the state Supreme Court and can no longer do business in Montana.

In a May 25 ruling, Justice Ingrid Gustafson wrote for a unanimous court that Animals of Montana Inc.’s appeal of a District Court ruling failed to prove entrapment by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. The company’s attorneys had argued FWP led AMI to “believe it would not be penalized for acting unlawfully without first having a chance to correct its violations,” according to the court ruling.

FWP has oversight of the company through its menagerie license. Menageries are defined under state law as places where wild animals are kept in captivity for exhibition or trade.

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Past

Hyde’s business has run into problems before. In 2001 an AMI employee suffered a broken arm after being bitten by a brown bear. In 2009, AMI lost its animal exhibition license following a Department of Agriculture citation for animal trafficking.

One of Hyde’s employees was mauled to death in 2012 while cleaning a brown bear’s cage. An investigation after the mauling led the Department of Labor to issue a $9,000 fine. The man’s family also sued Hyde, and then an insurance company filed suit over the worker’s status. An investigation following the mauling also revealed numerous animal escapes from the company that were not reported.

In 2015, FWP moved to shut the business down, citing violations of AMI’s menagerie permit that included unsafe and unclean cages where the animals were housed.