Lawsuit in Iowa Challenges So-Called 'Roadside Zoos'

By BARBARA RODRIGUEZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS DES MOINES, Iowa — Oct 8, 2015, 6:45 PM ET

Pamela and Tom Sellner describe the small zoo they opened in northeastern Iowa nearly 15 years ago as a labor of love that evolved from their respect for animals.

Among the more than 150 creatures at their 6-acre Cricket Hollow Zoo in Manchester are several that one might not expect to find in a Midwestern farming community, including tigers, lions and lemurs.

But the California-based Animal Legal Defense Fund and several Iowa residents are suing the couple, saying their so-called roadside zoo has been mistreating animals for years. The trial, which began Monday in a Cedar Rapids federal court, could provide the first definitive court ruling on how these zoos must care for animals considered endangered.

"It would mean that the roadside zoo owners are on notice," the ALDF's senior attorney, Jessica Blome, told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday. She went on to say, "If they don't treat (endangered) animals well, if they don't make sure they have proper veterinary care, if they don't make sure that the natural environment is as closely proximate as possible, then the animals have to be taken away and they don't deserve to have them."

Closing arguments are expected Friday. Neither the Sellners nor their attorney, Larry Thorson, responded to phone messages seeking comment.

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